Professor Helm states that the upgrade of the EU commitment to a 30 percent
reduction in GHGs is not credible, as the certainty about
how many countries will actually participate in a global
deal will not be available before 2012, which would leave
less than a decade to factor in an additional 10 percent
reduction on top of an already significant 20 percent
reduction by 2020. The author criticizes also the 2020 goal,
saying that such a deadline is not enough to develop new
technologies and that eventually the target will have to be
met by existing technologies, therefore shifting R&D
incentives away from technologies that in the long run
could really become crucial in achieving climate goals.
The report calls for the introduction of a caps-and-floors
system, that improves on the current permit scheme,
chosen over a carbon tax more for political than for
efficiency reasons, and a border carbon tax, while at the
same time investing more in developing Carbon Capture
and Storage technology.

• Download the document: “EU climate-change policy—a critique” by
  Professor Dieter Helm [pdf – 415 Kb]
• This news is extracted from the Emission Trading Monitor : a weekly column that summarises the latest news on international climate change agreements, the updates on the carbon market and the energy and technology updates in the realm of climate change. Go to the web page and see all previous issues since March 2007.
• This week: Timing of auctions debated, study says EU climate policy not enough, EEA estimates show emission
  decrease in 2008, California about to pass strictest renewable mandate, African countries united in Bali and, as usual the situation of the Carbon Market – Download the August 31- September 4 2009 Newsletter [pdf – 156 Kb]