Carbon copy: Draft European Parliament report fails to correct faulty carbon removals framework

The European Parliament Environment Committee’s rapporteur has preserved most of the defects in her draft report reacting to the European Commission’s proposed Carbon Removal Certification Framework. The draft report, composed by MEP Lídia Pereira of the European People’s Party,  contains many small improvements compared with the European Commission’s original proposal for a Carbon Removal Certification …

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 …

EU must stop subsidising polluters with hundreds of billions in free emissions allowances, green groups demand

Even though the European Union’s Emissions Trading System has already issued over €200 billions in free emissions permits, the European Commission is proposing hundreds of billions of euros of additional free allowances for polluting industries. Europe must scrap these pollution subsidies and make polluters pay the true price of their pollution, environmental NGOs urge EU …

Unsustainable business cycles trump sustainable carbon cycles in EU’s CO2 removals strategy

The European Commission released today its much-anticipated Sustainable Carbon Cycles Communication. The strategy undermines its own goals of reducing atmospheric carbon concentration by allowing companies to use removals to offset their emissions in the future. The strategy sets out a blueprint for how the European Union can harness carbon dioxide removals and so-called carbon farming …

Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – January 2021

New Year New Climate Momentum The private-sector task force, led by Mark Carney, has published its roadmap for “scaling up voluntary carbon markets”. More investments in climate action are, of course, more than welcome. But the task force should pay more attention to quality – instead of focusing on quantity. One striking omission in the new …

Targets, not markets!

By Kaisa Amaral Why carbon pricing should strengthen, not replace national climate action As part of the EU Green Deal implementation, the European Commission considers scrapping national climate targets and expanding the EU carbon market to road transport and buildings. Doing so would undermine the new climate goals and put an undue burden on consumers …

The EU to improve its carbon market rules despite corona – survey

The annual carbon market survey by the financial market data analyst Refinitiv shows high confidence in the European Green Deal in strengthening the EU carbon market.   First, the 80 respondents that answered to the questions about EU policies, see the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) as the most important tool for reducing greenhouse gas …

Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – April 2018

Editorial It’s been two years since the Paris climate deal was signed, and governments are busy working on the rules to put it into practice. Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn next week, we take a look at what is needed to ensure that international carbon markets increase climate ambition. Shipping is …