Examples of climate funding being put to good use in Greece, Portugal and Belgium suggest how revenue from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)…
The long process that was meant to transform the EU’s Emissions Trading System into an effective tool for climate action has culminated in a final deal that will not reduce Europe’s industrial carbon footprint rapidly enough to tackle the climate crisis. The reformed EU ETS lavishes freebies on polluting industries and leaves households and taxpayers with the bill.
Rather than correct course after the European Parliament’s shocking abrogation of responsibility, EU environment ministers have lowered the ambition of the EU ETS even further. Moreover, the Environment Council has offered heavy industry billions in generous freebies while leaving households to pay the bill.
After being recently voted down in the European Parliament, the reform of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) was successfully passed today. But there’s little cause for celebration: while the changes might appear favourable at first glance, a closer look reveals they are simply a minor facelift to the same set of polluter-friendly policies.
In an unexpected turn of events in the European Parliament, a watered-down carbon market package was rejected by a majority of MEPs. The review of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) Directive was referred back to the Environment Committee and will now overlap with Member States finalising their position later this month.
Despite some progress and a number of hardwon victories for the climate, MEPs on the European Parliament’s environment committee failed to raise the ambition of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to a level that would avoid catastrophic temperature rises.
If the European Union does not significantly strengthen its reformed flagship Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), it risks fuelling planetary heating that will exceed 1.5°C and even missing its own inadequate targets, two simulations show. The EU ETS must significantly raise its 2030 targets, lower its emissions faster than planned, and remove surplus allowances from the market.
