April newsletter editorial: Panel debate on ETS comes straight from polluter’s pocket

In a democratic debate, should everyone get an equal say or should those with money be given a soapbox and loudhailer? The answer to this question is obvious, yet it appears to have eluded Politico Europe, one of the main players on the Brussels media stage.

Net-zero pipe dreams: Carbon-neutral fossil fuel claims amount to greenwashing

A new Carbon Market Watch report thoroughly investigates the growing number of fossil fuels that are being marketed as “carbon neutral” and concludes that they amount to brazen greenwashing. Published ahead of the COP26, the document challenges governments and industry to halt greenwashing practices and commit to binding fossil fuel phaseouts. Today, Carbon Market Watch …

Carbon Market Watch Newsletter – May 2021

Time to tackle the thorny issues at UN carbon market talks  Next week, UN negotiators continue the talks on the Paris Agreement’s Article 6 which lays the foundation for future global carbon markets. It is the last open element of the so-called Paris Rulebook to implement the global climate deal. Political leaders have failed to …

Steel, cement and chemicals industries key to the clean transition 

The International Energy Agency outlines a path to a fossil-free future The International Energy Agency calls for an immediate stop to investments in and production of fossil fuels. For heavy industry decarbonisation, the “Net Zero by 2050” report relies too much on unproven technologies like carbon capture and storage. But it nevertheless sends a strong …

Four key issues to watch in the EU’s carbon market reform

This opinion piece was first published on Euractiv on 15 April 2021 EU carbon market emissions experienced a record fall last year, but when it comes to heavy industry, the effect is likely to be short-lived, writes Agnese Ruggiero. The latest EU carbon market emissions data released by European Commission on April 1 was not …

A New Hope – Recommendations for the EU Emissions Trading System review

Update 12/04/2021: Adjustments to the infographics “EU carbon emissions” and “The effect of a one-off EU ETS cap reduction” Executive summary With total greenhouse gas emissions of around 700 million tonnes per year, resource and energy-intensive industry is the third-largest climate polluter in Europe. The cement, chemical and steel sectors alone are responsible for almost …

Driving industrial innovation towards the European Green Deal goals

This event is jointly organised by CAN Europe, Carbon Market Watch, E3G, EEB and WWF  as part of the European Commission’s EU Industry Days 2021. Date and time: 10:45-12:15 CET, 25 February 2021 (online), register here Background: The EU has a ‘Green Deal’ and a commitment to climate neutrality. This means that industry, which currently …

EU carbon market report underlines the need to end pollution handouts

While the EU carbon market is helping to clean up Europe’s power sector, industrial CO2 pollution remained stubbornly high, and that from aviation kept growing in 2019. This is partly due to overly generous handouts of pollution permits. These subsidies must be phased out to incentivise cleaner production and more sustainable transport as the scheme …

Rocket

10 Key Principles for a Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM)

With more information on the design options that the European Commission is considering for a Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM) and slightly more clarity on the different options available, Carbon Market Watch has updated its position and refined the key principles originally presented in the briefing “Carbon Border Adjustments: Climate Protection or Climate Protectionism?” published …