EU, China and US on their way to carbon neutrality : will their implementation strategies converge?

Abstract

The European Union (EU) committed to reach climate neutrality by 2050. This ambitious target remains a top priority for the Commission despite the COVID-19 crisis and is shared by other jurisdictions, such as USA and China (the latter by 2060). The EU intends to play a key role in the global climate challenge. While a unilateral action will not be sufficient to stop global warming (as EU emits only a small part of world emissions), the EU can lead the world by example in adopting stringent climate regulations and hence influencing the others’ climate policies. However, alternative climate policies might emerge in the world challenging the EU leadership in the fight against climate change. For instance, the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) was a prototype for most ETSs in the world. But ETSs might diverge over time rather than converge towards a unique model to account for the different institutional frameworks. The same applies to other climate policies that might or not fit other institutional contexts.The panel session will discuss how the EU and other countries can learn from their own experiences to coordinate climate policies, focusing on how cooperation between ETSs can support a coherent global climate policy.The event continues the policy dialogue between academia and the policy world carried out by FSR Climate at State of the Union since 2018, together with the Policy Outreach Committee of EAERE and the STG. It is organised under the LIFE DICET project, which focuses on international carbon market cooperation.