Letter to ensure that the 2030 Effort Sharing Decision, the EU's largest climate instrument, is fit for purpose

Carbon Market Watch and a coalition of NGOs advocate for a revised 2030 Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) that aligns with the Paris Agreement. They propose seven key reforms: increasing ambition to reach 95% emission reductions by 2050, implementing 5-yearly review and ratchet-up mechanisms, strengthening governance with annual targets, basing 2021 allowances on actual emission levels, banning the use of EU ETS surplus allowances for ESD compliance, treating carbon removals in a separate LULUCF pillar, and prioritizing energy efficiency through synergies with existing EU legislation.

• The 2030 Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) should be designed to achieve at least 95% emission reductions by 2050 compared to 1990 levels and align with the Paris Agreement's goal to limit temperature increases to well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C.
• The document recommends that the 2030 ESD start in 2021 using actual emission levels for Member State allowances to prevent the over-allocation of permits, while ensuring states that missed 2020 targets are not 'bailed-out'.
• The authors argue against allowing Member States to use surplus EU ETS allowances to meet non-ETS climate targets, stating this would lead to higher overall EU emissions and compromise the 30 per cent ESD reduction target.
• Carbon removals from land use and forests should be managed under a separate LULUCF pillar and must not be used to offset fossil fuel emissions in other sectors.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2016). Letter to ensure that the 2030 Effort Sharing Decision, the EU's largest climate instrument, is fit for purpose. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ESD-Letter-to-COMMISSION_Commissioners_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Letter to ensure that the 2030 Effort Sharing Decision, the EU's largest climate instrument, is fit for purpose. 2016. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ESD-Letter-to-COMMISSION_Commissioners_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Letter to ensure that the 2030 Effort Sharing Decision, the EU's largest climate instrument, is fit for purpose |date=22 April 2016 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ESD-Letter-to-COMMISSION_Commissioners_FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2016letter, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Letter to ensure that the 2030 Effort Sharing Decision, the EU's largest climate instrument, is fit for purpose}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2016}, month = apr, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ESD-Letter-to-COMMISSION_Commissioners_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }