Letter to EU policy makers on the Effort Sharing Decision after 2020

Carbon Market Watch and partners argue that the proposed 30% emission reduction target for the 2021-2030 Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) is insufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals. They warn that specific loopholes—including the use of forest carbon removals, EU ETS surplus allowances, and the carry-over of unused permits—could lead to an additional 4.7 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. The authors call for a minimum 45% reduction in ESD sectors by 2030, a target of -95% by 2050, and the implementation of an automatic mechanism to accelerate emission cuts every five years based on science and technology.

• The Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) is a central EU climate policy instrument regulating approximately 60% of total EU emissions, specifically targeting the transport, agriculture, waste, and building heating and cooling sectors.
• The expected 30% reduction in emissions below 2005 levels by 2030 for ESD sectors is considered inadequate for the necessary transformational progress against climate change.
• Four specific legislative loopholes could potentially result in the EU emitting 4.7 billion tonnes more CO2 than its 2030 Paris pledge: the use of forest carbon removals (1,350 million tonnes), counting cuts from 2020 targets rather than actual levels (750 million tonnes), using EU ETS surplus allowances (300 million tonnes), and carrying over unused permits and international offsets (2,250 million tonnes).
• The authors recommend that the 2030 ESD be aligned with a minimum 45% reduction in ESD sectors by 2030 and an overall greenhouse gas reduction of at least -95% by 2050.
• The document proposes the introduction of an automatic mechanism to accelerate emission cuts every five years based on the latest science and technological potential.

APA

de Jong, F., Imke, & William (2016). Letter to EU policy makers on the Effort Sharing Decision after 2020. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/letter-to-eu-policy-makers-on-the-effort-sharing-decision-after-2020/

Chicago

de Jong, Femke, Imke, and William. Letter to EU policy makers on the Effort Sharing Decision after 2020. Carbon Market Watch, 2016. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/letter-to-eu-policy-makers-on-the-effort-sharing-decision-after-2020/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=de Jong |first1=Femke |last2=Imke |last3=William |title=Letter to EU policy makers on the Effort Sharing Decision after 2020 |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=2 June 2016 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/letter-to-eu-policy-makers-on-the-effort-sharing-decision-after-2020/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{dejong2016letter, author = {de Jong, Femke and Imke and William}, title = {{Letter to EU policy makers on the Effort Sharing Decision after 2020}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/letter-to-eu-policy-makers-on-the-effort-sharing-decision-after-2020/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }