In the context of the Paris Agreement, the European Union is increasing its efforts towards decarbonisation. Currently, the EU climate strategy is centred around three emissions reduction targets compared to 1990 levels: a cut of 20% of GHG emissions by 2020, at least 40% by 2030; and an implicit reduction of 80-95% by 2050. These targets have increasingly been put into question, as many stakeholders are pushing the EU to speed up its decarbonisation efforts and embrace the goal of…

This workshop is jointly organised by ERCST and the European Policy Centre. The Paris Agreement sets a clear goal and a direction for the world to become climate neutral in the second half of the century, if it wishes to stop the warming of the planet beyond 1.5-2oC. The European Commission has put forward a proposal for the EU to become climate neutral by 2050, which is one of the foundations of the European Green Deal and is currently under…

The incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced her intention to present an ambitious ‘European Green Deal’, which is expected to be a comprehensive policy package aimed at steering the EU towards becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent. While the exact content and impact of such a Green Deal remain uncertain, it is certain to have strong implications for the EU ETS, for example through an overall increase of the ETS’ contribution to the EU's climate ambition, the inclusion of…

The incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced her intention to present an ambitious ‘European Green Deal’, coupled with a ‘Carbon Border Tax’, early in her mandate. So far, we can only speculate what such a border measure might look like, as few policy details have been released. The ERCST project ‘Border Carbon Adjustments in the EU—Issues and Options’ aims to present a clear picture of the different ways a BCA can be designed and implemented in the…

The EU ETS Directive in its Article 10(5) refers to the fact that the European Commission has to submit each year a report on the functioning of the EU ETS.  Taking stock of the success, or lack thereof, of such an important instrument must be seen as an essential ingredient in ensuring it can deliver, and that it keeps the EU on the path to decarbonisation, while not losing sight of other important considerations, in a world where there will continue…

This meeting is part of an ongoing effort by ERCST to promote a discussion on the review of the Market Stability Reserve (MSR), scheduled in 2021. ERCST has organised several meetings on this topic throughout 2019, and launched its paper “Preparing the review of the Market Stability Reserve” last November 18th. The aim of the paper is to identify the goals and functions of the MSR, and ways for the 2021 review to analyse the performance of the MSR via relevant…