Peter Liese: Compromises from Parliament and Council essentially confirmed / Long-standing demands from the EPP create realistic framework for implementation / Downside remains postponement of ETS2

On Tuesday evening, representatives of the European Parliament and the Member States agreed on the 2040 climate target. “I am very pleased that the compromises reached by Parliament and the Council have essentially been confirmed. The positions were not far apart, as the EPP governments had already made the Commission's proposal of 90% much more realistic in Council. 5% can also be achieved through international credits for emission reductions. In addition, Member States will be given further flexibilities,” commented MEP Peter Liese, spokesperson for climate and environment policy for the biggest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), on the trilogue agreement on the revision of the EU’s climate law.

The agreement also introduces a series of urgently needed measures to ensure that the targets can actually be achieved. Many of the EPP's long-standing demands, such as technology neutrality and a more reasonable approach to ETS1 and CBAM, have been taken into account. “Parliament has succeeded with clarifications regarding international certificates. We attach great importance to quality and, in particular, to ensuring that the strategic interests of the European Union cannot be harmed. It is very important that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Under the so-called ‘CDM’ about ten years ago, Chinese companies produced f-gases, which are very harmful to the climate, only to burn them, because the European Union rewarded combustion with certificates. In this way, money was sent to China without helping the environment, and both of these things must be prevented in the future. The money should go to our partners, e.g., Ukraine and Moldova, and it should really contribute to climate protection”, said Liese.

Unfortunately, from Liese's point of view, there is also a downside: “Personally, I regret the postponement of ETS2 by one year. Of course, I fully understand the social challenges, however, for the climate, innovative companies and the member states that wanted to use the revenue to create socially acceptable measures this is bad news. In the spirit of compromise, however, I have accepted the postponement.”

Parliament and the Council still have to confirm the agreement. However, this is considered very likely.

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