The European Union’s Emission Trading Systems (EU ETS) will be the subject of an intensive investigation by the Energy and Climate Change Committee, chaired by Tim Yeo MP.

Mr Yeo announced today (July 1) his committee will look into whether the system can deliver the EU’s climate change mitigation goals without legally-binding international emissions reduction commitment.

Through the Linking Directive, the EU ETS accepts offsets from the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol.

The EU market has provided the core of international demand in these schemes. More broadly, the EU ETS has provided a model for the consideration of cap-and-trade schemes around the world.

Mr Yeo said: “The scheme was intended to form the core of a global carbon market, but is looking increasingly isolated after the failure to achieve binding emissions reduction commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) for the period after 2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol comes to an end.

“The lack of an international framework for emissions reductions and carbon trading poses some serious difficulties for the future viability of the EU ETS, particularly associated with carbon leakage, comparability of effort and access to other viable emissions trading schemes.”

Written evidence is invited from interested parties. The deadline for the submission of written evidence is welcomed in Word or rich text format to ecc@parliament.uk by August 12.
Luke Walsh

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