European Union negotiators have agreed to re-regulate emissions trading, the key policy tool to combat global warming. This was announced by the Czech EU Presidency and the European Council early on Sunday morning.
In addition, a new climate social fund is intended to cushion the consequences of the energy transition for consumers. Specifically, the negotiators agreed to tighten the existing emissions trading in the EU. For example, companies have to buy pollution certificates if they emit CO2. This should create an incentive to produce less CO2. Now the number of pollution rights is to be reduced faster than previously planned. In addition, free certificates for companies are to be phased out gradually by 2034.
The system is also to be extended to heating buildings and transport. In addition, there should be a climate social fund that should absorb additional expenditure for consumers due to the energy transition – such as rising heating costs. This should amount to around 86 billion euros. This is intended to relieve households and finance investments, for example in more efficient buildings.
The projects are at the heart of the “Fit for 55” package presented by the European Commission in the summer of 2021 to combat climate change. It aims to help EU countries reduce CO2 emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and become carbon neutral by 2050.
The agreement still has to be confirmed by the EU Parliament and the states, but this is considered a formality.
CO2, the chemical compound of oxygen and carbon, is by far the most important greenhouse gas produced by humans and the main cause of the climate crisis. It is created, for example, when heating, driving a car, in industry or – especially animal – food production. Never in history has the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere been so high.
The focus of the historic UN climate protection treaty in Paris, adopted in 2015, is the goal of limiting global warming caused by greenhouse gases to well below two degrees compared to the pre-industrial age. Efforts should also be stepped up to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees. However, experts and climate protectors currently see it as difficult to achieve the Paris climate goals, even with optimistic scenarios, which would have serious consequences for people, animals and nature. (apa/dpa)
