Publications

By Igor Shishlov and Valentin Bellassen In order to ensure the environmental integrity of carbon offset projects, emission reductions certified under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) have to be ‘real, measurable and additional’, which is ensured through the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) process. MRV, however, comes at a cost that ranges from several cents […]

By Camille Ferron and Romain Morel, I4CE New EU Commissioner : Miguel Arias Cañete (Spain) has been appointed as the new energy and climate commissioner. EU ETS Reform: Denmark, Latvia, Slovenia, and Sweden support Germany’s proposal for the mechanism becoming operational ahead of schedule as from 2017. Climate and Energy package 2030: the European Commission […]

Beyond the important role that forests play in the fight against climate change through the sequestration of carbon in their biomass, wood products also contribute to climate change through three channels: Material substitution : the manufacturing of wood products being less energy intensive allows to avoid carbon emissions from the processing of other alternative materials […]

By Emilie Alberola and Zuheir Desai, CDC Climat Research Auctioning of aviation allowances will restart from September 2014. Market Stability Reserve: Germany and France have clarified their positions. EU ETS Phase 4: The EU Commission held its first stakeholder meeting to discuss experiences of free allocation with regards to carbon leakage from phases 2 and […]

It is now well established that the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) needs to be reformed. After more than 18 months of discussions, the EU Commission disclosed, in its communication published in January 2014 on “A policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030”, its legislative proposal of […]

Today, given the amount of investment needed to reach a 2-degree emissions reduction target and the tight budgetary constraints of governments worldwide, public spending alone will not be sufficient alone. Therefore, there is a double need to not only shift private financial flows from “brown” sectors to “green” sectors, but also to leverage new sources […]

By Paolo Avner ,Jun Rentschler, Stéphane Hallegatte This paper investigates the effect of carbon or gasoline taxes on commuting-related CO2 emissions in an urban context. To assess the impact of public transport on the efficiency of the tax, the paper investigates two exogenous scenarios using a dynamic urban model (NEDUM-2D) calibrated for the urban area […]

Par Paolo Avner, doctorant CIRED et APREC, Vincent Viguié, CIRED et et Stéphane Hallegatte, Banque Mondiale Le versement pour sous densité (VSD) a fait son entrée dans la loi française depuis mi 2012 et vise à limiter l’étalement urbain en taxant les nouvelles constructions qui n’atteignent pas un seuil minimal de densité de bâti (SMD). […]

EU ETS reforms: on 25th June, the EU Commission will host a panel of experts to discuss technical aspects of the proposal of the Market Stability Reserve. Market Stability Reserve of the EU ETS: Germany supports the Commission proposal of a market stability reserve and calls for a launch of the mechanism significantly before 2020, […]

By Romain Morel, Igor Shishlov et Valentin Bellassen, I4CE The results from the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) show that developed countries fulfilled their commitments through varied strategies. However, the Kyoto protocol did not manage to stabilize global GHG concentrations ; furthermore its direct impact on domestic emissions reductions is unclear. Nevertheless, […]

Signed in 1997, following the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol (KP) is the first international tool focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation involving as many countries : in its final configuration, thirty six developed countries committed to reduce their emissions by 4% between 1990 and 2008-2012 – the […]

Verified CO2 emissions: in 2013, emissions of EU ETS stationary installations, estimated to 1,895 MtCO2, have decreased by at least 3% in comparison of 2012. State aids for 2020 climate targets: the EU Commission has adopted new guidelines on public support for projects in the field of environmental protection and energy that notably promote a […]

Upsurge in volumes and fall in prices: Nearly 1.1 billion EUA’s were traded, i.e +23%, whereas the average EUA spot price fell by 6% in March 2014. 2030 climate and energy package: The EU Council will take stock of progress made at its next meeting in June 2014, based on consultations with Member States. International […]

By Frédéric OURADOU, Florine WONG, Jérôme DUVERNOY, Romain MOREL In line with previous editions, the 2014 edition of “Key Figures on Climate” has been prepared within the context of the 19th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP19) held in Warsaw from the 11th to the 22nd of November 2013. This latest version has […]

By Igor Shishlov and Valentin Bellassen, I4CE The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) facilitated the emergence and deployment of low-cost greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement technologies such as destruction of industrial gases and capturing methane from landfills and coal mines. Some of these technologies are now ripe to “graduate” from the CDM into other, more mainstream, economic […]

EUA supply: after the approbation of the backloading regulation, the number of auctioned allowances for 2014 will be reduced by 400 million. National allocations plans of all 28 member states for the free allocation of allowances for 2013 have been approved. 2030 climate and energy package: the EU Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution on the […]

Backloading: the EU Parliament and the Council adopted the backloading proposal,respectively, on 10th December and 16th December. On 8th January, Member states agreed on rules to remove up to 900 million permits from 2014-2016. Free allocations: on 18th December, the EU Commission adopted a first commissiondecision on free allocation of emission allowances by Member States […]

During the Phase II of the European Trading Scheme, installations had the option to surrender carbon credits from project-based mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol (CERs and ERUs). The rules set by Member States and approved by the European Commission capped the demand at around 1,400 MtCO2 between 2008 and 2012. In the end, over 1 […]

By Olivier Gloaguen and Emilie Alberola CO2 emissions generated by installations covered by the EU ETS decreased by 12.3 % since 2005, i.e a decline by 2.6% per year during Phase 2 of the EU ETS while the emission cap increased by 1% per year. The EU ETS ended Phase 2 with a surplus of […]

By Marion Dupont, Romain Morel, Valentin Bellassen and Mariana Deheza For those who expect “binding” emission reductions targets in the future international climate agreement to be signed in Paris in 2015, the Warsaw Conference (November 11 to 23, 2013) yielded as much progress as it could. That means little beyond a timetable. However, for those […]