The impact of the Paris agreement on the EU’s climate policies

The policy brief outlines seven areas where the EU should enhance its climate policies following the Paris agreement. Key recommendations include increasing the 2020 emission reduction target to 30%, revising the 2050 low-carbon roadmap to meet the 1.5°C objective, and adopting 5-year ambition cycles. It also calls for the phase-out of free pollution permits for industry, the inclusion of aviation and maritime sectors in the EU ETS, and the use of the Sustainable Development Mechanism to finance emission reductions in developing countries without relying on offsetting.

• The EU is currently on track to exceed its 2020 target of 20% greenhouse gas emission reductions, with reports indicating a 23% decrease by last year and a projected 30% cut by 2020. The document recommends formally increasing the 2020 target to at least 30% by removing approximately 2 billion surplus emission permits from the EU Emissions Trading System.
• The EU's existing 2050 low-carbon roadmap and intermediate targets (such as -40% by 2030) are calibrated for a 2°C limit and are no longer valid under the Paris agreement's 1.5°C goal. To align with this objective, the EU needs a new 2050 strategy and an increased 2030 target, which would require EU ETS emissions to decline by 4% annually from 2021 instead of the proposed 2.2%.
• The EU's proposed 10-year mitigation cycles are not synchronized with the Paris agreement's 5-year review and submission cycles. The document recommends adopting 5-year ambition periods in the EU ETS revision and the post-2020 Effort Sharing Decision to allow for mid-term reviews or automatic ambition increases from 2025.
• The EU should utilize the new Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) to provide results-based finance for emission reductions in developing countries, allowing those countries to claim the reductions toward their own pledges rather than using them as offsets. Additionally, EU ETS revenues should be channeled to the Green Climate Fund.
• Current EU ETS carbon leakage provisions, which provide approximately 6.3 billion free pollution permits (a subsidy of about €160 billion) for the 2021-2030 period, are based on the outdated assumption that other major economies are not taking comparable climate action. These provisions should be updated to limit free permits as other countries implement the Paris agreement.
• The EU must ensure that 'cooperative approaches' like linking the EU ETS with other carbon markets do not undermine its domestic 2030 target of 40% emission reductions. The document also highlights a lack of transparency in current linking negotiations, such as those with Switzerland, and calls for public review and access to documents.
• Aviation and maritime sectors must be decarbonized to meet the 1.5°C target, as they could contribute 40% of CO2 output by 2050 if not addressed. The document recommends that the EU ETS cover 50% of all incoming and outgoing flights from 2017 and that maritime emissions be covered by the EU ETS or a compensation fund.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (n.d.). The impact of the Paris agreement on the EU’s climate policies. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/The-impact-of-the-Paris-agreement-on-the-EU-climate-policies_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. The impact of the Paris agreement on the EU’s climate policies. n.d. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/The-impact-of-the-Paris-agreement-on-the-EU-climate-policies_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=The impact of the Paris agreement on the EU’s climate policies |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/The-impact-of-the-Paris-agreement-on-the-EU-climate-policies_FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carbonmarketwatchndimpact, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{The impact of the Paris agreement on the EU’s climate policies}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/The-impact-of-the-Paris-agreement-on-the-EU-climate-policies_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }