BRUSSELS — EU member states and parliamentarians on Sunday
announced an agreement for a major reform to the bloc’s carbon market, the
central plank of its ambitions to reduce emissions and invest in
climate-friendly technologies.
اضافة اعلان
The deal aims to accelerate emissions cuts, phase out free
allowances to industries and targets fuel emissions from the building and road
transport sectors, according to a European Parliament statement.
The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) allows electricity
producers and industries with high energy demands such as steel and cement to
purchase “free allowances” to cover their carbon emissions under a “polluter
pays” principle.
The quotas are designed to decrease over time to encourage
them to emit less and invest in greener technologies as part of the European Union’s ultimate aim of achieving carbon neutrality.
Negotiators representing member states and the parliament
had spent more than 24 hours in intense talks before reaching an agreement on
Saturday night that widens the scope of the carbon market.
The deal means emissions in the ETS sectors are to be cut by
62 percent by 2030 based on 2005 levels, up from a previous goal of 43 percent.
Concerned industries must cut their emissions by that amount.
The agreement also seeks to accelerate the timetable for
phasing out the free allowances, with 48.5 percent phased out by 2030 and a
complete removal by 2034, a schedule at the center of fierce debates between
MEPs and member states.
The carbon market will be progressively extended to the
maritime sector and intra-European flights. Waste incineration sites will be
included from 2028, depending on a favorable report by the commission.
Climate Action Network, a coalition of NGOs, criticized the
agreement, saying it would allow major polluters to continue to receive
billions of euros in free quotas for another decade while households would
receive little.
‘Ambitious carbon price’
French MEP Pascal Canfin, president of the European Parliament’s environment committee, said the carbon price for industries
affected by the ETS would be around 100 euros per tonne.
“No other continent has such an ambitious carbon price,” he
tweeted.
A “carbon border tax”, which imposes environmental standards
on imports into the bloc based on the carbon emissions linked to their
production, will offset the reduction of free allowances and allow industries
to compete with more polluting non-EU rivals.
The agreement also aims to make households pay for emissions
linked to fuel and gas heating from 2027, but the price will be capped until
2030.
The European Commission had proposed a second carbon market
targeting building heating and road fuels, but the plan raised concerns as
households grapple with soaring energy prices exacerbated by Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine.
The second carbon market would have obliged suppliers of
fuel and gas to buy quotas to cover their emissions, but MEPs argued the
measure should be limited to offices and large vehicles.
If energy prices continue to spiral, the application of this
part of the agreement will be delayed by a year.
Funds from this second market will go to a “Social Climate
Fund” designed to help vulnerable households and businesses weather the energy
price crisis.
‘Moment of truth’
“This deal will provide a huge contribution towards fighting
climate change at low costs,” European Parliament rapporteur Peter Liese said
in the statement.
“It will give breathing space for citizens and industry in
difficult times and provide a clear signal to European industry that it pays
off to invest in green technologies.”
The conservative German MEP added the bloc would have until
2026 to invest in green sources and energy efficiency, after which it would be
“the moment of truth: we must reduce our emissions by then, or pay dear”.
The commission first proposed the carbon market reform in
July 2021 as part of plans to reduce the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions by at
least 55 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.
The ETS was created in 2005 and applies to around 40 percent
of EU emissions.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
