Emissions Trading Extra (ETX) seeks to make the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), one of the EU’s main tools for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, work for citizens and the climate.

Emissions Trading Extra (ETX) is a LIFE project that promotes broader and robust civil society participation in policymaking and monitoring, as well as greater international collaboration to ensure that the ETS benefits the climate and the people. ETX also carries out scientific assessments and conducts capacity-building that will help empower civil society to engage in this extremely technical yet vital policy area.

The ETS covers around 40% of Europe’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While emissions from the power sector have declined, carbon emissions from sectors like steel, cement and chemicals have barely decreased in the past decade.  ETX is working to tackle this problematic reality to ensure that the EU’s carbon market, which is set to expand to cover new areas, plays its full role in the transition towards climate neutrality.

With the climate emergency heating up and fossil fuels being the root cause of the problem, the need for accelerated, sustainable and fair climate action has become even more urgent.

LifeETX objectives

1

Increase civil society’s awareness and knowledge of the functioning of the ETS and carbon pricing, and boost its capacity to campaign for better policies and implementation.

2

Promote the engagement of European citizens and other key stakeholders supporting pan-European and international replication.

3

Provide a scientific knowledge base to assess the functioning and potential of the ETS for achieving improved 2030 climate targets, as well as the development of carbon pricing policies at the national and European levels.

Consortium

LifeETX project is implemented by a consortium of 10 NGOs working at national and European level.

LifeETX partners

AirClim is a joint venture between four Swedish environmental organisations (Nature and Youth Sweden, World Wide Fund for Nature, Friends of the Earth, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation) with the chief purpose of promoting awareness of the problems associated with air pollution and climate change, and thus, to bring about the required reduction in the emissions of air pollutants, including greenhouse gases. Our eventual aim is to have those emissions brought down to levels that the environment can tolerate without suffering damage.

AMO deals with different aspects of climate policies: from international and EU negotiations, including climate security, all the way to the low-carbon transition, its financing and social implications. We are united in our comprehension of the climate crisis as an existential threat for the future of human civilisation and in our conviction that key decisions impacting climate policy must be made based on quality evidence-based inputs. We strive to enhance the interlinkage between domestic, European and international discussions on climate targets and measures so as to ensure their real implementation on all levels. To that end, we also establish contacts and advocate for sensible solutions.

BBL is the largest network of sustainable organisations in Flanders. We unite the forces of civil society, citizens, policymakers and companies.  In 2050, everyone in Flanders will lead good and healthy lives, without harming our planet. That is the goal we want to achieve, together with our vast network of environmentally conscious people, and the organisations, policy bodies and businesses they represent.

CMW is a not-for-profit association with unique expertise in carbon pricing and a track record of policy work with international organisations and the European Union. Our strengths lie in evidence-based advocacy to improve climate policies, turning complex issues into comprehensible messages, and helping people understand and influence those policies. Carbon Market Watch exists to ensure that carbon pricing and other climate policies cut pollution and drive a just transition towards zero-carbon societies.

Germanwatch is a non-profit organization based in Germany. It actively promotes North-South equity and the preservation of livelihoods. We observe, analyse and act. In doing so, we focus on the politics and economics of the North with their worldwide consequences. The situation of marginalised people in the South is the starting point of our work. We represent a strong lobby for sustainable development.

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC), is a non-profit environmental organisation with the power to bring about change. We spread knowledge, chart environmental threats, propose solutions and influence politicians and authorities, both nationally and internationally. Using democratic governance, we work with around 40 organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. We also participate in various networks globally and within the EU.

The Polish Green Network is an alliance of 10 major environmental and sustainable development NGOs across Poland. We advocate for social and environmental justice within sustainable development. Since 2008, PGN has been campaigning for climate protection and socially just energy transition. Our long-term aim is to influence new climate policy in Poland to promote zero-carbon energy transformation and advocate for more climate-friendly solutions with a focus on RES, energy efficiency, and community energy.

The Green Tank is an independent, non-profit think tank developing policy solutions for a sustainable future. Our work relates to the three pillars of sustainable development: the environment, the economy and society, with emphasis on climate change and the need for an energy transition, biodiversity conservation, and a just transition. The Green Tank is based in Athens, Greece.

World Information Service on Energy – WISE – is a small Dutch non-profit organization with a focus on the sustainable energy transition. WISE’ mission is to create a safe, reliable and sustainable energy system, without fossil fuels and nuclear power. Through cooperating with other environmental organizations, grassroots networks and activists, we challenge the current energy system and promote alternatives. Our work focuses on campaigning,  grassroots action, and knowledge-based advocacy. To engage the public with emission trading, WISE launched the Carbonkiller campaign in 2018. The campaign draws attention to the flaws in the EU ETS and enables citizens to demand a meaningful carbon price.

Association for the Sustainability of the Earth System was founded in 2015 to achieve a more tangible sustainable development in Portugal. ZERO emissions, ZERO waste, ZERO loss of biodiversity: these are some goals highlighted by our buzzword. Through its broad network of contacts, ZERO works to put pressure on the Portuguese government and parliamentarians to make better environmental policy decisions.

 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s LIFE Programme under grant agreement no.LIFE20 GIC/BE/001662

CountriesPortugal, Belgium, The Netherlands,Sweden, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece
Supported byEU LIFE programme of the European Union
European Climate Foundation
Duration1 July 2021 – 1 July 2024
Budget1,703,470 Euro (EU LIFE Contribution: 936,908 Euro)

Our partners
LifeETX is implemented by a consortium of 10 NGOs working at national and European level