EU’s plan to link to Swiss carbon market adds pressure to announce an increased 40% target

Carbon Market Watch asserts that the EU's plan to link the EU ETS with the Swiss carbon market necessitates an increase in the EU's domestic reduction target beyond 40%, as the current target is intended to be achieved without international credits. The organization warns that a surplus of emission allowances, estimated to reach 2.6 GtCO2 by 2020, could dilute the 2030 target by 7%. Additionally, the document highlights risks from accounting tricks involving Member State surpluses and artificial gains in forest management, which could further weaken the target by 5% each.

• The EU's 'at least' 40% domestic reduction target is designed to be met without international credits, meaning any transfer of credits resulting from a link with the Swiss carbon market should require the EU to increase its target beyond 40%.
• A surplus of emission allowances in the EU carbon market, projected to grow to 2.6 GtCO2 by 2020, could reduce the effectiveness of the 40% greenhouse gas target by 7% in 2030.
• The use of Member State accumulated surpluses for negotiations with other countries, such as Norway, could further undermine the EU's target by an additional 5%.
• Artificial accounting gains within forest management in the EU's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) could weaken the 40% target by up to 5%.

APA

CMW (2015). EU’s plan to link to Swiss carbon market adds pressure to announce an increased 40% target. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2015/03/05/eus-plan-to-link-to-swiss-carbon-market-adds-pressure-to-announce-an-increased-40-target/

Chicago

CMW. EU’s plan to link to Swiss carbon market adds pressure to announce an increased 40% target. Carbon Market Watch, 2015. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2015/03/05/eus-plan-to-link-to-swiss-carbon-market-adds-pressure-to-announce-an-increased-40-target/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=CMW |title=EU’s plan to link to Swiss carbon market adds pressure to announce an increased 40% target |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=5 March 2015 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2015/03/05/eus-plan-to-link-to-swiss-carbon-market-adds-pressure-to-announce-an-increased-40-target/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{cmw2015eus, author = {CMW}, title = {{EU’s plan to link to Swiss carbon market adds pressure to announce an increased 40\% target}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2015/03/05/eus-plan-to-link-to-swiss-carbon-market-adds-pressure-to-announce-an-increased-40-target/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }