The EU on Wednesday rolled out an ambitious climate plan to transform every corner of its economy, and braced for years of tough negotiations to turn it into reality.
Every industry would be forced to accelerate its shift away from fossil fuels to cut pollution by at least 55 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.
To achieve that, the bloc would bring new industries such as shipping into what is the world’s largest carbon market; ban new vehicles with combustion engines by 2035; impose new costs on dirty home heating; and force the aviation industry to emit less and pay more.
Photo: Bloomberg
As the bloc seeks to position itself as a global leader on climate — without damaging its own industry — it also set out a blueprint for a levy on imports such as steel and aluminum from nations with softer environmental rules.
That risks stoking trade tensions with Russia, China and the US. There are already signs of discontent from EU members and industry.
“Nothing we presented today is going to be easy. It’s going to be bloody hard,” European Commissioner for Climate Action Frans Timmermans said.
However, he said that the “existential threat which is the climate crisis” called for radical steps.
He expects the most complaints to come from measures to toughen emissions standards for vehicles, and a plan to create a new carbon market for transport and heating fuels.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government blasted the plan, saying that it threatened to undo its signature utility price cuts.
The emissions-trading program for heating and road transport fuels could cost European households as much as 1.1 trillion euros (US$1.3 trillion) in by 2040, the Polish Economic Institute said yesterday.
The package includes a revised regulation that toughens energy taxation rules to discourage fossil fuels and promotes cleaner energy sources.
EU officials are at pains to emphasize that the transformation must be fair. The bloc has earmarked 72 billion euros in a new fund to help compensate those who lose out, with the money — which is based on current prices — coming from the expanded market for carbon emissions.
“Europe is tackling the climate crisis with urgency and optimism,” said Ignacio Galan, chairman and chief executive officer of Iberdrola SA, the Spanish renewable energy firm.
The EU’s goals call for about 1.2 trillion euros of clean energy investment to 2030, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.
“We’re going to see an economy-wide experiment to put climate ambition into action,” said Simone Tagliapietra, a researcher at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. “So far Europe has focused on a couple of sectors to cut emissions and now we’re really changing gear. Those measures will have a huge impact on the daily lives of families and businesses across Europe, with no exemptions.”
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