Carbon dioxide removal, or carbon removal for short, is a controversial and widely misunderstood topic. Harnessed properly, it can help cool our planet and combat global heating. Misused, it can be reduced to an exercise in greenwashing and creative climate bookkeeping that enables polluters to continue polluting with impunity. Wijnand Stoefs explains. Carbon removal means…
Simply throwing public money at misleading climate solutions, such as carbon capture and storage/utilisation, would be a huge mistake. Although books can be cooked, the atmosphere cannot be cheated. Back in June, fifteen Members of the European Parliament sent an open letter to European Commisson Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, Internal Market Commissioner…
When I began to think about a suitable article to pen as my last contribution to this newsletter, the obvious choice was low carbon agriculture. This is of personal interest to me as I switch my focus to sustainable agriculture at my organic farm just outside Salzburg, Austria. We are in the process of transforming…
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…
18 Jul 2017 Editorial Dear partners, dear friends, It is my pleasure to bring you the latest edition of the Watch This newsletter! This issue will give you the latest on the international climate negotiations. Our first article comes back on the latest UNFCCC intersession, which took place last May in Bonn, focusing specifically…
18 Jul 2017 Climate negotiations, both at the EU and at the international level, have come at a crucial point regarding the role of the land sector to global emission reductions, which could “make or break” the Paris Agreement objective. An effective accounting system for land use emissions is crucial. Now is the time for…
The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has contributed to this broken food and farming system through the promotion of agro-industrial farming methods and global commodity chains. In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement, the EU must carry out a radical reform of the CAP and…
This week key policymakers of the European Parliament discuss the EU’s largest climate instrument. Ahead of the debate, five organizations expose how a loophole in the law could significantly increase the costs of post-2030 climate efforts by delaying the required emission reductions in the agriculture sector. The Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) covers around 60% of…
Forests and land-use remain a contentious issue in climate negotiations but are an essential part of many countries’ climate pledges. The sector should be used as an additional climate tool, not as an excuse to reduce ambition in others. At the UN climate conference in Marrakesh, discussions on land use remained gridlocked because of the…
The Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) has faced criticism for purchasing CDM carbon credits from a tree plantation project at Kachung, Uganda. The SEA signed a 20 year (2012-2032) purchase agreement with Norwegian company Green Resources, but later suspended payments due to problems with the project. In March 2016 the SEA announced that it would not…
Khaled Diab, Communications Director
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