As carbon prices rise, concerns about transparency, fairness, and public acceptance have become more prominent. The launch of LIFE NETS comes at a timely moment, as the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) expands to new sectors, including transport and buildings, and increasingly shapes economic and social dynamics across Europe.
Led by the FSR Climate team, Marie Raude, Jacopo Cammeo, Lea Heinrich, Alessia Casamassima, and Olimpia Orlandoni, and Director Simone Borghesi, the initiative supports the objectives of the Paris Agreement by contributing to a better understanding of and support for ambitious climate policies. It aims to improve how emissions trading systems are designed, assessed, and communicated, particularly as their impact on citizens grows.
As Simone Borghesi stated: “NETS is the fourth LIFE project conducted by the Climate team at FSR after LIFE SIDE (2016-2018), LIFE DICET (2019-2022), and LIFE COASE (2023-2025). Still, I feel as excited as I was when I started as Director of the Climate area at FSR with the first project many years ago. And the reason is that I have seen these projects growing in terms of results, outreach and impact over time.”
LIFE NETS will function as both a knowledge hub and a platform for collaboration, focusing on four main areas: making ETS data accessible and understandable, improving communication about carbon pricing, building capacity through training, and creating networks for dialogue and exchange.
Planned activities include the development of an EU ETS Data Tracker to present complex information in a more accessible format, a behavioural experiment to better understand public perceptions of carbon pricing, training courses for policymakers and stakeholders worldwide, and academic and policy dialogues to support knowledge exchange.
By bringing together researchers, policymakers, and international organisations, LIFE NETS contributes to ongoing discussions on climate policy design and implementation. Further updates on its activities will be shared through the FSR website.