EU MEMBER STATES and parliamentarians have announced an agreement for a major reform to the bloc’s carbon market, the central plank of its ambitions to reduce emissions and invest in climate-friendly technologies.
The quotas are designed to decrease over time to encourage them to emit less and invest in greener technologies as part of the European Union’s ultimate aim of achieving carbon neutrality. The Czech EU presidency said the agreement is “a victory for the climate and for European climate policy”. The agreement also seeks to accelerate the timetable for phasing out the free allowances, with 48.5% phased out by 2030 and a complete removal by 2034, a schedule at the centre of fierce debates between MEPs and member states.
The agreement also aims to make households pay for emissions linked to fuel and gas heating from 2027, but the price will be capped until 2030.
All about money