16/04/2013 - Today the European Parliament discussed the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and rejected a proposal from the European Commission to delay auctioning of carbon allowances ("backloading").
On this issue, Ottmar Edenhofer, Vice Director and Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research:
"The fact that the backloading proposal was rejected today makes it all the more important to set credible targets for 2030. The current decline in prices might discourage investors in technologies that reduce emissions. Still, one should not intervene in the market on an ad hoc basis. It is more important to agree on an ambitious mitigation target for 2030, and to expedite the ETS reform including all sectors. If this goal is credibly announced, prices will rise and cause investors to invest in technologies that reduce emissions. There shouldn´t be interventions in the market at that point to lower prices - like there shouldn´t be interventions now. Long-term mitigation goals are important, not short-term interventions."
