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Ring in the new year!

The past 12 months have been a roller coaster ride for carbon markets! We went through highs and lows, with some crazy vertical loops too. The highs include the consolidation of existing systems, such as the completion of the nearly-three-year-long process to reform the EU ETS, which prompted EU allowance prices to quadruple, and similar overhauls in California, New Zealand and South Korea. We saw market expansion too, with the launch of the Chinese national ETS, the expansion of the RGGI family, the launch of Canada’s carbon pricing plan and a lot of activity across the Americas under the umbrella of the Carbon Pricing in the Americas declaration. 

But 2018 brought difficult moments too, with the sudden repeal of ETS legislation in Ontario, which resulted in a messy pull out from WCI; the rise of populist and anti-climate governments; and the spectre of Brexit looming over the EU ETS. 

COP24 was no exception from this bittersweet symphony. UN climate negotiators did deliver on the mandate to adopt the Paris Rulebook, but Article 6 guidance, crucial to drive market expansion and linkage under the Paris regime, was deferred to next year. 

Next year is set to be a time to reap the benefits of the good work done in 2018, but will also require a fair deal of hard work to advance our mission. We at IETA feel ready for the challenge, knowing the positive force that the collective voice of our members can bring to the table. 

2019 is also IETA’s 20th birthday and we are planning to celebrate it throughout the year at our regional events and member meeting. We hope to celebrate it with you too - contact us at membership@ieta.org to join us!

Stefano De Clara
Director, International Policy

Meet IETA

For a full line-up of IETA events in 2019 or to register for any of them, see our events page. Spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, we hope to see you at one of them!

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