Climate Action 2012-2013

POLICY, GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
experiment so far – one which has provided
useful lessons for other countries around the
world. However, the ETS now needs reform as
prices have dropped to all-time lows. From a high
of over €30 in 2008, the price dipped to a trough
of €6.14 at the end of March 2012 – so low that
it no longer provides an effective price signal for
bringing down carbon emissions.
GOOD FOR THE CLIMATE – GOOD FOR
THE ECONOMY
The second observation is about the linkage
between climate action on the one hand and
costs savings and job creation on the other.
With unemployment at such high rates in many
European countries, policy-makers must look at
the job creation and savings opportunities inherent
in a decarbonisation of European economies.
In 2011-12, discussions on the Energy Efficiency
Directive (which focused on how energy
efficiency ambitions could be raised by 2020)
have pointed at the positive impact on jobs of
a concerted retrofit of buildings across Europe.
Not only would jobs be created from such a
programme, but the changes would also save
money thanks to lower heating and cooling
bills. The outcome of the directive will result in
considerable energy savings, equivalent to 100
Mtoe each year by 2020.
“Policy-makers must look at
the job creation and savings
opportunities.”
Another bright spot are recent proposals from
the European Commission on fuel efficiency for
cars and vans. Again we see how climate action
and economic stimulus can go hand in hand:
more efficient cars will lead to considerable fuel
cost savings for consumers. A shift from the
current target of 130g of CO 2
emissions per km
in 2017 to a target of 95g per km in 2020 will
result in annual savings of around €500 per year
per car – savings that will offset any increase in
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