ETS – ‘Zo haalt EU de doelstellingen van Akkoord van Parijs niet’

1 maart 2017 – Op het compromis van de EU-milieuministers over de emissiehandel om de CO2-uitstoot terug te dringen wordt vanuit de klimaatbeweging niet enthousiast gereageerd. ‘Zo haalt EU de doelstellingen van het Akkoord van Parijs niet’, is de conclusie.

Uit de reactie van Carbon Market Watch
‘(…) The proposed measures will not bring the EU ETS in line with Europe’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.  (…) Dr Agnes Brandt, Senior EU Policy Officer said: “Auctioning, not free handouts, is the default of a ‘polluter pays’ system. Companies have been using free pollution permits as a life support, thereby locking in emissions in Europe. Only smart policies leading to a strong carbon price signal will push industry to innovate and modernise, and guarantee their long-term global competitiveness.” (…) “It is imperative that the final agreement will enable a coalition of the willing countries to jointly implement additional measures, such as the cancellation of allowances. Without complementary and national measures to reduce emissions in Europe, we will not meet our commitment under the Paris agreement.”
As a next step, the European Parliament, the EU Member States and the EU Commission will start informal negotiations, the so called trilogues, to align their positions in order to adopt the final law. (…)’

Uit de reactie van Climate Action Network Europe
‘(…) The outcome, while slightly better than expected, is far too weak to repair the broken scheme or align the EU’s planned emission reductions with the global temperature goals it committed to under the Paris Agreement. (…)  Wendel Trio, Director of CAN Europe said: “Ministers recognized that the Paris Agreement requires scaling up emission cuts. By comparison to where we started the reform process, today’s decision is a small step in the right direction. By comparison to where we should be to stop the climate crisis, this decision is a wasted opportunity. The results are nowhere near to what the EU needs to do turn the ETS into a policy that reduces emissions.”
“Ministers will have to come back to the table soon to revise the ETS again. Within the next few years, the EU will need to revise its pledge under the Paris Agreement. Then EU Member States will have to redo this exercise and ensure a real reform of the ETS to contribute to greater climate action overall.” (…)’

Bronnen
Carbon Market Watch, 28 februari 2017: EU countries take a small step to address carbon market oversupply
Climate Action Network Europe, 28 februari 2017: EU countries propose limited reform of EU climate policy
Illustratie: deel omslag van ‘A Guide to European Climate Policy’ van Carbon Market Watch