The Case for an Emissions-Trading System to Help Resolve the Climate Change Crisis

Author(s):  
Philip Lawn
Author(s):  
Alicia Gutierrez González

AbstractThis article aims to give an overview of the international influence of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) in Mexico. It is divided into three parts. First, it briefly examines both the international Climate Change regime through the description of such instruments as the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2015 Paris Agreement, and the national regime by reviewing as the 2012 General Law on Climate Change (LGCC), the National Emissions Registry (RENE) and its Regulations, as well as other instruments regarding mitigation from carbon tax and clean energy. Second, it analyzes the legal framework of the pilot phase of the ETS in Mexico (under the cap and trade principle) which seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) only in the energy and industry sectors whose emissions are greater than 100 thousand direct tonnes of CO2. In doing so, it also explains the relevance of implementing an ETS as a cost-effective mitigation measure to achieve the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in order to reduce 22% greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 (increasing to 36% if there is international support and financing) and 50% by 2050 as a developing country. Third, it focuses on the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) experience and shows that all its phases must be done gradually by adopting the learning-by-doing approach.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 46-59
Author(s):  
Erik BAARK

China recognises the need to reduce carbon emissions in order to avoid negative consequences from climate change in the future. Therefore, the Chinese government initiated seven emissions trading system (ETS) pilots in 2013 and began to develop China’s national ETS in 2017. However, Chinese efforts to implement ETS have encountered legal, institutional and political issues that must be solved so that a national ETS could help to mitigate emissions in China.


2013 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-220
Author(s):  
Jacques Hartmann

The European Union (EU) has long been in a diplomatic row with its main trading partners. The row concerns the EU’s decision to include foreign aircraft emissions within its Emissions Trading System (ETS). Several States have objected to the inclusion as a violation of their sovereignty. The importance of the quarrel can hardly be overestimated: it is the first real clash concerning unilateral measures to combat climate change. By including foreign aircraft emissions within the ETS, the EU has taken unilateral action to prevent international environmental harm. The EU’s action has given rise to some fundamental questions concerning legislative jurisdiction. Moreover, as the impact of climate change becomes more severe, climate change may serve as a pretext for all kinds of protectionist policies. The current quarrel is therefore also one of principle. This article analyses the jurisdictional basis for extending the ETS to extraterritorial flights and the reactions of third States. In doing so, the article reveals fundamental limits in international rules concerning the allocation of competencies between States, especially in relation to the protection of the environment. The article considers these shortcomings in the context of the present case and suggests a new approach to the traditional principles of sovereignty and legislative jurisdiction.


Author(s):  
Rosalía Ibarra Sarlat

AbstractThis paper examines the legal bases for the mandatory regulation of the emissions trading system in Mexico. They are derived from the main international instruments on climate change: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its ambitious objective, the quantifiable commitment of the Kyoto Protocol, and its tie to economic instruments. The Paris Agreement, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the market mechanisms regulated in Article 6, the implementation of which is essential to achieve the Agreement’s objectives are also part of this broad system. Legally, the international foundations of the emissions trading system are reflected at the national level. For these, the constitutional and legal bases underpin the current regulation of the mandatory market instrument. It aims to effectively reduce, in terms of costs, the greenhouse gas emissions from the most polluting economic activities, without replacing direct control measures. The core aspects of this system are highlighted from a national regulatory analysis, with special emphasis on the importance of a limited cap and its future reduction, as well as the legal nature of allowances that are allocated by the public administration to the regulated industries’ facilities.


Subject Carbon markets. Significance Prices for carbon allowances in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) have risen this year, reviving interest in carbon markets as a means of combatting climate change. With a report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last month calling for drastic action to slash emissions by 2030, that interest could rise further. Impacts Some 88 countries are considering carbon pricing to meet emissions reduction commitments. Growing interest in ETS may trigger a revival of fraudulent schemes around the carbon market. Renewed concerns over higher carbon allowance prices will make it harder to agree reduction targets.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document