Two key elements to get right in the EU carbon market review The upcoming revision of the EU carbon market rules is an opportunity to ensure that industries covered by it cut their pollution in line with the EU Green Deal objectives and the Paris Climate Agreement. Agreeing on a faster pace at which emissions…
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…
First published in ECA Journal 02/2020: Climate Change and Audit By Sabine Frank, Executive Director, Carbon Market Watch In a world that is increasingly feeling the consequences of climate change, the idea of polluters paying for their pollution makes more and more sense. The EU’s Emission Trading System (ETS) reflects exactly that thought and is…
Carbon Market Watch webinar discussed opportunities and barriers to the decarbonisation of cement and steel sectors Europe will not become climate neutral without decarbonising its heavy industry. Technical solutions to achieve deep emission cuts in sectors such as steel and cement exist, but strengthening the EU carbon market and implementing a smart mix of policy…
The annual carbon market survey by the financial market data analyst Refinitiv shows high confidence in the European Green Deal in strengthening the EU carbon market. First, the 80 respondents that answered to the questions about EU policies, see the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) as the most important tool for reducing greenhouse gas…
The European Commission’s (EC) plan to mobilise more than 1 trillion EUR over the next 10 years to support the EU’s transition to climate neutrality sends a strong signal that the Commission is putting climate action at the centre of its work. It strengthens the case for raising the EU’s 2030 climate target to 65%….
The divide between countries on key elements of the new UN carbon markets have become apparent at the last UNFCCC session which closed last week in Bangkok. Open questions around the transition of old markets and how to ensure that carbon offsets do not water down climate ambition are set to continue during COP24, when major rules of the Paris Rulebook are expected to be finalised in December in Katowice, Poland.
Market negotiations resumed at full speed in Bangkok, with new text being published after only one day of negotiations. Parties are feeling the pressure now that COP24 is looming. We’ve started the session by hearing lists of priorities for items that could not be postponed to 2019 (assuming that not all issues could be resolved…
The United Nations (UN) climate agency released a video this week mocking lifestyle changes, such as reducing meat consumption and flying, to promote the use of highly controversial credits to offset emissions. The video “Keep calm and offset” has since been removed, but inadvertently points to the main problems with offsetting, a concept that creates the illusion…
For almost a decade, the world’s most powerful economies have been making promises to stop channeling public money for fossil fuels that pollute our air and drive dangerous climate change, with little impact so far. This weekend’s G7 meeting in Canada is an opportunity to move from words to action. Expect intense discussions on a…
Kaisa Amaral, Communications Director
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