Open letter to Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, President European Commission

A coalition of environmental organisations calls on the European Commission to exclude international offset credits from the 2030 climate and energy framework to prioritise domestic abatement. The letter argues that offsets previously contributed to a surplus of over two billion allowances in the EU ETS and undermined climate goals, suggesting that a 2030 target of 55% carbon emission cuts, 45% renewable energy share, and 40% energy savings is necessary.

• The signatories argue that international offset credits should be excluded from the 2030 reduction commitment to ensure a focus on domestic abatement and investment in low-carbon technologies, noting that offsets were "a major driver" of a surplus of more than two billion allowances in the EU emissions trading scheme.
• The letter claims that the use of international offsets undermined the EU's climate goal by 840 million tonnes during the first Kyoto commitment period, as studies suggest only 40% of sold offset credits represent real emissions reductions.
• The coalition proposes a 2030 policy framework consisting of at least 55% carbon emissions cuts within the EU, a 45% renewable energy share, and 40% energy savings, while emphasizing the need to cancel excess allowances in the EU ETS and address a 500 MtCO2 over-supply in the Effort Sharing Decision.

APA

Nduna, J., Filzmoser, E., Newman, J., Trio, W., Görres, A., Thornton, J., & Wates, J. (2014). Open letter to Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, President European Commission. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/open-letter-to-mr-jose-manuel-barroso-president-european-commission/

Chicago

Nduna, John, Eva Filzmoser, Julian Newman, Wendel Trio, Anselm Görres, James Thornton, and Jeremy Wates. Open letter to Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, President European Commission. Carbon Market Watch, 2014. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/open-letter-to-mr-jose-manuel-barroso-president-european-commission/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Nduna |first1=John |last2=Filzmoser |first2=Eva |last3=Newman |first3=Julian |last4=Trio |first4=Wendel |last5=Görres |first5=Anselm |last6=Thornton |first6=James |last7=Wates |first7=Jeremy |title=Open letter to Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, President European Commission |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=17 January 2014 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/open-letter-to-mr-jose-manuel-barroso-president-european-commission/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{nduna2014open, author = {Nduna, John and Filzmoser, Eva and Newman, Julian and Trio, Wendel and Görres, Anselm and Thornton, James and Wates, Jeremy}, title = {{Open letter to Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, President European Commission}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2014}, month = jan, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/open-letter-to-mr-jose-manuel-barroso-president-european-commission/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }