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Carbon Trading: Press Releases

Europe cannot drill its way to a low-carbon economy, say climate justice groups

This press release warns that EU leaders' discussions about how to lower energy prices and ‘improve’ European industrial competitiveness must not be a smoke-screen for furthering fossil fuel extraction including shale gas.

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PR_May22_EnergySummit.pdf20.03 KB

NGO report busts the myths of the Emissions Trading Scheme

This press release European Parliament was launched in advance of a vote on the European Commission's proposal to backload 900 million emissions permits within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). This vote assumes the EU ETS can be reformed, but ahead of the vote, a new report shows that the problems of the EU ETS are systemic and unresolvable. Keeping this failed system in place would further delay real action to reduce emissions in Europe.

FERN launches new trilingual carbon trading blog

Not a day goes by without more evidence of failed carbon offsets, fraud and crime, and windfall profits for the industries who were meant to be penalised by putting a price on carbon. Even market actors are losing interest, and record numbers of carbon-trading desks are closing shop. As stories abound of carbon trading failure, this briefing note heralds the launch of FERN's new trilingual blog – in English, French and Portuguese - which will become a hub for critical carbon trading news and analysis.Log on at: www.fern.org/book/trading-carbon Follow the latest news on Twitter: @Tradingcarbon

It is time for the EU to scrap its carbon emissions trading system

This press release accompanies a joint declaration by more than 90 organisations, networks and movements from all over the world. 'It is Time to Scrap the ETS' lists the structural flaws of the ETS and the risks of trying to fix it. The organisations supporting this declaration conclude: “It is time to stop fixating on ‘price’as a driver for change. We need to scrap the EU ETS and implement effective and fair climate policies by making the necessary transition away from fossil fuel dependency.”

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Scrap_ETS_Press_Release_18Feb.pdf23.92 KB

European Commission’s Communication could save us from the first big carbon (market) crash

The new European Commission's 'Communication on addressing the challenges of deforestation' takes a strong and welcome stand against the inclusion of forests in the ETS. FERN, Global Witness and leading economists, financiers and other NGOs have real concerns about the ability of carbon markets to halt climate change. Their capacity to halt deforestation is also widely contested.

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OPEN122.5 KB

Human rights abuses, land conflicts, broken promises

A new report by WRM of carbon offset projects in Uganda shows a string of human rights abuses linked with carbon trading and that carbon projects undermine development.
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OPEN166.5 KB

Bad for the South, bad for the North, and bad for the climate

New Book Exposes Flaws of Carbon Trading. The book is published by Sweden’s Dag Hammarskjold Foundation together with the international Durban Group for Climate Justice and the UK-based NGO The Corner House.

This is the most absurd and impossible market human civilization has ever seen,’ said Indian activist and researcher Soumitra Ghosh, a contributing author on carbon projects in the South. ‘Carbon trading is bad for the South, bad for the North, and bad for the climate.’ ‘ Claims that carbon credits mitigate climate change have not been verified’, added Jutta Kill of FERN, another contributor to the book. Carbon trading impedes positive investment in the South while thwarting popular movements against subsidies for fossil fuel extraction, she said.

In detailed case studies from nine Third World countries, the book shows how carbon offset projects such as those promoted under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) have had a detrimental impact on local communities. At the same time, they prolong industrialized countries’ excessive pollution of the atmosphere.

Carbon Trading: A Critical Conversation on Climate Change, Privatisation and Power is available for download at http://www.dhf.uu.se A paper edition will be published by the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation in November 2006.

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Most recent publications

Europe cannot drill its way to a low-carbon economy, say climate justice groups

This press release warns that EU leaders' discussions about how to lower energy prices and ‘improve’ European industrial competitiveness must not be a smoke-screen for furthering fossil fuel extraction including shale gas.

DocumentSize
PR_May22_EnergySummit.pdf20.03 KB

NGO report busts the myths of the Emissions Trading Scheme

This press release European Parliament was launched in advance of a vote on the European Commission's proposal to backload 900 million emissions permits within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). This vote assumes the EU ETS can be reformed, but ahead of the vote, a new report shows that the problems of the EU ETS are systemic and unresolvable. Keeping this failed system in place would further delay real action to reduce emissions in Europe.

EU ETS myth busting: Why it can’t be reformed and shouldn’t be replicated

Given the urgent need to limit  global warming, it is vital that the European Union (EU) gives itself the best tools with which to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Since the launch of the EU's ‘cornerstone policy’ to reduce emissions — the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), emissions have risen; there is increased reliance on coal; the price of consumer energy has risen along with the profits of many industrial actors (as a direct result of the EU ETS) and millions of euros of public money have been lost in VAT fraud.

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Myths_internet.pdf1.23 MB

FERN launches new trilingual carbon trading blog

Not a day goes by without more evidence of failed carbon offsets, fraud and crime, and windfall profits for the industries who were meant to be penalised by putting a price on carbon. Even market actors are losing interest, and record numbers of carbon-trading desks are closing shop.

ETS reforms steal attention from measures that could actually work

FERN wrote this guest commentary for PointCarbon (www.pointcarbon.com) to highlight that the time has come to give up waiting for the "market" to deliver the structural changes needed to keep global warming below two degrees and start taking direct action.

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Guest commentary.pdf431.19 KB

Input to the consultation on structural options to strengthen the EU Emission Trading System

This input to the European Commission consultation on options to stregthen the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) was signed onto by 21 organisations. It raised only was concern, that the consultation excludes a fundamental, seventh option: ending the ETS by 2020 and replacing it with other regulatory climate policies. This is a serious omission that leaves this consultation incomplete as an input toward a legislative proposal. After two years of decline, the prices of emission permits and carbon credits have reached historic lows.

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