Published: Less than 40 min ago
The EU’s announcement on new rules for emissions trading is welcomed by environmental organisations. But also receives criticism for not being enough.
Johanna Sandahl, the chairperson of the Nature Conservation Association, thinks it is good that the negotiations are on target and that there is a framework.
– But unfortunately, the level of ambition is not in line with what is required according to the Paris Agreement and for the world to reach the 1.5 degree target. We are in the middle of a climate crisis and the measures need to be much more powerful.
She points out that the rate of reduction with a goal of reducing emissions by 62 percent is too slow and that the measures will not take full effect for more than a decade.
– We would have liked to see a goal of 70 percent emission reductions by 2030. And of course we would have liked to see a much earlier stop to the free allocation of emission rights to industry.
– One positive thing is that it looks like the revenue from the actual auctioning of emission rights is now expected to be invested in climate measures.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) also does not think the agreement goes all the way and agrees with the opinion that emissions trading must be reduced by at least 70 percent by 2030.
The organization also believes that free allocation of emission rights should end as soon as possible.
“The fact that companies with high greenhouse gas emissions receive emission allowances for free means a competitive disadvantage for companies that have invested in climate-smart technology. It counteracts technology shifts and thus delays the climate transition,” says David Mjureke, senior advisor at WWF, in a press release.