CAKE & LIFE VIIEW 2050 side event at COP29 in Ukrainian Pavilion

The Centre for Climate and Energy Analyses (CAKE) is involved in organisation and particpation in several side events at this year’s COP29- 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where results of the LIFE VIIEW 2050 project were presented. One of the side event was organised together with the Energy Community Secretariat and held on the 14 of November 2024 and hosted in Ukrainian Pavilion.

Carbon pricing as a response to climate change in the EU’s neighbouring countries

Carbon pricing continues to be an issue of interest to both countries that already have emissions trading schemes and those that do not. Unsurprisingly, it is also one of the topics being debated and negotiated at COP29. And it was the subject of another side event at COP29 – Carbon pricing as a response to climate change in the EU’s neighbouring countries – organised by CAKE and LIFE VIIEW 2050 together with the Energy Community Secretariat and hosted in the Ukrainian pavilion at COP29 on 14 November 2024.

Side event started with opening remarks by Ołeh Bondarenko, Chairman of the Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Environmental Policy. Then the panel discussion, which was the highlight of the event, was preceded by a presentation from CAKE and LIFE VIIEW 2050 expert Maciej Cygler, who set the scene for the discussion to follow. He presented an overview of the evolving carbon pricing measures around the world, as well as the results of analyses focused on different patterns of emissions trading scheme the EU – gave very interesting descriptions of how they are responding to the calls for increased use of different forms of carbon pricing around the world.

The Panel Discussion, chaired by Monika Figaj of the Energy Community Secretariat, then took place, featuring our distinguished panellists. Our panellists – most of whom represent countries outside the EU – described in a very interesting way how they are responding to the calls related to the increasing use of various forms of carbon pricing worldwide. Artur Lorkowski, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, Aliona Rusnac, Secretary of State at Ministry of Environment, Moldova, and Oleksii Riabchyn, Energy and EU Green Deal Advisor to Deputy Prime-Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine,

without substantially questioning the inevitability of the expansion of policy instruments based on carbon pricing, they stressed that one of the major challenges facing the candidate countries in the near future is CBAM. However, at the same time, they stressed that CBAM is not an immoveable obstacle whose existence must be limited, but a specific circumstance that must be taken into account to some extent. To support this thesis, they explained how plans and work are well advanced to establish relevant climate measures in their countries that are compatible with those in the EU.

In his intervention, Robert Jeszke, Deputy Director for Emissions Management at IOŚ-PIB and CAKE/KOBiZE CEO, described the paths taken in the development of carbon pricing mechanisms around the world and backed up his remarks with the results of analyses carried out by CAKE. He also underlined the importance and benefits of ongoing and future processes related to the development and linking of emissions trading schemes around the world, while not shying away from the challenges and obstacles involved. In response to concerns about the implementation of CBAM, he emphasised that, in the context of the ongoing development of emissions trading schemes, the CBAM being implemented in the EU should be seen as a transitional mechanism that will lose its relevance over time.

More information on the side event you can found at: LINK