Lecture Emission Rights

At the invitation of the Economy & Finance Committee, Edwin Woerdman, Professor of Markets and Regulation, will visit DWARS Groningen (Coehoornsingel 87), to talk about the European Emissions Trading Scheme.

Emissions trading is seen as the cornerstone of the European Union's climate policy. The idea is simple: emission allowances are auctioned, making the polluter pay for every tonne of greenhouse gas emitted. As the available number of allowances is reduced each year, companies have an incentive to reduce their emissions.

Unfortunately, practice looks less rosy. Since the introduction of emissions trading, there are constantly far too many allowances available, making it spottybuy is to emit CO2. Of all the allowances, only 57% will actually be auctioned, the rest will be given away for free, and it remains to be seen whether the “cap” on total European emissions drops fast enough to meet Paris targets.

Edwin Woerdman will tell us more about the policy, economics and politics behind the trading system. What can we expect from this in the future? Will the reforms coming in 2020, such as a surplus reserve pot, force drastic reductions? Or will the industry lobby remain too strong for such a technical tool to work well?

Doors open at 19:00 and we start at 19:30.