The Emissions Trading System reform is in Committee Stage, and a dark comedy has begun. Many of the measures proposed in the Environment (ENVI) committee draft (by Ian Duncan MEP) ironically act against the environment, condemning the EU to an inadequate response to...
Category: ETS
A wake-up call for European emissions targets
In a recent communication responding to the Paris Climate agreement, the European Commission made clear that it does not intend to increase the level of its climate ambition until after 2030. This ignores the clear mandate the Paris Climate agreement provided to...
Bored to tiers: Reforming carbon leakage
This week, Sandbag presented its ‘tiering’ proposal to the Environment Committee shadow rapporteurs meeting on reforming the Emission Trading Scheme. The proposal recommends a way to improve ‘carbon leakage’ protections, with a nifty boost for ambition at the same...
Is it worth it? Federley’s proposal on the Innovation Fund
Update 04/05/16 following full publication of Mr Federley’s proposal The 150 million ETS allowances proposed to be used to top up the Innovation Fund are not destined to be removed the Market Stability Reserve (MSR), as reported in the media (see below). Apologies for...
DATA: Preliminary data shows further fall in ETS emissions
Today preliminary data released on the 12,194 installations in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) show 2015 emissions fell again. Stationary emissions were 1802Mt in 2015 (i.e. excluding aviation), down by 0.6% from 1813Mt in 2014. This is exactly as Sandbag...
ETS funds can break the climate ambition deadlock
See our newest paper “Sharing the Burden – EU ETS Support to Central and Eastern Europe” for detailed policy solutions regarding low-carbon funds in the EU ETS revision. To anybody that follows the post-Paris developments it’s clear that the debate about European...
Calling something a flagship policy doesn’t make it one
On Thursday 19th February, Sandbag's Head of Policy Damien Morris gave evidence to the European Parliament's Environment Committee (ENVI) on fixing the Emissions Trading Scheme. You can watch his opening speech here, or read the speech below. I want to start by...
Record increase in renewables, but only a small fall in emissions
New analysis by Sandbag looks at the 2015 power sector in Europe. The data shows that 2015 saw a record increase in renewables generation, equal to 2.5% of European electricity demand. But despite this, power sector CO2 emissions are expected to fall by only about...
Carbon costs for the Steel Sector are not as high as feared
A recent report by the consultancy Ecofys for the European steel association Eurofer suggests steel companies face costs of €28/tonne of steel to comply with ETS obligations by 2030. However, at Sandbag we are sceptical that the proposed revision to the Emissions...
As Paris approaches, an easy route to increased EU climate ambition
As pressure mounts on leaders to reach a new global climate change agreement this December, European policymakers have begun the process of constructing laws that will enforce Europe’s emissions cuts out to 2030. In July, the European Commission released a first major...