EU Parliament expected to pass key carbon reduction act

The climate urgently calls for a new agreement on CO2 quotas, says parliamentarians.
Photo: Jens Hartmann Schmidt/Ritzau Scanpix
Photo: Jens Hartmann Schmidt/Ritzau Scanpix
BY RITZAU, TRANSLATED BY SIMON ØST VEJBÆK

On Tuesday, the EU Parliament is to vote on a trading scheme for carbon quotas in the EU.

The agreement is meant to bolster the Emissions Trading System (ETS) which is an essential step towards reaching the bloc aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in 2030, says Danish member of Parliament Christel Schaldemose.

”ETS is at the core of our entire climate policy. Pollution must never be a viable business, and we aim to make it sufficiently costly to prompt companies to embark on mitigation efforts,” she says.

She expects the act to pass. And that also applies to another Danish member of parliament, Erik Poulsen, who welcomes the new bill.

”I’m very pleased. It’s about finding the right balance to swiftly complete the green transition in terms of the technologies available. In my view, the act holds the right balance,” he says.

Specifically, the EU Commission maintains that the ETS revision would effectively bring down emissions from companies enrolled in the quota scheme by 62% in 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

Parliament is also set to vote on a string of other drafts which passed through EU Council in December last year.

The docket includes a climate tariff for steel and cement imports. The tariff is meant to ensure competitive terms between companies inside and outside the EU.

Additionally, the launch of a major climate fund is to prevent costs from social backlash.

Christel Schaldemose and Erik Poulsen both declare full support to every item on the agenda.

The Danish Red-Green Alliance’s sole Parliament representative, Nikolaj Villumsen, also plans to vote in favor of the bill. Despite his belief that the amendments lack ambition.

”No one in their right mind could view these effort as sufficient. But the catastrophe would be far greater if the bill didn’t pass. There is an acute need for action,” he says.

Villumsen would have liked the climate tariff to cover more sectors.

”It would have added pressure on other parts of the world, so that no one gets to freewheel the green transition.”

Schaldemose agrees that more initiatives are needed.

”But I nevertheless feel that we have gotten far. Some major deals are passing right now. I believe we can hold our head high even if the measures are less ambitious than back in Denmark,” she says.

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