Can I delete forever my carbon allowances?
Summary
Individuals and organizations can impact climate change by purchasing and permanently deleting European Union Allowances (EUAs), effectively reducing the overall carbon budget and strengthening the EU Emissions Trading System. Canceling EUAs guarantees measurable emission reductions, unlike some voluntary carbon offset projects. This allows for ethical investment and responsible investing in a greener future.
Diamonds are forever, and canceling carbon emissions can be too. You have the power to permanently reduce the overall carbon budget available to industries by deleting the European Union Allowances (EUAs) you hold.
You have the power to strengthen the EU ETS
Accelerating the reduction of the European carbon budget is vital for effectively addressing climate change. The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) establishes limits on carbon emissions and gradually tightens these limits to reduce pollution and combat global warming. As the European Union's climate goals get more ambitious, regulators increase the pace at which EUAs are phased out. By deleting carbon allowances, we can make a similar impact. Speeding up this reduction process strengthens the EU ETS’s role in lowering global emissions and securing a sustainable future for our planet.
Decrease the carbon budget
No one can increase the amount of EU Allowances (EUAs) available beyond the quantities set by regulators. This is the whole purpose of the cap-and-trade scheme to be a regulated market. The commission controls the primary market in order to monitor how the CO2 budget is consumed over time. On the other hand, you have the power to decrease this budget. Reducing it permanently effectively decreases the amount of CO2 that can be emitted into the economy, and brings the EU to climate neutrality at a faster pace.
Individual investors and EUA cancelation
Since individual investors now have access to the EU ETS, they can buy and hold EUAs. But they also have the legal right to cancel (or delete) them, whenever they want to. This means that not only can investors temporarily withhold allowances from the market, but they can also permanently remove these allowances from circulation.
Corporations, organizations, and countries deleting EUAs for climate
This mechanism has been used by corporations, organizations, and even countries to tighten the EU ETS market and reduce the carbon budget forever. For instance, the C4S initiative, endorsed by the Lord Mayor of London, has been highlighted as an effective tool for combating climate change. Also, Malta and Sweden have recently committed to canceling carbon allowances as part of their part under the Effort Sharing European Regulation.
Canceling EUAs: guaranteed emission reductions
Deleting EUAs has a direct and tangible impact: it ensures that the carbon emissions that would otherwise have been released, associated with those allowances, will not be unleashed into the atmosphere. Unlike some voluntary projects, which may sometimes have uncertain environmental outcomes, canceling carbon allowances guarantees an immediate and measurable reduction in emissions. This proactive step directly contributes to the fight against climate change, making a tangible difference in reducing overall carbon pollution.
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