FSR

This is a podcast of the series "Spot on Climate" of the Climate area of the Florence School of Regulation. In this podcast, Research Associate Albert FERRARI discusses with Andrei MARCU, Founder and Executive Director of the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition (ERCST). Andrei has been one of the corporate-sector pioneers in the area of climate change and carbon markets. ERCST leads an Informal Forum on Implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which brings together negotiators in an informal discussion to contribute towards arriving at a common understanding in view of achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

This episode focuses on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, through a discussion on these issues:

- The different ways in which the Parties to the Paris Agreement can engage in international cooperation under Article 6,

- The stumbling blocks of the negotiation process in view of reaching an agreement on the Paris Rulebook,

- The roles the UK and Italy could play in clearing the way for an agreement at the next COP26,

- The implications of Article 6 for the linking of Emissions Trading Systems.

Visit ERCST Library on Article 6 https://ercst.org/article-6-library-2/

Read the IETA, UMD and CPLC Report https://www.ieta.org/resources/International_WG/Article6/CLPC_A6%20report_no%20crops.pdf, September 2019

In this episode of the ‘On The Move’ series Teodora Serafimova, Research Associate at the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation speaks with Ana Salazar, Head of Sustainability Division at AENA, the world’s largest airport operator in terms of passenger traffic.

Despite the fact that aviation is one of the sectors worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, AENA last year announced a new climate strategy pledging to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, which is ten years ahead of the target set by the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe. What were the main drivers behind AENA’s climate strategy? What concrete measures is AENA implementing to reduce its CO2 and environmental footprint? What are some of the regulatory and financing gaps in the current EU framework that would need to be closed to enable airports to act as ‘enablers’ for the broader decarbonisation of the aviation value chain, including airlines? Listen to their conversation for answers to these questions!

Read the main conclusions of the 14th Florence Air Forum on the Role of Airports in the European Green Deal here: https://fsr.eui.eu/publications/?handle=1814/69636

In its Order on 20 May 2020 the General Court in Nord Stream 2 v Parliament and Council ruled the application inadmissible. The case raises some important questions as to the standing requirements for private persons directly challenging EU acts before the EU courts.

It appears that the main reason for refusal to grant the appellant standing to directly challenge the amendments to the 2009 Gas Market Directive stems from the fact that the EU act under challenge is a Directive that requires implementation at national level. This in turn, according to the General Court, implies that there is no ‘direct concern’.

Nord Stream 2 v Parliament and Council is a case that turns largely on its facts and it may be that the General Court’s approach does not take this into consideration. This is a case where the intended effect of the amendment is to complicate one project, Nord Stream 2, and leave other comparable import pipelines unaffected.

This podcast will examine the Order of the General Court and provide certain degree of criticism to the approach taken by the Court. The podcast is based on an OGEL article that is available here:

https://www.ogel.org/journal-advance-publication-article.asp?key=678

This is a podcast of the series "Spot on Climate" of the Climate area of the Florence School of Regulation. In this podcast, Research Associate Albert FERRARI continues the conversation with Peter VIS, Senior Advisor at Rud Pedersen Public Affairs and Senior Research Associate at the School of Transnational Governance. This second episode focuses on the design and implementation of the upcoming EU proposal for Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), through a discussion on these two questions:

- What advice would you give to the European Commission in developing its proposal?

- Under what conditions could we do without it?

The European Commission will be presenting in June 2021 a proposal for a CBAM for certain imported products to reduce the risk of carbon leakage, which is the risk of companies transferring production to countries that are less strict about emissions. With a CBAM, the price of imports would reflect more accurately their carbon content. This would ensure that the EU’s climate objectives are not undermined by production relocating to countries with less ambitious policies.

Read the STG Policy Brief "A way forward for a carbon border adjustment mechanism by the EU", Jos DELBEKE, Peter VIS, 2020, Cadmus

https://cadmus.eui.eu//handle/1814/69155

Catch up on the previous episode with Peter VIS on the rationale and challenges of the CBAM:

https://soundcloud.com/fsregulation-energy-and-climate/spot-on-climate-episode-1/s-enD0S62pN5J

In this third episode of the ‘On The Right Track’ podcast series, Juan Montero, Professor at the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation speaks with Dr. Marco Kampp, Director of International Long-Distance Passenger Transport at Deutsche Bahn about the existing barriers and necessary solutions to boost the share of international long-distance passenger services in Europe.

What does Deutsche Bahn expect from the European Year of Rail and what is the company doing in regards to increasing rail ridership across the continent? What are the legal, commercial and technical barriers, which hinder international rail passenger services? What kind of framework conditions will be necessary to ensure that investments channeled towards railways are fruitful and help to advance the EU’s modal shift objectives? What is the role of increased harmonisation at both the technical and economic levels for the provision of international long-distance passenger services? In view of the COVID-19 crisis, what are the most urgently needed regulatory measures in the rail sector? Listen to their full conversation for answers to these questions and more!

Zoë Knight, Managing Director and Group Head of the HSBC Centre of Sustainable Finance, shares her thoughts on the role of the Finance sector in the net-zero transition with Joana Freitas, Ambassador for the FSR Lights on Women initiative. The financial sector’s role in the global response to climate change will entail not only accelerating low carbon investments but also supporting the transition of carbon-intensive sectors. When it comes to investments in green renewable generation, investors’ appetites seem to exceed the volume of investable projects. Knight identifies a variety of reasons, highlighting that the “risk assessment for how strong the investment will contribute to solving climate goals isn't truly reflected yet”. On the other hand, the hard-to-abate sectors, including industry, heavy-duty transport and agriculture, account for around 40% of greenhouse gas emissions but still attract limited investment. In Knight's perspective, companies need to clearly demonstrate what their climate strategy is. In addition, green financial instruments, such as green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds, also have a significant role in the decarbonisation pathway. These types of instruments work as a transparency mechanism allowing investors to be clear on what the proceeds are going to be used for. Although the issuance of green bonds has been growing quickly, in 2020 it only represented 5% of the market. “There’s plenty of work to do from this labelled finance aspect because we need to drive so much capital towards low carbon outcomes”, Knight says. Governments may also signal to investors that they are taking their climate plans seriously by issuing green financial instruments. Knight considers that these initiatives are “a really powerful backdrop for privately-held corporates to be able to also be transparent about their financing as well”.

In this second episode of the ‘On The Right Track’ podcast series, Juan Montero, Professor at the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation speaks with Alberto Mazzola, Executive Director at the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER), about the railway industry’s expectations in terms of EU regulatory developments during the European Year of Rail.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the railway industry and how does this translate into the sector’s expectations for the European Year of Rail? What measures are necessary to increase the modal share of rail passenger services? Can competition help to increase ridership and achieve the European Green Deal objectives for rail? Could Europe experience the return of the night trains, which have seen increasing popularity during the pandemic as a substitute for short haul flights? Is the EU regulatory approach to night trains an experiment or a policy that is here to stay? What are the reasons behind the stagnating modal share of rail freight services in the EU, and what measures should be implemented to reverse the trend? Listen to their full conversation for some answers to these questions!

This is the first podcast of the series "Spot on Climate" of the Climate area of the Florence School of Regulation. In this podcast, Research Associate Albert FERRARI converses with Peter VIS, Senior Advisor at Rud Pedersen Public Affairs and Senior Research Associate at the School of Transnational Governance. This first episode focuses on the rationale and the challenges behind the possible Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) through a discussion on these two questions:

- What is the case for a CBAM?

- How might it work?

The European Commission will be presenting in June 2021 a proposal for a CBAM for certain imported products to reduce the risk of carbon leakage, which is the risk of companies transferring production to countries that are less strict about emissions. With a CBAM, the price of imports would reflect more accurately their carbon content. This would ensure that the EU’s climate objectives are not undermined by production relocating to countries with less ambitious policies. Listen to the interview, and stay tuned for the next episode with Peter VIS on the design and implementation of the CBAM in practice.

In this episode, Agneta Rising, Director General of the World Nuclear Association, joins Joana Freitas to discuss the role of nuclear energy in the energy transition. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2018 nuclear power provided 10% of global electricity supply and 25% of electricity supply in Europe. Although no new nuclear plants have been built in Europe in the last few years, Agneta Rising points out that the global scenario looks positive. In Asian countries, like India, China and South Korea, there is a growing number of new nuclear plants, while there are also newcomer countries, which is the case of United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Belarus and Bangladesh. Nuclear is a zero-carbon, dispatchable, baseload energy source, and in many cases at a very competitive cost. “We can see in countries that have used and started to use nuclear energy how they boosted their economy and how many jobs they also created”, Agneta Rising adds. However, in Europe, public opinion seems divided, especially after the Fukushima accident. Regarding the Fukushima accident, Agneta Rising notes that “nobody has died and there is no expectation that anyone will die because of the radiation” and the experience from this accident has been taken into account to upgrade the safety of every reactor around the world. “There is a lot of myths about the accident”, Agneta Rising says. In addition to the safety issues regarding nuclear reactors, environmental organizations, as Greenpeace, have been raising concerns on the ability to handle nuclear waste. In Agneta Rising’s perspective, countries with nuclear plants have been successfully managing nuclear waste since nuclear started producing more than 60 years ago. “It’s not a large problem and it's not a highly technical problem. It's more a problem of just getting political decisions, supporting and choosing a good site.”

In this podcast Professor Matthias Finger, Director of the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation, speaks to Matthew Daus, former Commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (2001-2010), and current Transport Technology Chair at the Transport Center of the City College of New York, and practicing tansportation lawyer specialised in new modes of transport, including Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS).

Tune in to their discussion to learn about the emergence of the transport network companies (TNCs) concept, how it transformed the taxi industry of New York over the past 20 years, and how technology pushed the regulatory framework to evolve. What are the learning lessons from the EU when it comes to regulating the next big revolutions in transport, namely MaaS and automation? How will MaaS look like 10 years from now?