Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – October 2019

Stronger climate action should be the main goal of an EU carbon border tax Dear friends, Tomorrow was supposed to start the count-down to the much-touted “European Green Deal”. The rejection of three Commissioner-candidates by the Europen Parliament means that Ursula von der Leyen’s team is not able to start their work at least before December, but …

Carbon taxes globally too low to address the climate crisis – OECD

Governments do not deploy energy and carbon taxes to their full proposal, the latest “Taxing Energy Use” report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) finds, urging for higher pollution prices to effectively address the climate crisis.  Pricing high-carbon activities is an effective tool for making polluters pay while encouraging them to switch …

Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – September 2019

EU carbon market unfit to handle coal phase-out Dear friends, A week of climate mobilisations is coming to its end. Ahead of the UN climate summit in New York last Monday, four million people across the globe took to the streets on Friday 20 September to demand that their governments take urgent action to solve the …

Over 2 billion surplus pollution permits could flood Europe’s carbon market by 2030 – analysis

BRUSSELS 20 September 2019. The EU carbon market is currently unfit to accommodate national coal phase-outs scheduled in  Europe. EU policymakers should combine coal plant closures with the cancellation of pollution permits and strengthen the market stability reserve to absorb more surplus pollution permits off the market. Failing this, the market will be flooded with …

Rocket

European businesses need clear direction, not populism

A strong and clear political climate commitment leading to the right policies and measures will help Europe’s industry thrive in a zero-carbon world. Last week, a veto by the Polish, Czech, Estonian and Hungarian governments led to the failure of the long-awaited endorsement of the EU’s long-term climate strategy and commitment to climate neutrality by …

Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – May 2019

Voters put climate crisis firmly on EU agenda Dear friends, I am delighted to share with you a revamped Carbon Market Watch News. I hope you enjoy the new look, and easily find content that most interests you. I also look forward to receiving any feedback or suggestions! Last weekend, EU citizens turned up at the …

Deutschland: Kohleausstieg muss mit Annullierung von Emissionslizenzen einher gehen, um den CO2 Preis zu stützen

Die deutsche Kohlekommission, beauftragt mit der Prüfung der Realisierbarkeit des Kohleausstiegs in Deutschland, veröffentlichte Ende Januar ihren Bericht, mit dem das Land auf Kurs gebracht wird, bis 2038 kohlefrei zu sein. Der progressiven Kohleausstieg, den der Plan vorsieht, ermöglicht Deutschland, seine Emissionsziele in der Energiebranche bis 2030 zu erfüllen, nachdem offiziell bestätigt wurde, dass das …

Germany: Coal phase-out must go hand-in-hand with emission permit cancellation to keep CO2 prices up

Deutsch The German coal commission, tasked with assessing the feasibility of a coal-exit in Germany, published its report at the end of January, setting the country on course to become coal-free by 2038. Through a progressive phase-out approach, the plan would allow Germany to meet its 2030 emissions reductions target in the power sector, after …

EU Member States resist aviation industry pressure to weaken climate regulation

This week, European Member States agreed on a common position regarding the future implementation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) new carbon market, set to start operating in 2021. The creation of a new offsetting mechanism for aviation, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), was agreed as part of a …