22 June 2022 - Today, the European Parliament Plenary returned to their postponed votes on the revision of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Social Climate Fund (SCF). New agreement on these key files calls for slightly higher ambition than European Commission proposals demonstrates a step in the right direction.
Ursula Woodburn, the Head of EU relations at CLG Europe said: “Unprecedented droughts and heatwaves currently hitting all of us and the European economy is a clear reminder of why we need an ambitious Fit for 55 Package.. European businesses need strong EU legislation to both mitigate the risks of climate change and to ensure that they can secure the advantage and benefit from the economic opportunities, jobs and emissions reductions from the transition to climate neutrality.
“The European Parliament has taken the first step by improving the Commission’s initial proposals on these key files of the Fit for 55 Package. The Environment Council on 28 June, should take this one step further and ensure an ambitious, effective and coherent outcome for the Package as it would be key to both align the EU’s climate policies with the Paris Agreement and support front runners and competitive sustainability of the European industry.”
At the European Parliament, MEPs agreed to slightly increase the overall ambition of the ETS proposal to 63%, compared to the 61% proposed by the Commission in July 2021. They have also agreed to phase out free allowances between 2027 and 2032, three years earlier than the Commission’s proposal. MEPs have also agreed the CBAM to apply from 2033 in replacement of free allowances and their position on the ETS2 which delays the introduction of carbon pricing for households to 2029.
CLG Europe advocates for an ambitious, coherent and efficient Fit for 55 Package in order to put the EU on a path consistent with the Paris Agreement and ensure implementation of the EU Climate Law.