Governments do not deploy energy and carbon taxes to their full proposal, the latest “Taxing Energy Use” report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) finds, urging for higher pollution prices to effectively address the climate crisis. Pricing high-carbon activities is an effective tool for making polluters pay while encouraging them to switch…
First published on Carbon Pulse October 17, 2019 As part of her “European Green Deal”, incoming EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has promised to introduce a carbon border tax to “ensure that European companies can compete on a level playing field”. This is a new wind coming from the executive branch of the European Union…
The talks on future global carbon markets are already in overtime after countries failed to agree on a global deal last December in Poland. Now even this extra time is quickly running out. Less than two months before the crunch time talks at the next UN climate summit, the number of unresolved issues appears to…
New report busts industry competitiveness myths Carbon pricing can unlock the potential for innovation and boost new low-carbon businesses. Contrary to industry claims, it plays only a limited role in companies’ location and investment decisions. Sectors such as cement where transport costs are high are unlikely to lose competitiveness due to carbon pricing. The months…
The UN aviation body must urgently set robust, science-based long-term climate targets if the industry wants to win back the confidence of both investors and customers. Many Europeans are losing patience with airlines’ defensive attitude towards the aviation industry’s climate impact and are taking matters into their own hands – by choosing not to fly. …
BRUSSELS 20 September 2019. The EU carbon market is currently unfit to accommodate national coal phase-outs scheduled in Europe. EU policymakers should combine coal plant closures with the cancellation of pollution permits and strengthen the market stability reserve to absorb more surplus pollution permits off the market. Failing this, the market will be flooded with…
EU governments breach citizens’ right to information on international aviation climate policy Dear friends, As I write this at the UN Climate Change Conference, Bonn, along with the rest of Western Europe, is sweltering in the scorching heat, an uncomfortable foretaste of what an ever-warming climate has in store for us. I can only hope that…
European countries who are members of the UN civil aviation body are keeping their work on climate policies for the aviation sector secret from their citizens, in breach of an international treaty on public access to environmental information. The Aarhus Convention covers three principles: access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making and access…
A strong and clear political climate commitment leading to the right policies and measures will help Europe’s industry thrive in a zero-carbon world. Last week, a veto by the Polish, Czech, Estonian and Hungarian governments led to the failure of the long-awaited endorsement of the EU’s long-term climate strategy and commitment to climate neutrality by…
This week, UN climate negotiators are meeting in Bonn, Germany, to try and find common ground on the Paris Agreement’s market provisions. There is growing political momentum to move beyond offsetting in global climate policy, but only a handful of countries around the negotiating table are willing to walk the talk. “We can no longer…
Kaisa Amaral, Communications Director
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