UK proposes own carbon market, remains coy on link with EU ETS

(EurActiv, 2 Jun 2020) The United Kingdom has put forward its own new UK-wide Emissions Trading System (ETS) to replace the European Union’s system for trading carbon emissions, which Britain will leave at the end of this year as the Brexit transition period ends.

The UK-wide ETS, which will put a cost on carbon pollution to encourage polluters to reduce the greenhouse gases they emit, includes plans to cut the present emissions cap by 5%, Britain’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said in a statement.

“We have procured a supplier who is building the registry – the main IT system for the UK ETS,” the statement added.

The United Kingdom has a target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Emissions trading systems work by setting a cap on the total amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted from certain sectors, with the cap being reduced over time so that total emissions fall.

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EurActiv, 2 Jun 2020: UK proposes own carbon market, remains coy on link with EU ETS