The European Commission’s “Impact Assessment”, presented with the climate proposals for 2030, describes various scenarios for achieving the CO2 targets. What is striking is that there is still a gap in the emissions budget. The Commission wants to promote CO2 storage in nature and soils through additional market incentives. That is indeed an important, but…
Category: English
Making an EU Carbon Border Tax easier with a Carbon Club
My six tips for a European Carbon Border Tax. The President of the new European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has asked Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan to levy a CO2 tax on imports to the EU: “to contribute to the design and introduction of the Carbon Border Tax, working closely with the Commissioner for…
Changing the CORSIA offset baseline breaks trust and is a blow to carbon markets
Changing the CORSIA *) baseline by the June ICAO Council for CO2 offset purchases into 2019 – instead of the agreed average of 2019 and 2020 – would be big mistake. It would break the trust of investors and the public in the aviation offsetting system before it has even begun. And it can mean…
COVID-19 and Climate Change Each Require Targeted Treatment and Improved Behavior
We’ll meet the COVID challenge by improving our current treatments and practices, not by either jettisoning them or letting the disease run its course. Here’s how that same logic applies to climate change. “Let’s be more pragmatic: the antidote is here!” My contribution on EcosystemMarketplace
Interview on Ecosystem Marketplace – A New Green Deal For The Netherlands: Will the Dutch Embrace Voluntary Carbon?
Steve Zwick for Ecosystem Marketplace “Several European organsations are experimenting with voluntary carbon markets to drive down greenhouse-gas emissions, often in cooperation with state and federal governments. The Dutch effort is called the “Green Deal”, and proponent Jos Cozijnsen hopes “to make it work by making carbon trading fun.” 30 January 2018 | UTRECHT |…
Testing a Dutch non-ETS CO2 market mechanism
As was announced at the National Climate Summit in October 2016 “Bring Paris Home”: the “Green Deal Pilot National Carbon Market” will now be signed in The Hague on 11 May. Signatories are by Environment Minister Sharon Dijksma and 16 market participants, ranging from environmental federations, local climate funds and ‘Natuurmonumenten’ to Essent, Energy and…
CO2 Auction floor price: good for energy transition & industry
Member States should ask the Commission to propose an auction floor price. To achieve the agreed EU CO2 targets for the emissions trading sector (11.000 sites), the level of the CO2 price does not seem to matter; it is based on demand and supply. However, because the EU has other goals, such as a rapid…
“Set an EU target for negative CO2 emissions: -20% in 2050 (starting 50% in 2030)
The Paris Agreement requires to have the same amount of global greenhouse gas emissions as reductions by 2050 in order to remain well below 2 degrees warming. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency with IIASA translated this target into carbon budgets (just for CO2). Each year we emit 40 billion tons of CO2. So, we currently…