Grist: “The European Union Might Weaken Its Landmark Climate Law—The ‘Most Impactful’ in the World”
RFF Fellow Milan Elkerbout is quoted in this article about the future of the EU Emissions Trading System.
“Milan Elkerbout, director of an international climate policy initiative at the think tank Resources for the Future, was less grave in his evaluation of the commission’s proposal. Yes, slower emissions cuts for ETS-covered sectors will require faster decarbonization elsewhere—like in agriculture and construction—but he thinks that’s still possible, keeping the EU’s 2040 target within reach.
The ETS remains, ‘by quite a margin, the most ambitious [carbon] trading system in the world,’ he added. He said carbon trading mechanisms in California, Washington state, Quebec, South Korea, and elsewhere are different enough to be insulated from direct copy-and-paste modifications—and that, in fact, aligning them more closely with the ETS could raise their ambition rather than lower it.”
