ETS reform proposal disregards the Paris Agreement

Climate action

Member of the European Parliament in charge of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) reform file for the Parliament’s Environment Committee, Ian Duncan has just released his draft proposal for the reform of the ETS after 2020.

Commenting on the draft proposal, Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network Europe said:

“We are disappointed that earlier suggestions to increase ambition in the ETS have not been included in the final text of the report.

The report disregards the success of the Paris Agreement. It pays lip service to the Paris Agreement, while locking in a weak target and reduction path until at least 2023 and not addressing the huge surplus of pollution permits that is accumulating.

The Paris Agreement is a game changer and requires an immediate increase of the level of ambition in the ETS. The current ETS reform proposal will not ensure policy coherence between EU’s domestic and international climate commitments.

The report protects the most polluting industries and fails to suggest the substantial reforms that can turn the ETS from a paper tiger to a climate champion. Without real reforms the ETS will remain irrelevant in the process to transform the EU countries into low-carbon economies.

Now is the time to fix the ETS to ensure Europe lives up to their promises made in Paris. That means cancelling surplus allowances, raising the linear reduction factor and ending free pollution permits for industries that are not at risk of carbon leakage.”

ENDS

Contact:

Ania Drazkiewicz, CAN Europe Communications Coordinator, ania@caneurope.org, +32 494 525 738
Wendel Trio, CAN Europe Director, wendel@caneurope.org, +32 473 170 887

Notes:

Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe’s largest coalition working on climate and energy issues. With over 130 member organisations in more than 30 European countries – representing over 44 million citizens – CAN Europe works to prevent dangerous climate change and promote sustainable climate and energy policy in Europe.

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