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.
This report shows that far from being the ‘best tool’ to combat climate change, the EU ETS is inherently too weak to drive the sustainable energy transformation the EU needs in order to stay within global warming limits. It is systemically flawed and cannot be fixed.
Categories: Reports, Carbon trading