Press Releases

25th May 2010 EU Emissions Trading Scheme set to lock in high emissions rather than deliver reductions unless caps are tightened EU flagship climate policy fails to require any emissions reductions before 2017. Instead of encouraging firms to reduce their emissions, the EU emissions trading scheme is actually guaranteeing high level of emissions can continue in to the future.

12th May 2010 ČEZ earns on cap-and-trade plan Czech energy giant ČEZ had the dubious distinction of making an NGO's top 10 list of "Carbon Fat Cats" - European companies who earned windfall profits by selling an over abundance of emissions credits.

1st April 2010 EU Emissions fall dramatically leaving carbon trading scheme high and dry New data released by the European Commission today reveals that industrial emissions in 2009 fell by a dramatic 11% in a single year putting them below the caps that have been set.

12th March 2010 Power companies Endesa and ENEL top European list of carbon offsetters, buying HFC credits from China. Today Sandbag launches an on-line interactive map and report showing for the first time exactly what European companies are using to comply with their carbon emissions caps and where they are getting their offsets from.

12th March 2010 Corus tops the list of carbon offsetters in the UK using Brazilian chemical plant credits Today Sandbag launches an on-line interactive map and report showing for the first time exactly what UK companies are using to comply with their carbon emissions caps and where they are getting their offsets from.

5th March 2010 The Carbon Fat Cats List, dominated by steel and cement companies, could share a surplus of pollution permits worth €3.2 billion by 2012 New research out today from Sandbag Climate Change compiled in association with www.carbonmarketdata.com reveals the top ten companies set to profit from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

13th January 2010 Green New Year's Resolutions with Sandbag Thinking of cutting down your carbon footprint? Cycling to work for a year will help save around a tonne of carbon... but signing the Sandbag petition to the EU could help prevent 3 billion tonnes of carbon being released into the atmosphere.

13th January 2010 EU already 90% of the way towards its 2020 target Sandbag is asking the EU to up its carbon ambition after the NGO's calculations found the union is already 90% of the way towards its current target.

7th December 2009 UK's Richest Man Could Make £1 Billion From Emissions Trading Over-allocation of permits to pollute have left the gate open for Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of steel giant ArcelorMittal, to make £1 billion from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, Sandbag investigations reveal.

3rd November 2009 One Giant Leap for Clean Power A group of parkour athletes are descending on the UN's Barcelona climate negotiations to call for tighter global emissions targets as part of the One Giant Leap campaign.

28th October 2009 EU 2020 Climate Targets – What You See is Not What You Get The EU's promises to lead the way on emissions reduction are not nearly as ambitious as they seem, according to Sandbag research.

31st July 2009 Major London Hospital joins forces with Sandbag Sandbag has bought 2,000 tonnes-worth of carbon emission credits from Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust - the equivalent of taking 1,000 cars off the road.

20th July 2009 EU ETS S.O.S: UK Climate ambition under threat Weak targets and slower-than-projected growth due to the recession mean it could be 2015 before polluters have to do anything to cut down their emissions, Sandbag has found. 

3rd April 2009 Latest emissions trading map launched for the UK Sandbag's new map illustrating polluters and their assigned permits shows only the electricity sector has received fewer credits than it needs meaning all other sectors can sell-on their permits to other polluters for a potential £180 million subsidy.

8th December 2008 Poland and climate change - why it needs to stop biting the hand that's currently feeding it Poland's opposition to emissions tradition is stifling its own growth into non-traditional green technology and threatening to undermine the EU's position internationally.

5th December 2008 Christmas from Sandbag Show someone you care with a virtual sandbag this Christmas and save as much CO2 as switching off 60 lightbulbs for a year.

16th September 2008 Sandbag launch announcement Sandbag launches, focusing on making emissions trading fairer, more transparent and more effective.