14.12.2015 - Europe’s carbon-trading system is better than thought, and could be better still
The EU emissions trading scheme, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, is Europe’s flagship climate policy. It is often accused of two mutually exclusive sins and not always by different people. Some complain that it is ineffective because carbon prices have been much lower than expected. There is also concern that the ETS threatens competitiveness, which can only be the case if prices are too high. So is the ETS both dead and (too) alive at the same time? Prices have been low indeed: the EU’s own impact assessment assumes a price of €30. Prices were around that level for only brief periods in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Despite the low prices, the ETS has triggered emission reductions of more than 10% in some participating firms. At the same time, there is little evidence that the ETS has reduced competitiveness...............................................Full Article: Source
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