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Turning point for the ETS

The emissions trading scheme needs reform, but first it needs a patch

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Green groups welcome emergency fix to floundering carbon market

13 November 2012

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Green groups welcome emergency fix to floundering carbon market

More measures must follow to save the ailing system

Brussels, 12 November - Environmental groups CAN Europe, Greenpeace and WWF welcomed a proposal today by the European Commission outlining temporary changes to revive the failing Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The ETS has suffered from an excess of carbon emission allowances, undermining the incentive for polluting industries to reduce their climate-damaging carbon emissions.

Joris den Blanken, Greenpeace EU climate policy director, said:
"Polluting industries have gained, for free, a glut of carbon permits worth billions. Postponing the auctioning of emission allowances is a welcome but temporary respite for the carbon market. Stability needs to be restored by permanently removing allowances."

EU’s international climate position going nowhere slowly

26 October 2012

Urgent need for EU governments to agree on cancellation of “hot air”

SNAIL

[Brussels, 26 October 2012] – CAN Europe [1] was disappointed again yesterday with EU environment ministers' decision to continue peddling the same inadequate targets within the international climate negotiations, and effectively missing this opportunity to reach an EU agreement on "hot air" before needing to finalise the rules in Doha for the Kyoto Protocol's second commitment period.

"Stuck for years repeating the same old targets, and with no new money to commit, the EU will be showing up in Doha pretty much empty-handed, with nothing new to put on the negotiating table," said Ulriikka Aarnio, CAN Europe Senior Policy Officer. "This lack of ambition is unfortunately undermining the EU's credibility as a driving force in the negotiations on a new international climate agreement and is threatening to unravel the alliances made last year in Durban with vulnerable countries. Agreeing to continue with a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol is critically important, but on its own, it is not enough."

European Parliament calls on the EU to take responsibility for emissions from forests and agriculture but stops short of direct action

10 October 2012

flowerymeadow [Brussels, 10 October 2012] –FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE– NGOs are pleased by the European Parliament's Environment Committee decision today to include agriculture, grasslands and wetlands in the EU's accounting rules for land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). It was a missed opportunity for concrete actions, however, as they diluted the requirements for LULUCF Action Plans, as proposed by the European Commission.

"CAN Europe is happy to see Parliament moving to improve upon the weak LULUCF rules agreed in Durban last year, by making accounting mandatory for all sectors, including agriculture, " said Ulriikka Aarnio, CAN Europe Senior Policy Officer."The LULUCF rules agreed in Durban completely fail to account for what the atmosphere sees. It's a pity Parliament did not use this opportunity to go further and push Member States to take action to reduce emissions from these sectors."