EU: The green 55% deal

With the proposals presented on July 14, the EU Commission presents the legal instruments for achieving the climate targets that the European Parliament and the EU states had agreed on in the European Climate Act at the suggestion of the Commission. They include a fundamental reorientation of the economy and society (cf. Green deal).

A comprehensive package of interrelated proposals

The proposals presented will enable the required pace of greenhouse gas emission reductions over the next decade. They combine the following measures: Emissions trading for new sectors and stricter requirements under the EU's existing emissions trading scheme; increased use of renewable energy; greater energy efficiency; faster deployment of low-emission transport modes and related infrastructure and fuels; alignment of tax policy with the goals of the European Green Deal; measures to prevent carbon leakage; and tools to preserve and increase our natural carbon sinks.

• Through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), CO₂ priced. In addition, the ceilings for emissions from individual sectors of the economy are lowered every year. Thus the Emissions from power generation and energy-intensive industries in the last 16 years be reduced by 42.8 percent. Now the Commission is proposing to lower the cap for all emissions even further and increase the annual reduction. Another Commission proposal is to phase out free emissions allowances for aviation and bring them in line with the international Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and to include shipping emissions in the EU ETS for the first time. To address the lack of emissions reductions in the road transport and buildings sectors, a separate new emissions trading scheme will be introduced for the fuel or fuel supply in these sectors. The Commission also proposes to increase the Innovation Fund and the Modernization Fund.
• To add to the significant climate spending of the EU budget, Member states should allocate the entirety of their emissions trading revenues to climate and energy-related projects . A certain portion of the revenues from the new emissions trading system for road transport and the building sector should be used to Mitigating any social impacts on vulnerable households, micro-enterprises and transport users. be provided.
• In the Load Sharing Ordinance new more stringent emission reduction targets are assigned to member states for buildings, transport, agriculture, waste management and small businesses. The different starting situations and capacities in the individual member states were taken into account and the respective GDP per capita was used as a basis, as well as adjustments for reasons of cost efficiency.
• Member States are also jointly responsible for the removal of CO ₂ from the atmosphere. Therefore, in the Ordinance on land use, forestry and agriculture an overall EU target for CO₂-Dismantling by natural sinks amounting to 310 million metric tons of CO₂ -emissions by 2030. National targets ensure that member states maintain and increase their sinks to meet the overall target. The EU's goal should be to achieve climate neutrality by 2035 in the land use, forestry and agriculture sectors - including agricultural non-CO₂ -emissions from, for example, the use of fertilizers or livestock farming. The EU Forest Strategy aims to improve the quantity, quality and resilience of forests in the EU. It supports forestry enterprises and the forest-based bioeconomy, while ensuring sustainability in logging and biomass use and biodiversity conservation, and includes a Plan to plant three billion trees throughout Europe by 2030.
• 75 percent of emissions in the EU come from energy production and consumption. Therefore, a faster transition to a greener energy system is essential. Therefore, the target for the production of energy from renewable sources by 2030 in the Renewable Energy Directive  increased to 40 percent . All Member States will contribute to this target and specific targets are proposed for the use of renewable energy in the transport, heating and cooling, buildings and industry sectors. In the interest of our climate and our environmental goals, the Sustainability criteria for the use of bioenergy strengthened, and Member States must design support schemes for bioenergy in a way that respects the principle of cascading use for wood biomass.
• To reduce overall energy consumption, cut emissions and combat energy poverty, the Energy Efficiency Directive a More ambitious binding annual target for the reduction of energy consumption at the EU level. It serves as a guideline for determining national contributions and increases the annual energy savings obligation of the member states to almost twice that amount. The public sector must renovate 3 percent of its building stock annually, so that the renovation wave moves forward, jobs are created, and energy consumption and costs to taxpayers are reduced.
• To address increasing emissions from road transport, a combination of measures is needed to complement emissions trading. Stricter CO₂-emission standards for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles will accelerate the transition to zero-emission mobility, as the average annual emissions of new vehicles must be 55 percent lower from 2030 and 100 percent lower from 2035 onwards As a result, all new cars registered from 2035 will be emission-free. To ensure that vehicles can be charged or refueled in a reliable EU-wide network, the Revised Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation before that the Member States to expand loading capacity in line with the sales volumes of zero-emission vehicles and install refueling and charging stations at regular intervals along major roads, every 60 km for electric vehicle charging and every 150 km for hydrogen refueling.
• Aviation and marine fuels pollute the environment significantly and must also be targeted to complement emissions trading. According to the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Ordinance, aircraft and ships must be in large ports and airports access to clean electricity have. Within the scope of the ReFuelEU Aviation" initiative fuel suppliers will be required to add to the turbine fuel offered at airports in the EU gradually blend in more sustainable aviation fuels, including synthetic CO₂-low fuels called e-fuels. For its part, the "FuelEU Maritime" initiative will promote the use of sustainable marine fuels and zero-emission technologies by way of a Ceiling for the greenhouse gas content of the energy consumption of ships, which call at European ports.
• The taxation system for energy products must protect and enhance the internal market and promote green transformation by providing the right incentives. The proposal for the revised energy taxation directive provides that the Taxation of energy products aligned with EU energy and climate policy will. This would promote clean technologies and eliminate outdated tax exemptions and reduced tax rates that currently encourage the use of fossil fuels. The new rules are intended to reduce the harmful effects of energy tax competition and help member states raise revenue from eco-taxes, which are more detrimental to growth than taxes on labor.
• In the way of a new CO₂-border adjustment system a CO₂-Prize for imports of certain products was introduced so that the ambitious climate policy in Europe does not lead to a shift of CO₂-emissions. This will Ensure that European emissions reductions contribute to global emissions reductions.instead of CO₂-intensive production capacities move out of Europe. Furthermore, this should motivate industrial companies in third countries and our international partners to take steps in the same direction.

These proposals are all connected and they complement each other, as the EU writes. This balanced package and the revenues it generates are needed to ensure a transition that makes Europe fair, green and competitive, he said.

A socially acceptable transition

In the medium to long term, while the benefits of EU climate policies would clearly outweigh the costs of this transition, there is a risk that socially vulnerable households, micro-businesses and transport users would come under greater pressure in the short term as a result of climate strategies, it said. The strategies in the package presented are therefore designed to fairly distribute the costs of combating and adapting to climate change, according to the statement.

Source: EU website

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