Dear members, friends & colleagues, Welcome to the 4th quarter 2020 edition of the Watch This, a civil society newsletter by Carbon Market Watch. In this edition we look at the damage caused to forest offset projects in California by the recent wildfires and question the validity of these carbon sinks that have quite literally gone up…
‘Carbon removals’ must be approached with caution Carbon removals are becoming a hot topic and are also rising up on the EU’s policy-making agenda. There is no denying that we will need to suck CO2 pollution from the atmosphere over the course of this century to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis. But…
While the EU carbon market is helping to clean up Europe’s power sector, industrial CO2 pollution remained stubbornly high, and that from aviation kept growing in 2019. This is partly due to overly generous handouts of pollution permits. These subsidies must be phased out to incentivise cleaner production and more sustainable transport as the scheme…
Green Commitment Or Greenwashing? Since last year, Shell has been offering European motorists “carbon neutral” driving and recently Total announced that it is now selling “carbon neutral” liquified natural gas. Are the fossil fuel giants going green? No, we are not talking about electric car charging stations or renewable fuels. Both Shell and Total are…
Airlines have been hit hard by the pandemic induced economic slowdown and travel restrictions, but are also using the situation as an excuse to lobby even harder against climate regulations. As the EU works on its aviation climate package, it must ensure that – like other transport modes – the sector pays for its pollution…
We joined the World Press Clubs Alliance for Climate launch event on Friday 23 October. Watch the interview with Sabine Frank here. Companies and governments are announcing “climate-neutrality” targets, and consumers are being offered ways to offset their carbon footprint. What does this mean in practice? How can we distinguish between real climate action and…
Carbon Market Watch agenda outlines our priorities and key political milestones for the next months. Click here
Europe’s renewed climate commitment under scrutiny Dear friends, The European Commission has proposed to strengthen Europe’s 2030 climate target to at least 55%. While a very positive development, the new target nevertheless falls short of what science says is needed for the EU to do its share to keep global warming at safe levels. Critically,…
It’s been a rough few months for the aviation sector around the world, as most aircraft have not left the tarmac and major airlines are losing millions every day. But the industry has used the situation very effectively to push governments to weaken climate policies. The same governments are handing out multi-billion euro bailout packages,…
COVID recovery needs environmental strings attached Dear members, colleagues and friends, Recent months have been testing times for so many, as the global pandemic continues to pull on the very fabric of our societies. While many countries around the world continue to battle the health crisis, others are already looking at how their economies can start to recover from the impact. What should a COVID recovery…
Kaisa Amaral, Communications Director
Office: +32 2 335 36 64
Mobile: +32 485 07 6890
Carbon pricing 
International transport 
Climate governance 
Fair climate action