July 2024 │ From Bonn to Baku: Looking ahead to COP29

Dear reader,

Summer is here in the northern hemisphere, though if you’re based in Brussels, it has arrived in name but not yet in spirit. This time of year is usually dubbed the silly, cucumber or dead season, depending on your native language.

However, snap elections in France and the UK have brought a heightened level of political drama and seismic shifts to Europe’s political map, with far reaching implications for climate policy. Labour scored a landslide victory in Britain, while French voters return to voting stations this weekend after the far-right Rassemblement National made massive gains in the first round.

At CMW, we have also been having a busy summer. We were at the Bonn intersessional climate conference. Read our analysis of what happened there on Article 6 carbon markets and what implications this has for COP29 in Baku.  Speaking of the UN, we explain why United Nations’ Secretary General António Guterres is right to say carbon removals are no climate silver bullet.

In this edition, we also explore, in a special podcast, the results of research we commissioned into the involvement of banks in the voluntary carbon market. We’ve also released a new edition of our report on carbon market grievance mechanisms. Do check that out.

In addition, we take a deep dive into the EU’s Emissions Trading System. (Re)watch the debate on the future of the EU ETS and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in light of the European Parliament elections. Peering into the future, we examine whether or not ideas being floated for an EU ETS for agriculture is a good idea.

And, finally, as Europe goes football crazy, we analyse Euro 2024’s climate goals and ambitions.

Have a great summer,

The CMW team

CMW NEWS AND VIEWS

Does the EU need an Emissions Trading System for agriculture?

EDITORIAL┃ To deal with the persistently high carbon footprint of farming, the European Commission is considering the possibility of establishing an EU Emissions Trading System for agriculture. But is such a scheme necessary and how should it be designed? Marlène Ramón Hernández looks for answers. READ MORE

Will Bonn reset lead to Baku handshake on Paris Agreement’s Article 6?

ARTICLE┃The latest round of UN climate negotiations in Bonn has laid the groundwork for the power players to finally agree at COP29 on transparency and wider quality issues of Article 6 carbon markets. Our CMW team reports. READ MORE

No banking on carbon markets

ARTICLE┃ The banking sector’s anticipated upswing in investment in the voluntary carbon market has failed to materialise, new research reveals. Why is that? Benja Faecks and Jack Arnold* explain.  READ MORE

UN Secretary General is right: Carbon removals are no “silver bullet”

ARTICLE┃CMW applauds United Nations’ Secretary General António Guterres’s calls for the safe and sustainable use of carbon removals while warning that these technologies were not a “silver bullet” and cannot substitute deep emissions cuts. READ MORE

Euro 2024 fails to score its most important climate goal

ARTICLE┃As Euro 2024 kicks off, the tournament has been caught offside with some of its climate claims. UEFA must do better to tackle its carbon footprint. READ MORE

Tool for understanding how the reformed EU Emissions Trading System affects your member state

ARTICLE┃The revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in 2023 expanded the scope and reformed other aspects of the ETS to align with the EU’s climate goal of 55% net emissions reductions by 2030. READ MORE

Ambition reality check for the Article 6.2 Titanic

ARTICLE┃We couldn’t agree more with one of the Article 6 negotiators: the negotiations on Article 6.2 are like being on the Titanic, moving towards the tip of an iceberg. So, negotiators, let’s zoom out. How did this ship get here? Why are you on this ship in the open ocean? And what was your destination anyway? READ MORE

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