INTERNATIONAL CARBON CREDITS
The update of the EU Climate Law has now entered into force. Bioenergia ry – the Bioenergy Association of Finland believes that reducing emissions must be at the core of implementing the EU Climate Law.
The use of international emission units must be enabled within the framework of the EU Climate Law as part of the implementing legislation. The final volume of their use should not be fixed in advance; it should depend on circumstances, and procurement must be multi-objective and cost-effective. If the procurement cannot be made in a sufficiently cost-effective way, then the purchase volume should be adjusted downward. Purchases could include both emission reductions or allowances, and emission removals – in particular permanent removals.
Carbon credits should be primarily sought in countries that are good and reliable global partners of the EU. Carbon credits can and should create co-benefits that should be acknowledged in implementation of EU’s foreign and trade policy.
The association considers the EU’s centralised procurement of international units the most promising way to integrate the use of government carbon credits into EU climate policy. Arguments in favour of centralised procurement include economies of scale, harmonised practices, the concentration of expertise and thus cost-effectiveness.
Bioenergia ry takes a positive view of promoting agricultural climate measures and carbon farming through EU-wide voluntary funding. For carbon farming, however, impacts on the availability of industrial and energy wood must be taken into account.