EU leaders prepare for conflict to achieve climate goals

As the cost of green abatement spreads across the EU, European leaders are facing an imminent impact on their citizens and businesses from aggressive emission targets.

The summits in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday will be partly led by discussions on how to decarbonize many parts of the European economy so that the group can achieve its goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 55% by the end of the decade.

In particular, the summit may blow the distribution of core issues to the public. Green agenda Because it will affect the disposable income of voters by raising household energy bills, water pump prices and food costs.

Officials hope to have a debate that will pit the wealthier countries of Western Europe against the poorer and more polluted countries in the south and east. To prove that the debate may cause controversy, the ambassadors clashed on the draft environmental conclusions of the meeting on Friday.

An EU official said that at the summit, leaders will “reiterate their sensitivities and priorities” in the climate debate and warned that many compromises “will be very tricky”.

One of the biggest battles will be how to set emission targets for industries that are not subject to the EU’s carbon pricing mechanism, and to extend the scope of this Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to controversial schemes such as the automotive industry.

Poland is taking the lead in providing a large amount of financial compensation to alleviate the blow from the EU’s upcoming plan. Poland stated that the plan will disproportionately target the poorest and most vulnerable households in an economy that depends on fossil fuels.

In July, the European Commission will propose legislative measures to lay a legal path for the European Union to achieve the revision target of at least 55%. carbon emission By 2030 – the previous commitment was 40%.

Brussels will propose a series of far-reaching measures, including the potential expansion of ETS into retail areas such as automobiles and heating. If it continues, households will have to bear part of the cost of European record carbon prices in heating bills and fuel pump prices. Last month, the EU’s carbon price has soared to more than 50 euros per ton of carbon.

The committee will also announce its design for border levies on imported carbon. This measure has been supported by EU companies such as steel companies, which worry that foreign competitors with higher emissions will weaken their competitiveness.But this has attracted people’s attention Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and other EU trading partners.

Brussels will also propose new renewable energy targets and update its forestry regulations to promote carbon sinks in Europe.

Reaching an agreement on such a large number of commission measures will be an unprecedented feat in the EU’s history, and the EU has listed it as one of the most thorough decarbonization agendas of any advanced economy. The EU’s goal is to become the first continent to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

However, the nature of the 27 EU member states, diversified economic models and energy structure means that it will be very difficult to reach a consensus on how to truly achieve decarbonization.

Each element has the possibility to set up member states. For example, in forestry, due to the destruction of huge forests by bark beetles, the Czech Republic is worried about its ability to achieve carbon reduction targets-this is a question already raised by Prime Minister Andrej Babis.

Leaders will also discuss how to share the cost of carbon emission reductions between poor and rich countries. Under a joint effort regulation that covers 60% of the EU’s total emissions, poorer countries must proportionally reduce emissions from richer countries.

This right is strictly protected by southern and eastern countries. However, countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands hope that the committee will update the standards so that the smaller, richer countries will not bear most of the burden of decarbonization in Europe.

As for 40% of the EU’s emissions covered by the EU’s emissions trading system’s carbon pricing mechanism, Brussels must decide whether to extend the system to areas such as buildings and automobiles.

Hungary is one of the countries opposed to expansion, while Poland requires countries that rely most on fossil fuels to have a higher share of the system’s revenue. Any agreement requires the support of the vast majority of member states and members of the European Parliament.

The Dutch green environmental organization Bas Eickhout said that the leaders’ summit was held at a “bad” time, weeks ahead of the committee’s proposal. He warned that the inclusion of automobiles in the ETS should not allow automakers to get rid of the strict national carbon dioxide emission regulations that have existed since 2019.

Eckhout said: “Let us hope that the heads of state and leaders can send a clear message to the European Commission not to put all the eggs in the basket of the carbon trading system.”