The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) has published the 12th issue of its Climate Change News Update, which, among other things, highlights the European Parliament's vote against increasing the EU's emission reduction target from 20% to 30% greenhouse gas (GHG) emission cuts below 1990 levels by 2020, and Australia's plan to introduce a carbon tax from 2012.
19 July 2011: The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) has published the 12th issue of its Climate Change News Update, which reports on recent developments in European and Australian law related to climate change mitigation.
The News Update highlights that the European Parliament has rejected a key report that would have toughened the EU stance on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has voted against increasing the EU target from 20% to 30% greenhouse gas (GHG) emission cuts below 1990 levels by 2020. The issue also reports on Australia’s plan to tax carbon emissions from the country’s largest emitters, which would pay a tax of A$23 (US$24.70) per ton of carbon from 2012, rising by 2.5% a year, and moving to a market-based trading scheme in 2015. The scheme aims to cut national emissions by 5% of 2000 levels by 2020.
The issue also contains regional news including the agreement between the CCCCC and the EU to support Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) countries to meet the challenges of climate change, and highlights from the third Expert Group Meeting on Understanding the Potential Economic Impacts of Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was organized by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and considered climate change costs and benefits in Caribbean countries. [CCCCC Climate Change News Update Issue 12]