Enhanced EU climate target will require major ETS reform

Fresh reforms to the EU emissions trading scheme will be necessary if governments agree to increase the bloc’s 2030 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels, analysts have said.

The Öko-Institut research institute in Germany published on Tuesday an assessment of policy options for increasing the effectiveness of the ETS in line with increased climate ambition.

The report comes as eight European governments are calling on the commissioner-designate for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, to propose raising the 2030 target to 55%, in line with keeping the rise in average global temperature below 1.5°C.