Make Impact Assessments Great Again (MIAGA)

Carbon Market Watch claims the European Commission is routinely ignoring or bypassing required impact assessments and public consultations for major climate policies. The author asserts that this shift toward 'vibe-based' policymaking, driven by deregulation and industry lobbying, undermines transparency and risks significant economic and environmental damage, citing specific examples such as the 2040 climate target and the EU ETS2 Market Stability Reserve.

• The European Commission is accused of treating impact assessments as optional or ignoring them during the proposal and revision of legislation, leading to a culture of 'vibe-based' rather than evidence-based policymaking.
• The July 2025 proposal for the EU Climate Law revision included a plan to allow international credits to cover up to 5% of emissions reduction goals, despite these credits not being analyzed in the original 605-page impact assessment or public consultations. Carbon Market Watch estimates this could cost up to €50 billion.
• The Commission decided to integrate permanent removals into the EU carbon market before the related impact assessment for the 2026 carbon market revision was completed, bypassing the normal evidence-based process.
• The March 2024 proposal to 'simplify' the Common Agriculture Policy lacked an impact assessment, which the EU Ombudsperson labeled as 'maladministration' and a breach of Article 6.4 of the EU Climate Law.
• The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) process lacked transparency, specifically regarding the Regulation establishing a Temporary Decarbonisation Fund, which was not opened for public discussion despite projected revenues of €2 billion per year starting in 2030.
• Proposed changes to the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) for the ETS2, introduced on 27 November 2025, were made without a new impact assessment or public consultation, potentially flooding the market with up to 600 million allowances.
• The Commission is allegedly expanding indirect carbon cost compensation subsidies to more industrial sectors through a qualitative 'blackbox' approach without providing evidence of need.

APA

Stoefs, W. (2026). Make Impact Assessments Great Again (MIAGA). Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2026/01/19/make-impact-assessments-great-again-miaga/

Chicago

Stoefs, Wijnand. Make Impact Assessments Great Again (MIAGA). Carbon Market Watch, 2026. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2026/01/19/make-impact-assessments-great-again-miaga/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Stoefs |first1=Wijnand |title=Make Impact Assessments Great Again (MIAGA) |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=19 January 2026 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2026/01/19/make-impact-assessments-great-again-miaga/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{stoefs2026make, author = {Stoefs, Wijnand}, title = {{Make Impact Assessments Great Again (MIAGA)}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2026/01/19/make-impact-assessments-great-again-miaga/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }