Answer to the call for input 2022 – activities involving removals under the Article 6.4 Mechanism of the Paris Agreement

Regarding the two documents, “Draft recommendations (Annex 5 to the SB002 annotated agenda)” and the in-meeting working document on “Recommendations for activities involving removals under the Article 6.4 mechanism” (SB002 in-meeting working document), Carbon Market Watch would like to submit the below input. We would also like to recall our input – prior to the …

EU member states’ haphazard approach to carbon removals puts climate goals and nature at risk

National governments in the European Union are botching their planning of carbon removals. This lack of strategic thinking and focus on false solutions threatens the climate and biodiversity, a new study reveals.

July newsletter editorial: Keeping hope alive for 1.5

The EU’s recent failure to rise to the unprecedented challenge presented by the climate emergency should not lead us down the path to cynicism but must prod us to redouble our efforts to bring about meaningful change,

Carbon removals are no substitute for deep emissions reductions, warns IPCC

Carbon removals will become a vital tool for reducing carbon concentrations in the atmosphere but only massive cuts in emissions will give humanity a fighting chance of keeping global heating to 1.5°C or below, says the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The latest IPCC report, which was released in April, outlines various pathways …

European Parliament’s proposed carbon market revamp a licence for industry to pollute

The European Parliament’s draft report by MEP Peter Liese on revising the EU’s Emissions Trading System fails to strengthen the scheme’s climate targets while opening up multiple routes to hand out more free emission allowances and offer offsets, enabling heavy industries to profit from their pollution. German Christian Democrat MEP Peter Liese has released his …

A sustainable carbons cycle or a vicious emissions cycle?

Despite some good elements, the European Commission’s proposed carbon removal strategy leaves the door wide open to offsetting after 2030, which will undermine its ability to reduce emissions, writes Wijnand Stoefs. On 15 December 2021, the European Commission published its Sustainable Carbon Cycles Communication, which showcases its vision for carbon farming, industrial carbon capture and …

Respecting the laws of physics: Principles for carbon dioxide removal accounting

Executive summary We need technologies and processes to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, removals accounting and targets must remain separate from those for GHG emissions; and only real removals should be taken into account. Emission reduction and carbon dioxide removal accounting and targets need to be kept strictly separate to ensure removals can …

Penetrating the carbon removal smokescreen

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 …