Policy Watch in 2012

A reformed carbon market is the only agreed priority among European policymakers for 2030, but the transport sector will need to change as well, explains Sonja van Renssen

Political bickering and market complexities are stymieing attempts to regulate international shipping emissions, reports Sonja van Renssen.

Full implementation of the European Union's new energy-efficiency law faces many hurdles, explains Sonja van Renssen.

Market-based mechanisms to tackle climate change have many advocates, but economic conditions are making emissions trading schemes hard to implement and sustain, explains Sonja van Renssen.

Tackling greenhouse-gas emissions from aircraft was never going to be easy, but Europe is laying the groundwork. Sonja van Renssen investigates whether the plans have wings.

The European Union has proposed an impressive budget that 'mainstreams' its climate commitments across funding sectors, but will it reduce carbon emissions, asks Sonja van Renssen.

Carbon dioxide is not the only air pollutant to cause warming and, in the race to combat global temperature rise, policymakers are now focusing on the other culprits, as Sonja van Renssen finds out.

Developing countries can reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions through voluntary actions, but they need the full support of developed nations, says Sonja van Renssen.