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Connie Hedegaard: "the EU regrets the repeal of Australia's carbon pricing mechanism"

17/07/2014

Connie Hedegaard

Commenting on the repeal of the Carbon Pricing Mechanism, EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: "The European Union regrets the repeal of Australia's carbon pricing mechanism just as new carbon pricing initiatives are emerging all around the world. The EU is convinced that pricing carbon is not only the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions, but also THE tool to make the economic paradigm shift the world needs.  This is why the EU will continue to work towards global carbon pricing with all international partners. With today's repeal of the Carbon Pricing Mechanism, the discussions to link the Australian system and Europe's carbon market will evidently be discontinued"

Background:

  • Since 2005, the EU has successfully placed a price and a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and thereby shown that it is possible to trade in greenhouse gas emissions. The EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) is a cornerstone of the European Union's policy to combat climate change and covers around 45% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the 28 EU countries. Emissions covered by the system are falling as intended: in 2020, emissions from sectors covered by the EU ETS will be 21% lower than in 2005.
  • The success of the EU ETS has inspired other countries and regions to launch cap and trade schemes of their own, and that fact is that the EU is cooperating very closely with other partners preparing and developing carbon trading schemes, eager to learn about the EU experience and expertise. The EU is also actively supporting multilateral initiatives such as the Partnership for Market Readiness run by the World Bank.
  • The EU is still convinced that a robust international carbon market is needed to reduce emissions in a cost effective way while encouraging climate friendly investments by putting a price on carbon. One key avenue for the emergence of such a global market is to link the EU ETS with other compatible and comparable emissions trading systems.
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