Blog posts
Times of change for the EU ETS: Sandbag’s feedback on the upcoming revision
In just one month, Phase IV of the EU ETS will start, bringing in many changes that were negotiated during past revisions of Europe’s carbon market. But even more changes are coming down the line, as the European Commission gets ready to present another EU ETS...
Sustainable Products Initiative: circularity requirements to drive industrial decarbonisation
When the European Commission launched the Circular Economy Action Plan in March 2020, it contained many ambitions to be worked out in future legislative projects. One of these is the Sustainable Products Initiative, which has the mammoth task of making the multitude...
Carbon Border Adjustments in the EU: who, what, when, why and how?
The public consultation on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is coming to a close. The European Commission has been collecting stakeholder opinions on one of its most talked-about policy projects: ensuring that imports to the EU are subject to the same carbon...
Just Transition Fund: Moment of truth for European Parliament’s climate ambition
Sandbag has joined 64 civil society organisations from across Europe, calling on Members of the European Parliament to protect the integrity of the Just Transition Fund. This fund is intended to help EU Member States finance their transition to climate neutrality by...
EU ETS for aviation: on course for climate neutrality?
As the EU aims for climate neutrality by 2050, the aviation sector is lagging far behind in terms of climate action. Greenhouse gas emissions from aviation are increasing rapidly, and the sector receives many tax exemptions and state subsidies. Within Europe, the main...
Building the Transition: Sandbag’s Response to the Review of the Construction Products Regulation
The European Green Deal lays out a list of EU policies and legislation that need to be updated and brought in line with the 2050 climate neutrality goal. One of these is the Construction Products Regulation, governing building materials which often have very...
2020 Industrial Relaunch
This report has been informed by a call for evidence conducted by Sandbag between October 2019 – January 2020 and builds on Sandbag’s previous work on industrial emissions policy. It follows on from Sandbag’s report on Barriers to Industrial Decarbonisation, published...
Is the EU ETS going to pass the novel coronavirus test?
The EU ETS Phase II (2008-2012) was badly affected by an economic crisis of historical proportions which saw a massive drop in demand for allowances on the carbon market. This put a shock in the ETS system and the carbon price dropped from 30 EUR/t in 2008 to the...