Plans to amend Germany's Climate Action Act so that the country's emissions offsetting measures could also be carried out in countries outside the European Union have drawn criticism, because they could open the door to fraudulent projects, which in turn could jeopardise effective action. The proposal by Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) to extend offsetting mechanisms beyond Europe would be a “huge step backwards”, researcher Niklas Höhne of the NewClimate Institute told the energy policy newsletter Tagesspiegel Background. Since almost every country is falling behind its own emissions reduction targets, “Germany gains nothing abroad and no additional reductions can be expected”, he argued.
The idea, put forward by the CDU/CSU alliance, comes from the coalition negotiation documents with the Social Democrats (SPD) – the parties that look set to form the next government together. CDU/CSU proposed that “residual emissions” could be offset through “credible CO₂ reduction measures in partner countries in line with international and European rules”, and that these options should also be written into and reinforced in national and European climate legislation, such as the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
The idea is viewed with suspicion within the conservative alliance too, so the proposal will most likely be worded as follows: offsetting abroad will be sought only “to a limited extent”, Tagesspiegel Background reports.
In preparation for the introduction of the 2040 climate target, the Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe last week called on the EU not to water down legislation on emissions reductions and to state clearly that cutting emissions is a domestic task. Felix Schenuit, a researcher at the German think tank SWP, stresses that forthcoming policy decisions, such as those on the new ETS 2, which will bring transport and buildings into emissions trading as well, must be debated in good time and must consider every available option, which may also include new certificates. “It is better to think about possible policy projects early on rather than in the 2030s under enormous political pressure,” Schenuit said. It would be a mistake to think that this would allow Germany to avoid radical domestic emissions reduction measures in meeting the commitments it has adopted.
Current German and European legislation requires that offsetting measures to reduce emissions across the various sectors be carried out “within the European Union”. Many climate researchers regard this condition as crucial, because in recent years a number of projects based on the so-called Clean Development Mechanism under the UN climate policy framework have been found to be questionable – particularly those carried out in poorer countries.
* Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe's leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change. It is a unique alliance in which environmental and development organisations work together to run joint lobbying campaigns and maximise their impact. With more than 200 member organisations active in 40 European countries, representing over 1,700 NGOs and 40 million citizens, CAN Europe promotes sustainable climate, energy and development policies throughout Europe.