4 billion tonnes of hot air in the EU could turn the proposed 40% climate target into merely 26%

by CMW2050 climate strategiesPosted on Comments are Disabled

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%”

Myths and realities around carbon leakage in Europe

Questions over how the potential risk of “carbon leakage” will be addressed in the 2030 climate and energy framework have recently gained importance. The discussions should ideally draw from the lessons learnt from the current carbon leakage provisions. This short media briefing shows that while there has been no evidence detected for the occurrence of carbon leakage so far, the European Commission has proposed to continue over-subsidising polluters at the expense of taxpayers.

Carbon Leakage Rebuttal

“Dynamic allocation” – an industry model for windfall profits from free emission allowances at the expense of taxpayers The EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) covers just over 40% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions from the industry and power sector. After each year, companies participating in the system must surrender enough allowances to cover …

Read more “Carbon Leakage Rebuttal”

Carbon Leakage

by CMWEU carbon marketPosted on Comments are Disabled

Carbon leakage is the situation in which, as a result of stringent climate policies, companies move their production abroad to countries with less ambitious climate measures, which can lead to a rise in global greenhouse gas emissions. In Europe, the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) covers the greenhouse gas emissions from the industry and …

Read more “Carbon Leakage”

The EU Emissions Trading System: All You Need To Know About The World’s Largest Carbon Market

Tuesday 22 July 2014 from 15:00 to 17:00 European Parliament – Room JAN 6Q1 AN EVENT KINDLY HOSTED BY: Peter LIESE, EPP Matthias GROOTE, S&D Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, ALDE Bas EICKHOUT, Greens/EFA The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is the largest carbon market in the world covering more than 11,000 power stations and industrial plants …

Read more “The EU Emissions Trading System: All You Need To Know About The World’s Largest Carbon Market”

Policy Briefing: What’s needed to fix the EU’s carbon market: Recommendations for the Market Stability Reserve and future ETS reform proposals

Executive Summary The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is the largest carbon market in the world and was originally seen as the cornerstone of Europe’s climate policies. However, the EU ETS has suffered from a large amount of excess emissions allowances largely caused by weak emission reduction targets and the inflow of carbon offsets. …

Read more “Policy Briefing: What’s needed to fix the EU’s carbon market: Recommendations for the Market Stability Reserve and future ETS reform proposals”

New analysis of Effort Sharing Decision calls for ambitious post-2020 target

by CMW2050 climate strategiesPosted on Comments are Disabled

Carbon Market Watch has presented new ideas on how to tackle the sixty percent of EU greenhouse gas emissions covered under the so-called Effort Sharing Decision (ESD). Two new reports published in June look at how successful the legislation, which only entered the implementation phase last year, has been in tackling emissions from sectors such as agriculture, transport and buildings which are not covered by the EU’s carbon market.

Report: Tackling 60% of the EU’s Climate Problem – The Legislative Framework of the Effort Sharing Decision

Sectors not included under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the so called non-ETS sectors are covered under the Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) which defines the 2020 greenhouse gas reduction targets for these sectors for each Member State. Although these non-ETS sectors include nearly 60% of the EU’s emissions, there has been little focus on the non-ETS sectors and the functioning of the ESD. The EU ETS started already in 2005. The ESD, on the other hand, is part of the 2020 climate and energy package which started only in 2013. The relatively short experience with the ESD may be one of the reasons for the limited awareness about the ESD. Few countries and even NGOs have thought about either the risks of potential loopholes or the opportunities the ESD offers to go beyond the current mitigation commitments.