Publications

By Nicolas Berghmans and Emilie Alberola On October 4th 2012, the European Union adopted a new Directive in order to help reach the common target of a 20% improvement in energy efficiency in 2020. At a time when a major national debate on energy transition is set to take place in France, this new directive […]

By Igor SHISHLOV et Valentin BELLASSEN The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the first and by far the largest carbon offset instrument in the world. To date, it is the only market based on an environmental commodity which managed to attract several billions of euros of private capital on an annual basis. Being the first-of-a-kind […]

By Jérémie DE CHARENTENAY, Alexia LESEUR et Cécile BORDIER The Regional Climate-Air-Energy Plan (SRCAE – Schéma Régional Climat-Air-Energie) was introduced by the Grenelle II legislation. The Plans are co-authored by the State through its decentralised services and the Conseil Regionaux (regional councils) with the objective to guide climate and energy policy in the 26 French […]

CO2 emissions from international aviation sector which represent 2% of global emissions in 2009, aren’t currently capped by any international agreement. However, the organization of the International civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has adopted in October 2010 a resolution that provides for the stabilization of CO2 emissions from international aviation from 2020 onwards, through an annual […]

By Mariana DEHEZA et Valentin BELLASSEN Reducing CO2 emissions from forests was slow to get off the ground as a subject of international climate negotiations, but it has picked up considerable momentum since 2005. In particular, agreement has been reached on the urgence to set up a global REDD+ mechanism. The mechanism aims to provide […]

On November 8, 2011, the Australian Government passed the so-called “Clean Energy Future Package”. This set of 19 Acts includes a carbon tax of 23 AUD/tCO2, to come into force on 1 July 2012, which will transition, from 1 July 2015, to a system of emissions trading. While it is based on the European model, […]

Responding to climate change involves the implementation of initiatives that require significant upfront capital investment. At a time when bank lending is squeezed, green bonds offer an alternative financing for initiatives with an environmental goal. Lately, the Ile-de-France Region’s issuance of environmentally and socially responsible bonds on March 20th 2012 demonstrates that an increasing number […]

At the March 2012 Environmental Council, Poland once again unilaterally vetoed the Commission’s Roadmap for Moving to a Low Carbon Economy in 2050. All actors now need to reflect hard on the way forward. It is time to begin a much deeper political and technical dialogue around a Climate and Energy Package to 2030. We […]

The EU ETS has moved from centerstage to the backseat of European decarbonization policy. Reform is needed in order to provide clarity on the long term emission reduction objectives (for phase 4 beyond 2020), but most importantly, to introduce some form of allowance supply management and thereby reduce the risk of future policy intervention. Following […]

Extraordinary economic circumstances and interactions between climate and energy policies have meant that the EU’s industrial CO2 emissions are now much lower than expectations when the EU ETS’ emissions reduction objectives were set. Since this has reduced the demand for EU ETS emissions allowances relative to a fixed supply, the price of allowances has fallen […]

By Julien Chevallier The reaction of the carbon price to changes in macroeconomic fundamentals can be understood from different levels. My recent academic research has identified two strong linkages. First, there is a link between the EU carbon price and financial markets, such as equity and bond markets. These analyses emphasize how the volatility of […]

By Igor SHISHLOV, Valentin BELLASSEN et Benoît LEGUET Based on specific projects rather than economy-wide emissions reductions, and driven by the demand from the installations covered by the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), Joint Implementation (JI) turned out to be a largely private sector mechanism. Besides attracting private investors in GHG abatement projects, […]

By Romain MOREL et Anaïs DELBOSC The Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) framework has emerged as a result of the Copenhagen and Cancún Agreements and is used to encourage developing countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Theses NAMAs can be part of more comprehensive domestic low-carbon development strategies. However, new projects and policies, […]

By Oliver Sartor This paper provides an econometric analysis of the evidence of carbon leakage from the European primary aluminium industry during the first 6 ½ years of the EU ETS. The findings suggest that while rising electricity prices have played a critical role in reducing the competitiveness of EU primary aluminium smelting in recent […]

By Alain CORMIER and Valentin BELLASSEN The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), launched in 2001, has attracted more than 7 000 projects. Many however, did not fully deliver the emissions reductions promised in their project design documents: out of 1.8 billion of expected Certified Emissions Reductions (CER) by April 1st, 2011, only 576 million had been […]

In order to achieve its long-term emission reduction target following the Fukushima incident, Japan would rely more heavily on international offsetting activities. Concurrent to vigorous proposals to reform the CDM, Japan is also promoting an offset crediting scheme through bilateral agreements with developing countries as a post-2012 market mechanism. Despite potential benefits, issues relating to […]

By Emilie ALBEROLA The inclusion of the aviation sector from January 1st 2012 onwards represents a new step in the implementation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Following the steady expansion of the EU ETS’ scope to new Member States since 2005, the European Commission is now adding around 5,000 European airline companies […]

By Alain CORMIER and Valentin BELLASSEN The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), launched in 2001, has attracted more than 7 000 projects. Many however, did not fully deliver the emissions reductions promised in their project design documents: out of 1.8 billion of expected Certified Emissions Reductions (CER) by April 1st, 2011, only 576 million had been […]

An achievement at the Durban summit (November 28 to December 9, 2011) is the decision to extend the Kyoto Protocol after its first commitment period ends in 2012. This extension essentially allows the continuity of the existing mechanisms and tools: the Clean Development Mechanism, Joint Implementation and the registries. Further, for the first time emerging […]

By Claudine FOUCHEROT et Valentin BELLASSEN The agricultural sector accounts for 14% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. If we also take into account carbon emissions and sequestration from upstream – production of fertilisers, deforestation, etc. – and downstream – bio-energies, etc. – the share rises to 30%. Many practices and technologies enable agriculture’s impact […]