Climate

Pollution (particles from a series of substances suspended in the air) has a scientifically identified negative effect on health. We present here an estimate of this effect for Spain based on data and models from the European Environment Agency, to which we add our own economic impact calculation. According to estimates based on models from […]

The urgent need for decarbonization has broadened the scope of transportation policy from improving network conditions, such as reducing congestion or improving accessibility, to include sustainability considerations, promoting zero-emission mobility, and climate change adaptation measures. While these measures are critical in reducing the carbon footprint of the transportation sector, they can also have unintended social […]

Key ideas → With the available evidence, we cannot claim that the subsidy for metropolitan rail transport has reduced the number of cars on the streets of Madrid. → Nor is there any effect for the areas with the highest traffic intensity, lower (or higher) income levels, the main access roads to the city (M-30), […]

Disclosure of sustainability or ESG information is a prerequisite and a central element for the development of sustainable finance and the reorientation of the economic model towards sustainability. Without it, investors cannot distinguish between companies with more resilient and sustainable business models, or channel sufficient funds towards them. The regulations that governed this disclosure in […]

Energy-intensive sectors in the European Union pay for the environmental costs of their activities through an emissions allowance market, where each tonne of CO2 emitted has a specific price. To prevent these additional costs from putting European industry at a disadvantage compared with imports from third countries, a free quota was previously allocated to the […]

To boost sustainable finance and reduce greenwashing, the European Union (EU) has established the Taxonomy, a classification system of which activities can be considered “sustainable” from a climate and environmental point of view (the E in the acronym ESG). The main objective of the Taxonomy is to provide robust definitions and transparent disclosure requirements to […]

World trade must add to its prices the environmental costs of CO2 emissions associated with the production of goods. To this end, the European Parliament has just voted in favor of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to tax imported products according to their emissions, subjecting them to the same price as European goods that already pay for them in an internal market for emission allowances.

La atención por la sostenibilidad climática y medioambiental ha virado en los últimos años al sector financiero, que será clave en promover la transición ecológica.

En noviembre de 2018, el gobierno de Francia de Emmanuel Macron anunció una subida de impuestos a los carburantes –que pasaron de 44,6 euros por tonelada a 55 euros– como señal de su compromiso con los objetivos pactados de descarbonización. Desde un punto de vista de pura eficiencia económica, la medida tenía todo el sentido. […]

In one sentence: the initial report by Mohammed Chahim (European Parliament) to the Commission’s proposal to price importers’ emissions features some interesting developments but will face numerous political bottlenecks and, above all, does not tackle the fundamental problems of the EU Executive’s proposal.  On the eve of Epiphany, we received the gift of the draft report sent by Mohammed Chahim, MEP, to the […]

The European Commission proposed last July a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) devoted to tax imported products based on their carbon content, hence subjecting them to the same carbon price as European products and reducing the risk of leakage.

On July 14, the European Commission published one of its most eagerly awaited legislative proposals: a new regulation establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM).