“No deal is better than a bad deal” - European Parliament rejects weak position on the EU Emissions Trading System
The text has now been referred back to the Environment Committee to negotiate new compromises before another plenary vote.
WWF is calling on MEPs to work on strengthening the text again before a final vote, in particular on:
- Overall ambition: The ENVI text would have translated into almost 68% emission reductions compared to 2005, but this was rejected in plenary, which instead adopted a 64% target. WWF had called for a target of 70% in line with the Paris climate goals, but the original Commission proposal was a meagre 61%.
- Phase-out of free ETS allowances: The ENVI deal on an earlier phase out of free allowances was also rejected during plenary, which instead adopted an amendment for a phase-out of free allocations for the sectors covered by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) only by 2034. WWF had called for a stop of freebies to polluting industries by 2030 for CBAM sectors.
- Conditionality of free allowances: The ENVI report had introduced strong conditionalities, stipulating that polluters must demonstrate plans to reach climate neutrality and implement the right energy efficiency measures in order to obtain free allowances. This ENVI amendment was adopted in plenary, and WWF is calling on MEPs to maintain this text to ensure fair and robust conditionality for free allowances.
The rejection of the ETS report also had implications for the other files, notably the Social Climate Fund (SCF) and CBAM, the votes on which were also postponed to a later stage as these reports form a package which must remain coherent.
The European Council is scheduled to finalise its general approach by the end of June.