News & Press
By Miriam Vicente Marcos on 25 Feb 2021
Taking aim at the economic and climate crises – but do member states’ recovery plans really hit the target?
Italy, Spain, Hungary, and Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) may well be off-target (and Poland hasn’t published one yet). By not covering in sufficient detail all aspects of the green transition in their plans, these member states could be missing out on the chance to use EU recovery funds to tackle the economic…
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By Kaisa Amaral, Sam Van den plas on 25 Feb 2021
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger [1]
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…
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By Kaisa Amaral on 27 Nov 2020
Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – November 2020
‘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…
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Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – October 2020
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…
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“Offsetting must not be a license to continue polluting”
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…
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By Kaisa Amaral on 25 Sep 2020
Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – September 2020
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,…
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By Elisa Martellucci on 7 Jul 2020
What role for national energy and climate plans in the COVID-19 recovery?
The national energy and climate plans can help chart Europe’s way out of the COVID-19 pandemic and into carbon-free societies. This is not the time to weaken them but to make them stronger, while better involving all relevant stakeholders in their development and implementation. The national energy and climate plans (NECPs) are a key pillar…
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By Kaisa Amaral on 29 Jun 2020
Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – June 2020
EU Green Deal at the heart of post-corona Europe Dear friends, Our leaders are hoping to clinch a deal in the coming weeks on the EU’s financial recovery package and the multi-annual budget. In September, we expect the European Commission to announce its proposal for an improved 2030 climate target. The science says that Europe…
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By Wijnand Stoefs on 25 Jun 2020
Towards more sustainable and transparent investments?
New European reporting guidelines would make it mandatory for large companies to disclose the climate impact of their activities as well as how they plan to mitigate it. This would bring more clarity for consumers, taxpayers and investors alike on how their money is spent and therefore lead to more sustainable investments. The European Commission…
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By Kaisa Amaral on 24 Jun 2020
More climate action through better planning
This article is a summary of an interview published on the European Commission website 15 June 2020 Stopping the climate crisis will require us to substantially cut carbon emissions across all sectors of the economy, as well as to rapidly transition to a zero-carbon energy mix. To this end, European Union member states need to…
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