Climate change and the environment
#TheFutureIsYours Leading the way for a more sustainable future
The world is struggling to meet the Paris Agreement commitment of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C compared to pre-industrial levels. The climate crisis is growing, bringing irreversible changes to our planet.
As part of the Green Deal and beyond, the EU should take concrete steps to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, at a minimum. These can comprise a mix of price-based (emission taxes) and quantitative (emission caps) instruments, including:
- The extension of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS, which puts caps on overall EU emissions) to new areas, including transport.
- A tax on GHG emissions in the areas where the ETS extension is not realistic. This tax should become a new income source for the EU budget.
- Every instrument applying in the EU should have an equivalent applicable to non-EU actors in the Single Market to reduce ‘carbon leakage’ (i.e. transferring business activities to countries with less strict emission rules).
- Customs duties or import restrictions on agricultural goods contributing to deforestation (e.g. palm oil, soy and red meat).
- The extension of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS, which puts caps on overall EU emissions) to new areas, including transport.
- A tax on GHG emissions in the areas where the ETS extension is not realistic. This tax should become a new income source for the EU budget.
- Every instrument applying in the EU should have an equivalent applicable to non-EU actors in the Single Market to reduce ‘carbon leakage’ (i.e. transferring business activities to countries with less strict emission rules).
- Customs duties or import restrictions on agricultural goods contributing to deforestation (e.g. palm oil, soy and red meat).
The EU should unite politically to become a global player promoting objectives of the Paris Agreement. This could include a series of incentives embedded in international trade agreements, support for green transition in the Global South, promotion of a global eco-tax, as well as sanctions for the most severe acts of environmental degradation by state and non-state actors.
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