LONDON (Bywire News) - On Wednesday, in two separate votes, members of the European Parliament voted on policies battling climate change. With the rise of energy costs and crippling inflation, the outcomes will shape the future of Europe’s policy on sustainability.
As the European Union stands as the world’s third biggest emitter, after China and the U.S, these policies are intended to drive the union to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, by an optimistic 55% – from 1990 levels.
It has been a challenging task for lawmakers to determine which strategies will survive within the sphere of the European Union. While some argue to uphold policies, others argue for their weakening. Those policies which win out in the vote will progress further towards becoming law in EU countries.
Representatives of Brussels have encouraged substituting Russian fossil fuels for domestically produced green energy with the hope of lowering energy prices.
On the other end of the spectrum, certain lawmakers focus on more immediate issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war. They prefer a slightly easier approach giving the industry time to adapt to the evolving global situation.
The vote on upgrades to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) will be one of the most important measures. The system has already reduced emissions by about 35% between 2005 and 2019. Representatives will debate fortifying the market so that it may deliver up to a 67% emission cut by 2030.
Another vote regards limiting the access of financial opportunists to the carbon market.
Beyond this, many hope to have banned new combustion engine car sales within the EU – resulting in a 100% cut in CO2 emissions by 2025. However, the European People’s Party seeks to weaken this cut to 90%.
The parliament will consider curtailing or entirely scrapping a new EU carbon market, that will impose CO2 charges on buildings and transport methods that cause pollution.
For the first time ever, the EU also targets imports of carbon-based products by debating a CO2 levy. The Parliament will consider two-year intervals of 2030, 2032, and 2034 to transition from the current free permits of such industries.
(Writing by Anna Kapanadze, editing by Tom Cropper and Klaudia Fior)