The European Parliament voted against key elements of the EU climate package on Wednesday. The extension of emissions trading (ETS) to buildings and transport was rejected. The bill, which provides for allowances for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, was referred back to the Environment Committee. Other important votes on the EU climate package have also been postponed. The EU parliament is “split between industry-friendly cementers of the Conservative and Liberal factions and climate advocates who don’t want to allow dilution,” said Green MP Thomas Waitz.
Amendments were long debated, the results of which did not please the Greens and the Social Democrats in particular. The plenary had, among other things, adopted an amendment by the Christian Democrat EPP Group, according to which the introduction of a CO2 border tax should be fully implemented by 2034. The Social Democrats and the liberal parliamentary group RENEW had proposed the year 2032 for the CO2 border tax. The atmosphere in the plenary became more tense and the leader of the Social Democrats, Iratxe Garcia, asked for a short break. Immediately afterwards, 340 MEPs voted against the ETS reform, 265 in favor and 34 abstained.
“With an unprecedented maneuver, this alliance of the left and right has for the time being destroyed this important element of the climate protection package and thereby also jeopardized the financing of the social climate fund,” said Angelika Winzig, head of the ÖVP delegation to the European Commission. Parliament, and Alexander Bernhuber, environmental spokesman for the ÖVP in the European Parliament, in a broadcast. The Climate Social Fund is intended to relieve low-income households.
Greens ‘had to pull the emergency brake’
Green politician Waitz justified the withdrawal as follows: “Ultimately the Greens had to pull the necessary emergency brake and vote against the report, otherwise the European Parliament’s position would have lagged behind the Commission’s position, which would have meant an end to the Green Deal.”
The general review and expansion of emissions trading is the right thing to do, “but with the weak compromise that the conservative forces were trying to push through, we would have missed the climate targets. That is why I voted against this reform proposal,” emphasized Claudia Gamon , NEOS MEP, after the votes. The WWF took a similar stance. MEPs pulled the plug just in time today. This did not seriously weaken the reduction targets of EU emissions trading,” says Thomas Zehetner, climate and energy spokesperson for WWF Austria.
Disputed end for combustion engines from 2035
The background to the votes is a proposal from the European Commission for the “Fit for 55” legislative package to reduce emissions of harmful greenhouse gases by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 and to become climate neutral by 2050. The climate package also concerns a possible de facto ban on combustion engines from 2035. This proposal from the European Commission is also controversial. In addition, foreign traders would in future have to pay a levy if they sell their goods in the EU and their production releases climate-damaging gases. It should also be about reforestation and other ways of storing CO2.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
