The European Commission also proposed this Friday that the EU set an electrification target for 2040 and that at least 46% of Europeans' energy consumption comes from electricity. At the moment, however, Brussels admits that the European bloc has been stuck at the same percentage, 23%, for a decade, and warns that efforts must be increased to achieve the climate goal. In this regard, the community executive asks member states to take measures to make this a reality, such as increasing taxes on consumption derived from fossil fuels.In this way, Brussels aims to reduce pollution and, at the same time, the dependencies it has with third countries due to the high consumption of fossil fuels in the European bloc. In fact, for the European Commission, the energy transition is not only an environmental issue, but above all a way to gain autonomy.
Brussels wants to allow industry to pollute more in exchange for green investments
The European Commission proposes to slow down the pace of reduction of polluting emissions
BrusselsNew reform from Brussels that lowers environmental ambitions. The European Commission proposed this Friday that European industry be allowed to reduce pollutant emissions at a slower pace than planned in current legislation. However, in return, these factories will have to increase green and decarbonization investments.
The Community executive proposes revising one of the most notable environmental measures of the European Union's Green Agenda, what is known as the emissions trading system (ETS). European regulations stipulate that companies must pay for the carbon dioxide emissions they release into the atmosphere and, in this way, contribute partly to the fight against climate change.
However, the European Union's plan is for these emission allowances to be progressively reduced, which raises the price of compensation and, furthermore, forces European factories to accelerate their decarbonization and reduce pollutant emissions. Current regulations establish that emission allowances should be reduced each year by 4.4%, until 2039, when this type of credit would no longer be granted. In this way, the European bloc intends to achieve its climate objectives for 2030: to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 55% compared to levels recorded in 1990.
However, due to pressure from industry and a large part of the member states, the European Commission is now proposing to lower this ambition and reduce the rate of reduction of credits for pollutant emissions. Specifically, Brussels proposes to decrease these rates to 3.5% from 2030 and to 1.7% from 2036.
On the other hand, the European Commission has also proposed including all types of private flights, not just commercial ones, in the obligation to pay for polluting emissions rights. "It makes no sense that a family that, for example, flies from Brussels to Benidorm has to pay the emission rights for two adults and two children, while someone flying in a private jet can go back and forth without paying even once. This must end," said the European Commissioner for Climate, Wopke Hoekstra, at a press conference.
The division of the EU
The fight against climate change is no longer a consensus priority in the European Union. Increasingly, more community leaders and member states are calling for a reduction in environmental requirements for companies, and for months they have been calling to dilute the ETS system. Some countries, particularly Germany and Italy, believe that these climate ambitions are stifling European industry, which they consider to be in a period of competitive crisis.
On the contrary, there are other European partners, such as Spain or Denmark, who oppose the reduction of climate ambitions being promoted by the Commission chaired by Ursula von der Leyen and are pressuring to prevent, for example, the pace of reduction of polluting emissions from being slowed down. Therefore, negotiations between the Council of the EU – the body representing the member states – and the European Parliament on the proposal presented this Friday by the European Commission are expected to be tough and long. In fact, the battle between the two groups of countries has already begun for months.