The European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) approved 22 compromise amendments to the own-initiative report by Yannick Jadot (Greens/EFA) on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on Thursday 4 February.
The compromise amendments detail the Parliament’s vision (see EUROPE 12650/7) for the proposal to be submitted by the European Commission in June 2021. Despite some differences, the political groups finally agreed, with a few exceptions. Amendment 18, which outlines a mechanism on the same principle as the ETS, was only approved by a small majority (43 votes in favour, 35 against and 2 abstentions). The MEPs from The Left disapprove in particular of the choice of this mechanism: “The ETS is based on a market logic and, like all market logics, in the face of the climate emergency, it is completely inefficient and even harmful”, MEP Manuel Bompard told EUROPE.
For the EPP, it is a question of ensuring “that this measure does not place a disproportionate burden on European companies”, said MEP Agnès Evren (EPP, France). However, according to the Greens/EFA, the group from which the rapporteur comes, it is necessary to go quite far on the scope of the mechanism, to express the will to put an end to free quotas, and to regulate export rebates.
The text will probably be put to a vote by the rest of the MEPs during the March plenary session. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal with Damien Genicot)