Press releases
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Parliament makes landmark decision for fixing Europe’s carbon market
Today the EU Parliament endorsed an extensive package of reforms to rescue Europe’s carbon market. Today’s package would from 2018 begin tackling the current 2 billion tonne oversupply of carbon allowances and prevent an avalanche of roughly 1.6 billion allowances...
European Commission’s carbon market fix could face ten year setback
In a new report published today, Sandbag finds that the European Commission’s proposal to tackle the oversupply of 2 billion allowances in the EU carbon market, could take a decade to get supply below current levels. download PDF
EU Industry Committee fails to reach agreement on carbon market fix
Today the European Parliament’s Industry Committee (ITRE) failed to reach agreement on the on the Market Stability Reserve (MSR), the Commission’s proposed fix for the oversupplied EU carbon market. This often environmentally conservative committee came very close to...
Environment Committee steps up ambition in amendments to the Market Stability Reserve proposal
The amendments submitted by ENVI MEPs for the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) reached Sandbag on Friday last week. Relative to the ITRE amendmentsthat came out three week ago many of the ENVI amendments represent a welcome step up in terms of environmental...
European Parliament gives cautious first welcome to carbon market reform
How the political groups are aligned: An overview of ITRE committee amendments to the Market Stability Reserve proposal An overview of the amendments tabled in the ITRE committee,[1] often a difficult venue for environmental concerns, reveals that the need for some...
Is Europe's new climate target a walk in the park?
Sandbag responds to the Environment Agency's 2014 Trends and Projections report. Challenging the limited emissions reductions the Agency expects until 2020 and warning that spare carbon allowances amassed in the EU ETS risk scuppering the 2030 climate target newly...
Annual ETS Report Launch: “Carbon Fatcats” feast on ballooning EU emissions rights
Despite radical changes introduced to the European carbon market in 2013, our new report today reveals that hundreds of millions of excess carbon allowances continue to be issued, with a disproportionate share of these being awarded for free to Europe’s “Carbon...
Restarting Europe’s drive for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), a variety of processes for extracting CO2 from large point sources and permanently storing it, has been recognised by the European Commission since the 2008 Impact Assessment as an essential part of Europe’s low carbon pathway. However, since then progress has been slow. The European Commission is currently reviewing progress on CCS and Sandbag has responded.