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. Â 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. It is expected that they will propose to reduce Europe’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions by merely 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. While this target is not nearly enough to combat climate change, some governments …
Read more “Europe’s leaders must protect the 2030 climate target from loopholes”
For the last couple of years, the European carbon market has failed to provide a signal for decarbonisation with carbon prices hovering around 5 euros for a tonne of CO2. To address this, earlier this year, the European Commission proposed to reform the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in order to provide a more …
Read more “EU carbon market reforms must go further and arrive sooner”
While Europe is trying to get its emissions trading system (ETS) out of the doldrums, China is busily preparing to launch its national carbon market. By 2020, China’s carbon market will have surpassed the EU ETS as the world’s largest carbon market, covering around 3 to 4 billion tonnes of CO2. South Korea, which in …
Read more “Capping the Dragon: prospects for Chinese and European emissions trading linkage”
On 24 September the European Parliament’s Environment committee, voted down an objection to the European Commission’s new carbon leakage list, 34 to 30. The objection was lodged by Green MEP Bas Eickhout and argued that the proposed €30 per tonne carbon price, used in determining which sectors are placed on the list, was grossly inflated. …
Read more “Carbon leakage: a blank cheque to industry”
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%”
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.
“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 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”