EU Environment ministers met in Brussels on 18 September to reach common positions on many of the key elements that they will be negotiating for at the UN climate talks in Paris in December.
Brussels, 6 March 2015. Today, EU’s environment ministers presented the EU’s contribution to the international climate agreement to be finalized in Paris by the end of the year. Carbon Market Watch criticises the official contribution for the lack of detail and calls on ministers to specify measures that avoid that hot air and emission removals from forests undermine the 40% domestic emissions reduction target.
During the night of 23 October 2014, EU leaders brokered a deal on the 2030 climate and energy headline targets. EU’s Heads of States settled on an EU-binding renewable energy target of at least 27%, an indicative energy efficiency target of at least 27% and an at least 40% binding domestic greenhouse gas reduction target …
Read more “Analysis of Europe’s 2030 Climate Ambition”
24 October 2014, Brussels. Today’s decision on a 40% greenhouse gas reduction target by 2030 is contaminated by excess emission allowances from the current system that will water down the real-world reduction to 31%. EU leaders agreed on new trading options that avoid necessary mitigation measures in important sectors such as transport and buildings. At the same time they agreed on subsidies to manufacturing industries in the form of free pollution permits that could reach up to €300 billion between 2021-2030.
Scroll down for French and German Brussels, 20 October. This week EU Heads of State are expected to agree on new headline targets for the EU’s 2030 climate and energy framework, including a target to reduce the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 within the EU’s territory. Flexibility options to make …
Read more “Media advisory: Integrity of Europe’s 2030 climate target in limbo over choice of flexibility options”
The latest leak of the 2030 Council Conclusions (dated 16 October 2014) provides further reason to worry about the future integrity of our 2030 climate target. As explained in our previous reaction from 2 September (see here), due to technical loopholes in the current climate framework, 4 billion tonnes of hot air will accumulate which …
Read more “Carbon Market Watch reaction to the leaked 2030 Council Conclusions”
On 23 and 24 October 2014, EU’s Heads of State will determine Europe’s future action to avoid dangerous global temperature rise. At this important date, it is expected that they will propose to reduce Europe’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Of course, this proposed target is not nearly enough …
Read more “4 billion tonnes of hot air in the EU could turn the proposed 40% climate target into merely 26%”
In early September, the council conclusions on the 2030 climate and energy framework were leaked. Worryingly, the draft text stated that the current practice of giving free pollution permits to heavy emitters needs to be maintained while “dynamically” allocating these permits based on actual production levels. A rebuttal by Carbon Market Watch shows that this approach could result in EU taxpayers paying industry an extra €130 billion worth of free emission allowances, while the public have never been presented proof that carbon leakage actually exists.
EU leaders brokered a deal on the 2030 climate and energy headline targets.