The EU has rolled out a provisional deal on bolstering its carbon market, the bloc's main policy tool to combat global warming, the Czech EU presidency and the European Council announced on Sunday.
The agreement, which has yet to be formally adopted by the European Parliament, also obliges the 27 EU member states to accelerate the pace for their companies, from power producers to steelmakers, to reduce pollution.
Czech Environment Minister Marian Jurecka stressed in a statement that the accord “will allow us to meet climate objectives within the main sectors of the economy, while making sure the most vulnerable citizens and micro-enterprises are effectively supported in the climate transition.”
The European Council, in turn, referred to 30 hours of talks, during which EU negotiators agreed on raising the overall target to cut emissions in the sectors covered by the European Emissions Trading System to 62% by 2030.
Additionally, a decision was made to rebase "the overall emissions ceiling over two years of 90 and 27 million allowances respectively, and increase the annual reduction rate of the cap by 4.3% per year from 2024 to 2027 and 4.4 from 2028 to 2030," according to the European Council’s statement.
The statement pointed out that the negotiators also decided on the establishment of a Climate Social Fund to help vulnerable households, micro-enterprises and transport users cope with the price impacts of an emissions trading system for buildings, road transport and fuel for additional sectors. The 87 billion euro fund is expected to start running in 2026.
Peter Liese, lead negotiator for the European Parliament, hailed what he described as “the biggest climate law ever in Europe, and some say in the world.”
“We get a lot for climate, a big amount of CO2 saved, at the lowest possible price,” he told reporters on Sunday, arguing that the new deal “will provide a huge contribution towards fighting climate change.”
A Eurostat survey showed in late September that although greenhouse gas emissions in the EU fell by 32% between 1990 and 2020 across sectors including energy and manufacturing, the bloc’s transport sector tarnished the trend, with a 7% increase in emissions over the same period.