The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is the European Union’s flagship for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. At a time when its results are obvious – with Greece and the EU-27 itself marking a record low in ETS emissions in 2023 – and the challenge of the ETS-2 is ahead (ie. a new ETS that will include buildings and transport), the Life ETX project – a 3-year collaboration between 10 NGOs from all over Europe with the goal to improve the EU ETS – has been completed.
The main objective of the project was to make the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), one of the EU’s main tools for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, work for citizens and the climate.
As a project partner, The Green Tank was present during the closing ceremony and the last Carbon Pricing Hub between 13-14 June 2024.
Partners and goals of Life ETX
The coordinator of the project was Carbon Market Watch and the project partners were:
- ΑirClim
- Association for International Affairs (AMO)
- Bond Beter Leefmilieu
- Germanwatch
- Naturskyddsföreningen (Swedish Society for Nature Conservation)
- Polish Green Network
- The Green Tank
- World Information Service on Energy (WISE)
- ZERO
The 10 partners worked towards the following objectives:
- Increase civil society’s awareness and knowledge of the functioning of the ETS and carbon pricing, and boost its capacity to campaign for better policies and implementation.
- Promote the engagement of European citizens and other key stakeholders supporting pan-European and international replication.
- Provide a scientific knowledge base to assess the functioning and potential of the ETS for achieving improved 2030 climate targets, as well as the development of carbon pricing policies at the national and European levels.
The Green Tank’s contribution
As a project partner, The Green Tank contributed to the networking and empowerment of environmental organizations and civil society in general on issues related to the operation of the ETS, as well as to the information of other stakeholders and policy & decision makers.
In cooperation with other project partners, we took on policy and advocacy actions for the revision of the ETS and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) at national and European level. We focused on proposals for a Modernization Fund without investments into fossils fuels, as well as the need to showcase the importance of distributing national funds from the EU ETS towards a green and just transition.
Through complementary analyses and regular opinion articles, we highlighted the climate contribution and social impact of the ETS in the public debate. We actively participated in the Human Stories campaign, showcasing how ETS funds are utilized for just transition of lignite regions in Greece and support the youth in Western Macedonia.
As far as the Western Balkans, we contributed to the promotion of carbon pricing policies at national level and bringing local organizations into contact with European institutions.
Finally, The Green Tank presented in Greece the EU ETS 101 – Guide to the EU’s Emissions Trading System, which has been updated to include the latest provisions of the revised ETS legislation.
The Life ETX project (2021 – 2024) was funded by the LIFE Programme, with the support of the European Climate Foundation.
