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 …

Carbon Market Watch response to Inception Impact Assessment on Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR)

We regret that the Commission did not include a policy option that would ensure the current climate policy architecture is maintained in order to raise the emission reductions achieved by the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and the LULUCF Regulation as three separate but mutually reinforcing policy instruments. The three options presented …

What “negative emissions”?

To limit global heating to 1.5 degrees, it will no longer be enough to just cut our pollution; some emissions will likely have to be removed from the atmosphere and permanently stored. Together with partners, Carbon Market Watch launches a new project with the aim to provide decision-makers with concrete policy recommendations to ensure responsible …

EU lawmakers give green light for key climate law – what’s next?

After almost two years of intense negotiations, this week the European Parliament will give its final approval for the Climate Action Regulation, which aims to reduce emissions from transport, agriculture, buildings and waste management. Implementation will determine how effective this key climate law will be in helping Europe achieve its Paris climate goals. Covering over …

EU governments miss chance to align key climate law with Paris Agreement

BRUSSELS 13 OCTOBER 2017. Today, the EU environment ministers adopted their position on the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) which covers emissions from the transport, building, agriculture and waste sectors in the 2021-2030 period. As the EU’s largest climate tool, the ESR is key to implementing the Paris Agreement in Europe. Loopholes adopted today by the …

Closing the loopholes in the EU’s centerpiece climate law

This piece was first published on Euractiv on 9 October 2017 EU member states can enable the upscaling of good examples of local climate action by closing loopholes in the Effort Sharing Regulation, a centerpiece of the EU’s climate policy, write Claire Roumet and Femke de Jong. This week, the EU environment ministers will adopt …

Cities at the forefront of climate action

Cities and regions are critically important for meeting and overachieving Europe’s climate targets. More than a third of the EU’s 2020 climate target will be delivered by cities, equivalent to 240 million tonnes of CO2 emission reductions (JRC, 2016).

#EUESR day of Action

Today, June 7, dozens of NGOs based in different EU Member States are participating in a Day of Action on the Effort Sharing Regulation by sending a letter to their governments, calling on them to push for an ambitious #EUESR. The Effort Sharing Regulation is Europe’s largest policy tool to reduce the climate impact of …