EU carbon market future in doubt as lawmakers fail with reform

STRASBOURG 15 February 2017. Today the European Parliament adopted its position on the revision of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for the 2021-2030 period. Regrettably, the lawmakers missed out on an opportunity to strengthen the polluter pays principle through a carbon border tax on cement imports and an end to free pollution permits …

EU’s climate reputation bruised as long-haul flight exemption extended

BRUSSELS 3 February 2017. The European Commission has proposed to continue to exempt all flights to and from Europe from paying for their pollution under the EU’s carbon market rules, following an international agreement on aviation emissions. An uncertain global agreement should not be allowed to undermine EU’s climate efforts. The proposal comes after the …

European Commission restricts free pollution permits to carbon-intensive industry

The European Commission last week finalized a decision to reduce the amount of free pollution permits handed out to energy intensive industry for the period up to 2020. This decision comes at a time when the European Parliament and EU ministers are deliberating over how many pollution permits heavy industry should get for free after 2020.

Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – January 2017

Editorial The EU’s effort sharing regulation has grabbed our focus this month, as 2017 gets off to a challenging start for climate aficionados. Yesterday we had the pleasure of showcasing our new Effort Sharing Emissions Calculator to policymakers and NGOs at the European Parliament, where issues on climate change continue to be taken seriously. In December the European Parliament’s ENVI committee agreed on recommendation for phase IV of the Emissions Trading …

Europe’s emissions trading system lives to fight another day

Strasbourg, 15 December 2016. Today members on the European Parliament’s environment committee voted on the revision of the EU’s Emission’s Trading System (EU ETS). The vote enables faster cuts in Europe’s carbon pollution but falls short of putting a halt on free handouts to polluters. The EU ETS is the world’s largest carbon market and …

Cement industry made €5 billion in pollution windfall from EU’s carbon market

BRUSSELS 30 November 2016. The European cement sector has earned over 5 billion euros from the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) according to updated windfall calculations taken from 2008-2015. The findings from independent analysts at CE Delft highlight the urgent need to drastically curb the volume of free pollution permits handed out to carbon-intensive …

Media advisory: EU climate policy should not be the scapegoat for oversupplied steel market

Updated on 7/11/2016 at 17:50 Media advisory by Carbon Market Watch and Sandbag ahead of European Steel Action Day on 9 November BRUSSELS | LONDON, 7 November 2016. This Wednesday, IndustriAll Trade Union organises a demonstration in Brussels demanding actions against the European steel sector’s economic decline. Some of the unions perceive the EU’s emissions …

New report underlines the risks for Europe’s bloated carbon market

According to a European Environment’s Agency (EEA) report published this week the oversupply of carbon permits in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) remains ‘substantial’. At a time when lawmakers are discussing how to get Europe’s flagship climate policy back on track, this report comes as an urgent warning to those trying to save the EU’s failing carbon market.