Against the Financialization of Nature. Policy Paper 02/2013

Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: The work of the commission of the German Parliament (Bundestag) on “Growth, Prosperity, Quality of Life – Paths toward a sustainable economy and social progress in the social marketplace” concluded in mid-April. One of the commission’s five project groups was titled “growth, resource consumption, and technical progress – possibilities and limits of decoupling” and focused on socio-economic issues.
In its final report the commission states that the European Union is a worldwide pioneer in achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions and that the EU has achieved their climate targets mainly through emissions trading. Emissions trading is seen as a substantial factor in achieving the energy transformation (Energiewende) and in limiting global warming to a maximum of two degrees Celsius.
We categorically object to these claims.