The European emissions trading scheme (EU-ETS) for CO2 is the largest existing emissions trading scheme in the world. The main reason for the implementation of this scheme is to reach the European Kyoto targets at minimal cost and to establish a price for emissions. The right to emit CO2...

The international community is negotiating a new global climate agreement to be applicable from 2020 onwards. Parties aim at signing the agreement in December 2015, at the Conference of Parties (COP) in Paris. Until then, countries are already preparing proposals for their individual...

Currently, the European Commission intends to increase the EU’s 2030 climate target. Instead of a 40 percent target, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by 50 to 55 percent compared to 1990 levels; the European Parliament is even considering a 65-percent reduction. The European Emissions...

Artikel 6 des Pariser Abkommens legt drei Ansätze fest, nach denen die Vertragsparteien bei der Erreichung ihrer national festgelegten Beiträge (NDCs) zusammenarbeiten. Einer dieser Ansätze ist ein neuer Mechanismus gemäß Artikel 6.4, der zur Minderung der Treibhausgasemissionen und zur...

A long-term vision for climate protection is essential for triggering the actions and policies needed to bring about economy-wide decarbonisation. The scientific basis for long-term climate planning comes in the form of so-called climate protection scenarios. These studies model emission...

Climate protection scenarios are a key part of long-term climate policy planning, which has been given a further boost by the Paris Agreement. The modelling performed in such scenarios informs the development of 2050 national climate strategies—which themselves serve as roadmaps for the...

In November 2018, the European Commission published its Strategic Long-Term Vision entitled “A Clean Planet for all” calling for the target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This proposal was subsequently agreed upon by EU heads of state and government, it features centrally in...