Questions and answers on the introduction of an import inclusion scheme for cement On 14 February 2017, the plenary of the European Parliament will vote on the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for the 2021-2030 period. Members will vote on the report of the environment committee (ENVI) which was adopted in December…
Test your knowledge on the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) by playing our short quiz! EU Emissions Trading System Quiz Test your knowledge on the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) by playing our short quiz! Answers available in Carbon Market Watch’s new report on “Industry windfall profits from Europe’s carbon market 2008-2015′ and…
The cement sector is responsible for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In Europe, the sector emits more greenhouse gases than the whole Belgian economyi. In light of the Paris Agreement objectives, the cement industry will need to achieve deep emission reductions in the coming years. The EU’s main instrument to decarbonise cement – the EU ETS – has however failed to deliver this so far: By subsidizing pollution, there has hardly been a sufficient economic incentive to leverage emission cuts in the cement sector.
This report interprets the findings of an updated CE Delft study that shows how energy-intensive companies in 20 European countries have massively profited from their pollution because they are deemed at risk of “carbon leakage”. “Carbon leakage” refers to the hypothetical situation where companies transfer production to countries with weaker climate policies in order to lower their costs. Under the current EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) rules, industrial companies that are believed to be at risk of “carbon leakage” are awarded free emission allowances.
This guide, available in both English and Polish, aims to build knowledge and understanding of the Europe’s carbon market for civil society organizations, students and citizens who have little or no prior experience with EU climate policies. It provides introductory knowledge on how the EU ETS is designed and how it functions. Increased awareness should…
Executive Summary On October 6th, Member States of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) agreed on an offsetting scheme to compensate for emissions growth from 2020 levels. The new scheme, called the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), falls short of achieving the goal of carbon neutral growth in 2020 (CNG2020), let…
Executive Summary This policy brief interprets the findings of a new study by CE Delft that shows how energy-intensive companies in Finland have massively profited from their pollution to the count of €481 million because they are deemed to be at risk of “carbon leakage”. “Carbon leakage” refers to a hypothetical situation where companies transfer production…
Executive Summary Countries’ obligations under international human rights law are well established. These include the obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights, which are applicable in the context of climate change. Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognize that they must respect human rights—including procedural rights—in all climate-related actions….
The EU has a long-term climate objective of achieving economy-wide emission reductions of 80-95% by 2050 to avoid dangerous climate change. It is often argued that such deep emission reductions are technically impossible or that they would harm the economy and create unemployment.
In the spring of 2016, Carbon Market Watch therefore asked the Institute for European Studies to look at the feasibility of such emission cuts by 2050 in three of the most important manufacturing sectors in Europe: chemicals, steel and cement. The main findings of the report “The Final Frontier – Decarbonising Europe’s energy intensive industries” are summarised in this briefing.
Under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) the power sector no longer receives allowances for free but is required to purchase them from auctioning. An exception is made through the so called Article 10c of the EU ETS Directive. This provision allows lower-income Member States from Central and Eastern Europe to give allowances for free to electricity installations under the condition that they invest at least the equivalent monetary value of the free allowances in the modernisation and diversification of their energy systems.
Carbon pricing 
International transport 
Climate governance 
Fair climate action