ERCST

The principle of technological neutrality and hydrogen incentives
2022-10-27 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | ERCST Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
This event was selected as a side event within the European Hydrogen week 2022.
While the focus of the European Commission Hydrogen Strategy clearly lies on renewable hydrogen, the strategy acknowledges that in the short and medium term, other forms of low-carbon hydrogen are needed to rapidly reduce emissions from existing hydrogen production and support the parallel and future uptake of renewable hydrogen. In a similar approach, the REPowerEU communication mentions that to achieve 10 million tons of EU renewable hydrogen domestic production, other forms of fossil-free hydrogen, notably nuclear-based are needed.
Most of the different building blocks of the hydrogen regulatory framework were already presented in various parts of the Fit for 55 package and the hydrogen and decarbonized gas market package. However, the translation of the policy vision for low-carbon hydrogen portrayed in the strategy and REPowerEU into the proposals is still not complete. As an example, the European Commission has left the key elements of the low-carbon hydrogen definition for secondary legislation (to be proposed by 2024).
This meeting assessed three main questions:

Is it possible to ramp-up the EU-hydrogen economy without the contribution of low-carbon hydrogen?
Would a technology neutral approach to incentives based on the carbon footprint of the hydrogen produced favor the ramp-up of the EU hydrogen economy?
How could the demand side of the hydrogen market be supported in decarbonizing at affordable prices considering the current energy crisis?|

Agenda Recording ERCST Slides

ERCST x WEF: Scenarios and Strategies for Carbon Competitiveness
2022-10-26 13:30 - 15:00 UTC | ERCST Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
This meeting is by invitation only. If you are interested in attending, please contact bdegraeve@ercst.org.
This Roundtable on Scenarios and Strategies for Carbon Competitiveness is to be held on Wednesday 26 October, 13.30-15.00 CEST, at the ERCST Offices (Rue Archimède 61, 1000 Brussels). The roundtable is co-convened by the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition (ERCST) and the World Economic Forum.
The discussion will focus on the relationship between carbon pricing and trade. As carbon pricing instruments grow worldwide, so too has interest in border carbon adjustments (BCAs), as a policy tool to mitigate carbon leakage. An energy crisis, particularly in Europe, is also setting a new context for industrial competitiveness that will affect the climate action agenda. It is not clear, at the moment, how or where governments will choose to address BCAs and/or carbon leakage in international or regional forums.
Participants will work through a set of four possible future scenarios on carbon pricing and trade to reflect on these policy interactions and potential developments. The conversation will then focus on actions different actors – both public and private – could take to reach one scenario versus another.
The roundtable is held off the record to allow for a frank exchange. It will inform further work in this area from both convening organisations – including at COP27 in November.
Workshop materials:
Draft Agenda

The matrix: sustainable reporting requirements
2022-10-26 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | ERCST, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
This workstream aims to bring together stakeholders and policymakers regularly to discuss substantive issues around hydrogen, informed by original intellectual input from ERCST.
For more than 20 years, the market has developed multiple reporting tools in response to the demand from investors for identifying which investments and economic activities can be seen as “sustainable”.
In 2020 the EU Taxonomy was introduced by the EU institutions as a flagship project of the sustainable finance strategy. It is meant to be an obligatory reporting tool to drive the flow of investment and give guidance to investors on economic activities that significantly contribute to the environmental objectives.
At the same time, there is an ongoing expansion of other sustainability reporting requirements through other pieces of legislation: Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), EFRAG standards, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD) and amended Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFRD).
Businesses increasingly understand the need to communicate with investors and the wider public about the climate and environmental risks and how undertakings want to transform toward a sustainable economy. However, navigating the matrix of reporting becomes a challenge and the resources needed to comply are growing. The balance must be kept between the genuine need for information, the burden behind its collection and its usefulness for the users – the complexity does not necessarily mean clarity.
This event aimed at identifying the challenges, complementarity, overlaps, missing elements and the best way forward in the sustainability reporting framework.
Agenda ERCST Slides

ETS Revision for Phase IV. The EU ETS under trilogues
2022-10-25 16:00 - 17:30 (Europe/Helsinki) | ERCST Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
The ETS has emerged as the backbone of the EU Climate Action and, especially in the last two years, as a crucial driver of decarbonisation. The Commission proposal to review the EU ETS Directive aims at aligning the emissions pathway of the ETS sectors with the new EU climate targets. Throughout the next decade, the ETS is required to both enable a deep decarbonisation of the power sector and to tackle industry’s emissions, while avoiding carbon leakage.
The ENVI Committee adopted on 22 June their position on the file ahead of the beginning of the trilogues while the Council adopted it on 28 June. Interinstitutional negotiations began on 11 July.
Following the introduction of EU high level authorities, the roundtable discussed key takeaways from the current EU ETS state of play under trilogues and provided an opportunity to exchange views on the on-going negotiation process.
Agenda Recording

Roundtable: Review of the EU ETS: Financial actors, ETS2 & compensation
2022-10-18 10:30 - 12:30 (Europe/Paris)
The EU ETS is considered one of the cornerstones of the EU’s climate policy. While it has been faced by many issues, the ETS has increasingly proven to be ‘fit for purpose’ in recent years. Today, the EU ETS stands at the dawn of a new revision process, which will have to ensure that it helps delivering on the European Green Deal in an economically efficient way. The EU ETS Revision was adopted on 14 July 2022 as part of the Fit for 55 Package, while the European Parliament and Council position were adopted on 22 and 28 June respectively. Trilogues started in September with the objective to achieve a final text to be implemented in 2023. Despite a number of meetings taking place, some issues are still pending.
ERCST presented its views, which was followed by two sessions, each kicked-off with a 5 mins per ice-breaker initial intervention, followed by an open roundtable discussion with participants. This follow up brainstorm session meant to bring together a small group of stakeholders to discuss the sensitive issues leading the negotiation under trilogues, including:

The role of financial and compliance entities in the carbon market.
The extension of carbon pricing to road buildings and transport.
The interlinkage between the EU ETS & CBAM and its impact on the compensation schemes: free allocation and indirect cost compensation.

Agenda ERCST Slides Fuels Europe Slides

External Event: Andrei Marcu speaks at Carbon Forward Conference 2022
2022-10-12 08:00 - 2022-10-14 17:00 UTC | The Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4BS, United Kingdom
Our Executive Director Andrei Marcu attended the Carbon Forward Conference as a speaker.
The Carbon Forward Conference is a conference on environmental markets where policy makers, analysts, industrials and many more get together.
The conference took place in London. More information about the conference can be found on the website of the Carbon Forward Conference 2022.

Expert Consultation: CBAM: Different Approaches and Evolving Circumstances
2022-10-11 15:00 - 16:30 UTC
One of the most critically important issues concerning CBAM, yet to be resolved, is the question of how to compare the level of effort in third countries’ climate policies to that of the EU, in order to determine crediting against the CBAM. The US, for example, has embarked on a suite of transformational climate-related initiatives under its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), but employing subsidies rather than pricing.
The IRA is a particularly salient example of evolving circumstances that invite further thinking about the CBAM’s elaboration and implementation. As well as the question of whether to credit for equivalent effort, the IRA’s heavy subsidization may have relevance for the CBAM’s design in the area of export rebates, timeline of implementation, and roll-back of free allocation.
Other current events also have relevance. Many European industrial sectors were already struggling with long-term competitive challenges but are now also facing unprecedented costs because of the Russia-Ukraine war and longer-standing supply chain disruptions. Are these evolving challenges grounds for rethinking aspects of CBAM, or for an increasing focus on parallel supporting industrial policies?
Considering these policy questions, this roundtable discussion brought together global experts in the areas of economics, law, and policy to assess existing proposals of how to treat non-pricing policies in the EU CBAM.
Agenda

External Event: Andrei Marcu speaks at IEA-IETA-EPRI GHG Emissions Trading Workshop
2022-10-04 17:15 - 18:45 UTC | IEA Headquarters, Rue de la Fédération 9, Paris, 75015, France
Our Executive Director Andrei Marcu spoke on Panel 2 of the Annual IEA-IETA-EPRI GHG Emissions Trading Workshop in Paris. The panel concerned International Competitiveness and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAM).
You can find more information about the event on the website of the IEA.

Green bonds – State of play. What is in it for transition?
2022-09-29 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | ERCST, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
The Green Bond Standard is the flagship financial instrument incorporating the EU Taxonomy. After the Council and the European Parliament adopted their positions, its status is entering a new phase, the inter-institutional negotiations. It is a good moment to take stock of the different policy aspects related to green bonds: relation with the Taxonomy, the skyrocketing demand for “sustainable” bonds and their role in financing the transition of businesses.
The linkage of the EU green bonds standards with the Taxonomy caused political turbulences reflecting its controversial nature and difficult discussion over the inclusion of gas and nuclear energy into the Taxonomy. This was the reason behind the opposition of some Member States and MEPs to the new green bonds standard. Another source of controversy is the degree of alignment with the Taxonomy and the overall level of requirements. The Council allowed a 20% pocket for non-Taxonomy-related investments. The European Parliament wants much stricter rules applicable to the EU green bond standard, including restrictions for doing business in tax havens. These negotiations reflect the need to find a balance between the desire to create the golden standard of the highest purity and the instrument of business reality.
This event aimed at taking stock of the EU Green Bonds initiative and identifying the challenges and opportunities related to this instrument in the context of financing the transition.
Agenda ERCST Slides ERCST Publication

Border Carbon Adjustment in the EU: Launch of Report on International Cooperation on BCAs/CBAM
2022-09-28 15:00 - 17:00 UTC
One of the crunch issues in the debate on the EU CBAM is the question of international cooperation on and around the CBAM. A prominent feature here are proposals of forming a carbon club or carbon alliance of countries implementing carbon pricing. In this scenario, a BCA could act as an incentive to other countries to join. But suggestions for other forms of carbon clubs or international cooperation have been made as well, with an emphasis on inclusivity and mutual aid.
In view of the upcoming COP27 in in Sharm el-Sheikh, the ERCST Team presented its report on international cooperation around the CBAM and discussed its analysis with experts.
Agenda ERCST Slides Recording ERCST Report

EU Energy Transition with Energy Security
2022-09-21 16:00 - 17:30 UTC | Residence Palace, Wetstraat 155, Bruxelles, 1040, Belgium
This event offered an opportunity to discuss and debate how to address two critical issues for future European prosperity: the transition to a clean energy matrix and energy security.
With the European Green Deal and the RePower EU packages providing the vision of a green EU economy, and the Fit for 55 package entering the trilogue phase of the legislative process, the EU is currently experiencing energy scarcity and high energy prices.
This has already sparked a strong debate on the ways and means necessary to ensure that this transition is sustainable, and that the three dimensions of sustainable development, economic, environment and social, evolve in a harmonious way.
Agenda Recording

Hydrogen: State of play of the regulatory framework
2022-09-21 14:00 - 16:00 UTC | ERCST Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
This meeting intends to focus on key pieces of legislation (i.e. revision of the RED and the recently proposed RED Delegated Acts, the hydrogen and decarbonized gas market package, the EU ETS and CBAM).
This meeting will start with a presentation by ERCST, outlining some of the key developments in the hydrogen regulatory framework in the previous months as well as identifying missing pieces and addressing those elements where there is still room for improvement. ERCST presentation, which will include some recommendations for the policy maker, will be followed by a panel discussion where speakers are expected to address the following questions. (5-7 mins per speaker):

Is the proposed regulatory framework ready to at the same time deliver the ramp-up of the EU H2 economy and respond to the current energy crisis?
Does the proposed regulatory framework foster the competitiveness of the EU hydrogen economy Vis-à-vis third countries such as the USA?
What is missing and what could be improved?

Agenda ERCST Slides

The State of the European Green Deal: Quo vadis EGD?
2022-09-16 14:00 - 16:00 UTC | online
This meeting is part of a series of events organized by ERCST on the European Green Deal. This workstream aims to bring together policymakers and stakeholders on a regular basis to take stock of current developments in the EGD framework.
Since the the publication of the Fit for 55 proposals in July 2021, the legislative process is entering a crucial phase. The co-legislators advanced their positions on many key dossiers and are getting ready to enter the inter-institutional negotiations.
However, geopolitical developments led to modifications of the initial proposals which spilled over to the key EGD files as portrayed in the REPowerEU plan. On the other hand, the voting on some files in the European Parliament – for example on the EU ETS and on inclusion of nuclear energy and gas in the Taxonomy – or the negotiations in the EU Council show the polarisation of views and how complex these discussions are.
This meeting intended to assess those developments and whether the EU institutions are succeeding in striking the right balance between the economic, social and climate aspects of a successful and sustainable transition.
Agenda ERCST Slides

CBAM Global Townhall 2022 - Session 3: Carbon Clubs and International Cooperation on CBAM/BCAs
2022-09-13 16:00 - 18:00 UTC
On the global stage, countries have been reacting to the developments surrounding the EU CBAM, and we can expect to see some follow suit. Ideally, there would be international coordination of these emerging policies; they have high-stakes implications for international trade, international equity, and climate diplomacy. Some have suggested that BCAs could be an essential element of “climate clubs” or “climate alliances”, acting both as a common tariff-like wall, and as incentive to join. Others have called for international agreement on principles and best practice. Consequently, the exact role of the CBAM on the international arena remains a subject of debate, even as the EU process moves forward.
This session, convened by ERCST on the basis of its extensive work on the EU CBAM, brought together global thought leaders on international climate cooperation, CBAM, and climate clubs to discuss current developments and promising options moving forward.
Draft Agenda ERCST Slides Recording

ETS Revision for Phase IV. The EU ETS under trilogues
2022-09-13 10:30 - 12:00 UTC | ERCST Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
The ETS has emerged as the backbone of the EU Climate Action and, especially in the last two years, as a crucial driver of decarbonisation. The Commission proposal to review the EU ETS Directive aims at aligning the emissions pathway of the ETS sectors with the new EU climate targets. Throughout the next decade, the ETS is required to both enable a deep decarbonisation of the power sector and to tackle industry’s emissions, while avoiding carbon leakage.
The roundtable discussed key takeaways from the current EU ETS state of play and provided an opportunity to exchange views on the negotiation process. The presentation of the main elements of the EU ETS State of Play was followed by a 5-minute initial intervention per speaker, and by a discussion with relevant stakeholders intending to encourage a debate on the following questions:

Is setting a cap on carbon price an effective measure under the current context of high prices of electricity and gas?
What should be the role of compliant and non-compliant entities in the EU Carbon market?
What is your opinion about using the revenues from the EU ETS to finance RePower EU?
How do you foresee the extension of carbon pricing to road transport and building?

Agenda Recording

Border Carbon Adjustment in the EU: Launch of Report on Indirect Emissions in the EU CBAM
2022-07-05 14:00 - 16:00 UTC
Since 2019, ERCST has built up solid experience on BCAs and carbon leakage issues in the EU context. The ERCST Team has accompanied the CBAM file from its earliest stages in the legislative process, providing analytical input to the discussion on BCAs and fostering an informed debate with domestic and international stakeholders.
One of the crunch issues identified by ERCST is the inclusion of indirect (scope 2) emissions in the scope of the CBAM. The Commission proposal only includes direct emissions under the CBAM, but the Parliament is backing the inclusion of indirect emissions from the start. With the Council supporting the Commission proposal, but qualifying onsite electricity production by manufacturers as direct emissions, the trilogue negotiations will have to resolve these inconsistencies.
At this event, the ERCST presented an analysis of the reasons which speak both for and against the inclusion of indirect emissions, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the different options if indirect emissions are to be included.
Agenda ERCST Slides ERCST Publication Recording

Hydrogen and the RED Delegated Acts
2022-06-23 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | ERCST, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
On May 20th the European Commission published two delegated acts which are essential to complete the definition of RFNBOs (Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin) and hence to determine the role renewable hydrogen will play in EU decarbonization. In concrete:

Delegated act on the methodology setting out the rules for the production of RFNBOs.
Delegated act on the methodology to assess the GHG emissions of RFNBOs and recycled carbon fuels.

The deadline to provide feedback to the proposals was opened until June 17th .
We therefore gathered a small group of experts to discuss the proposals from different angles and perspectives. We also assessed whether the delegated acts are coherent with the proposed regulatory framework in the Fit for 55 proposals and the Repower EU plan.
The meeting started with a presentation by ERCST where we presented our views on the topic and was followed by the contribution of three icebreakers and a substantive discussion with attendees.
Agenda ERCST Slides EUROFER Slides Slides Additionality ERCST Publication

Nuclear energy and gas in the EU Taxonomy
2022-06-20 14:00 - 16:00 UTC | ERCST, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
The EU Taxonomy was introduced in 2020 as a reporting tool. The declared goal of Taxonomy is to direct the flow of private capital to finance transition towards climate neutrality. It is a flagship project of the sustainable finance strategy adopted by the European Commission as a part of the European Green Deal.
The Taxonomy, being a product of the regulation – not of market participants – became a label provoking political tensions. Using this label to describe economic activities became a matter of principle, rather than a market instrument. The illustration of this phenomenon is the political debate about qualifying gas and nuclear energy as “sustainable” activities under the Taxonomy.
By July 2022, the European Parliament formally reacted to the Complementary Delegated Act (CDA) which, under some conditions, qualifies gas and the nuclear energy as “green” activities.
The panelists explored the subject-matter along those guiding questions:

How the geopolitical situation affects the role of gas and nuclear energy in the climate transition?
How the CDA will affect the access to finance for gas and nuclear energy projects?
Is there an impact on renewables?

Agenda ERCST Slides

"Crunch issues" in the hydrogen and gas Directive
2022-05-30 15:00 - 17:00 UTC | online
This meeting intended to shed more light on some key issues in the, back then, proposed Hydrogen and Gas Directive. Namely: the definition for low carbon hydrogen, the regulatory principles for third-party access and the alignment of the proposal with the energy system integration strategy.
This meeting intended to have a substantive discussion on a number of issues:

How could the Directive help hydrogen to be used where is needed the most?

Is the proposed Directive aligned with the energy sector integration strategy?

How could the definition for low-carbon hydrogen be improved? In concrete:

What is the emissions’ scope and the fossil fuel comparator that should be used when defining low-carbon hydrogen?
How could Methane leakage be incorporated into the definition?

Does the proposed regulation on third-party access foster or hinder the development of a hydrogen economy in the EU?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of negotiated third party access until 2030?

Agenda ERCST Slides

EU-Turkey Climate Policy Dialogue: Policy Vision Roadmap for Civil Society
2022-05-24 09:00 - 14:00 UTC | Mövenpick Hotel, Mövenpick Hotel, Ankara, 06560, Turkey
This workshop is part of the project EU – Turkey Climate Policy Dialogue, financed by the European Union within the scope of the Civil Society Dialogue Programme between EU and Turkey, coordinated by the Directorate for EU Affairs.
The aim of this workshop is to present the Policy Vision Roadmap for Civil Society. The roadmap represents the outcome of the projects’ activities and dialogue between European and Turkish civil society which has been established during the past year.
The workshop began with a keynote speech by the Turkish authorities, after which a high-level overview of the climate policy developments in Turkey and the EU and the role of civil society in its development were provided by the invited experts.
These interventions set the floor for the main presentation of the Policy Vision Roadmap for Civil Society by the project team and the interactive panel discussion on the future and role of Civil Society in furthering climate policy. Finally, the moderator opened the floor for a roundtable discussion with other attendees.
Agenda ERCST Slides Policy Vision Roadmap EN Policy Vision Roadmap TR Recording

State of the EU Green Deal, the climate dimension of REPowerEU
2022-05-19 14:00 - 16:00 UTC
This meeting was part of a series organized by ERCST on the European Green Deal, which started on 8 January 2020 right after the European Commission’s EGD was announced. This work stream aims to bring together policymakers and stakeholders on a regular basis to take stock of recent developments in the EGD framework.
The climate and environmental policies have had an increasing impact on the EU economy. Environmental and climate policies, by setting the trajectory of the energy transition, shape key components of the EU energy system.
During this meeting we assessed the ideas put forward by the Commission from the climate policy perspective, namely to what extent the measures outlined in the REPowerEU Communication represent the most cost efficient way to reduce emissions and meet the EU climate ambitions. We encouraged panelists to provide their views on the following questions:

Is the REPowerEU Communication coherent with the long-term EU climate ambition?
To what extent do the ideas outlined in the REPowerEU Communication represent the most cost-efficient way to reduce emissions?
What is the role nuclear energy or carbon removal technologies should play in decreasing dependency from Russia?

Agenda

CBAM Global Townhall 2022
2022-05-18 15:00 - 17:00 UTC
The European Commission has put forward a proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which is the subject of ongoing discussions in the European Parliament and the Council. The lead committee on the CBAM in the European Parliament, ENVI, is voting on the final set of amendments on May 17th. This is a decisive moment for the CBAM on the European stage.
On the global stage, other countries have been reacting to these developments. Some have suggested that BCAs could be an essential element of “climate clubs”, acting both as a common tariff-like wall, and as incentive to join. Others have called for international agreement on principles and best practice. Consequently, the exact role of the CBAM on the international arena remains a subject of debate, even as the EU process moves forward.
No matter what the final shape and role of the CBAM, if it is to be successful, concerns about circumvention need to be allayed. This session, convened by ERCST on the basis of its extensive work on the EU CBAM, will bring together global thought leaders that have explore these critical aspects of CBAM/BCA, unpacking the proposals and considering the options.

ERCST’s work on border carbon adjustment in the EU is made possible by support from CEFIC, EBRD, EdF, Enel, Eurofer, Eurmetaux, ExxonMobil, Fertilizers Europe, the Government of France, the Government of Germany, and MetInvest

Agenda ERCST Slides ENVI vote ERCST Slides Circumvention Recording

2022 State of the EU ETS Report - Launch Webinar
2022-05-05 10:00 - 11:30 UTC | online
The 2022 State of the EU ETS Report is a joint effort between ERCST, BloombergNEF, the Wegener Centre for climate and global change at the University of Graz and EcoAct.
During this webinar the 2022 State of the EU ETS Report was presented by the authors and discussed by commentators. This will be the seventh annual report on the State of the EU ETS. The 2022 edition is available through this link.
The European Commission is required to annually assess, according to the EU ETS Directive, the functioning of the EU ETS and report back to the EU Parliament and Council. On 26 October 2021, the European Commission released its annual “Report on the functioning of the European carbon market”.
The annual “State of the EU ETS” Report aims to provide an independent contribution to the policy debate, which is needed to ensure that the EU ETS is “fit for purpose”. The Report is intended as a “snapshot”, providing policymakers and stakeholders with an overview of how the EU ETS is doing by April of each year, based on previous year data.
This webinar covered the 2022 Report. It reflected on the track record of the ETS in Phase III and first year of Phase IV, ahead of the upcoming negotiation process and its expected impact on the EU ETS, and the role the ETS is expected to play in the longer term.
Agenda Universität Hamburg Slides ERCST Publication Recording

Designing Carbon Contracts for Difference
2022-04-28 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | ERCST, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
This workstream aims to bring together stakeholders, including policymakers and industry on a regular basis to discuss substantive issues around this topic, informed by original intellectual input from ERCST.
CCfDs are discussed as one of the most promising alternatives to foster the deployment of low-carbon industrial technologies. However, it is still uncertain how CCfDs can be part of the policy mix towards decarbonization.
This meeting started with a presentation by ERCST of the results of a survey carried out among relevant stakeholders aimed to:

Feel stakeholders’ pulse with regards to CCfDs’ rationale and purpose.
Provide further guidance on CCfDs’ key design and implementation features.

ERCST’s presentation also provided an overview of the vision outlined by several member states, with particular emphasis on Germany, France and the UK.
This was followed by a panel discussion geared towards assessing and commenting on the survey’s results.
Agenda ERCST Slides EC Slides Carbon Engineering Slides Agora Slides

The International Dimension of Hydrogen
2022-04-27 14:00 - 16:00 UTC | ERCST, Rue Archimède 61, Bruxelles, 1000, Belgium
This workstream aims to bring together stakeholders, including policymakers and industry on a regular basis to discuss substantive issues around the topic of hydrogen, informed by original intellectual input from ERCST.
ERCST has accompanied EU institutions and stakeholders in the different stages of the hydrogen regulatory process, identifying missing pieces and shedding more light on issues that needed further clarification.
Now, after having focused on the EU hydrogen policy and regulatory sphere, this event launched ERCST research activities on the international dimension of hydrogen.
This meeting started with a presentation by ERCST, outlining some of the key aspects that shape the international dimension of hydrogen and that may have an impact on the EU hydrogen economy. ERCST presentation was followed by a panel discussion that intended to encourage a discussion on the following questions:

To what extent does the EU need to import hydrogen?
Do we endanger EU industry by supporting hydrogen production in third countries?
How will the landscape in terms of hydrogen global production look like in the future?
Should CBAM cover hydrogen imports? Why yes, why not.

Agenda ERCST Slides ERCST Publication

2022 State of the EU ETS Report - Launch
2022-04-26 14:00 - 16:00 UTC | University Foundation, Rue d’Egmont, 11, Brussels, 1000, Belgium
This was the launch event of the 2022 State of the EU ETS Report. During this event, the report was presented by the authors and discussed by commentators. This was the seventh annual report on the State of the EU ETS. The 2021 edition is available through this link.
The European Commission is required to annually assess, according to the EU ETS Directive, the functioning of the EU ETS and report back to the EU Parliament and Council. On 26 October 2021, the European Commission released its annual “Report on the functioning of the European carbon market”.
The annual “State of the EU ETS” Report aims to provide such an independent contribution to the policy debate, which is needed to ensure that the EU ETS is “fit for purpose”. The Report is intended as a “snapshot”, providing policymakers and stakeholders with an overview of how the EU ETS is doing by April of each year, based on previous year data.
This event covered the 2022 Report. This edition reflected on the track record of the ETS in Phase III and first year of Phase IV, ahead of the upcoming negotiation process, its expected impact on the EU ETS, and the role the ETS is expected to play in the longer term.
Agenda ERCST Slides ERCST Publication

Informal Forum on Implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement-April 2022
2022-04-20 - 2022-04-22
The dialogue aimed to create an informal atmosphere where the main objective is to explore, discover, explain and understand different points of view related to the issues in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. That is, to understand the options available to define rules, modalities, and procedures on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the consequences of adopting each option.
This dialogue, by invitation only, intended to bring together 40 to 50 negotiators from around the world including Italy, Finland, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia etc.
Agenda

Roundtable on Just Transition Framework
2022-04-19 14:00 - 15:45 UTC | online
As part of the Just Transition workstream, the ERCST team has decided to explore and put together a preliminary framework to assess the social impacts of the transition and provide guidance on how to develop a vision for a just transition that will, in turn, translate into concrete actions. The framework entailed mainly three parts: 1) the principles for a JT, 2) a set of indicators to measure the social impacts of the transition and 3) guidance on how to build a JT strategy based on the impacts analysis.
Acknowledging the fact that a just transition is not a fixed set of rules, this framework aims to provide guidance and support to assess the current situation and build a vision and a process for a Just Transition. With this work, ERCST helped the research and policy community to shape their agendas towards a fair and just transition.
The aim of the roundtable meeting is to initiate a discussion and gather your views on the initiative. During the roundtable, ERCST shared a presentation highlighting the existing principles, guidelines, frameworks, and tools for JT and then presented the ideas for the ERCST framework. Interventions from the Wuppertal Institute, EPRI and SEI followed, preparing the terrain to have an open discussion.
Agenda ERCST Publication

The impact of commodity prices on energy transition and regulatory framework
2022-04-06 10:45 - 12:45 (Europe/Paris) | online
This event is part of a ERCST series which tales the state of play of the debate in energy prices after the release of the EC toolbox and REPowerEU Communication as well as looking forward to the direct EC framework. Stocktaking on Council discussions and following the previous event on “Electricity prices in the EU” hosted by the ERCST in October 2021, this time ERCST aimed to encourage a discussion on the following questions:
Session 1

In a rapidly evolving context what are the main drivers of high gas and electricity prices and what is the outlook?

Session 2

How to make sure REPowerEU is able to conciliate the growing tension of keeping energy prices low, accelerating decarbonisation and guarantying need investments and security of supply?
What short term and long-term solutions could be effectively implemented to tackle the current energy crisis.

Final Agenda Cerame-Unie Slides Recording

EXTERNAL EVENT: CEPR Research and Policy Network on Climate Change
2022-03-21 17:00 - 19:00 UTC
On the 21st of March, Andrei Marcu, Executive Director of ERCST, spoke at the CEPR Research and Policy Network on Climate Change, Hybrid Webinar ‘Economics of Border Adjustments’.
Agenda Recording
