The majority of Member States’ ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) reportedly stressed the importance of ensuring the proper functioning of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in the event of new sectors being included in it, on Wednesday 28 April, during a policy debate aimed at preparing for the climate part of the EU summit on 25 May (see EUROPE 12708/20).
As part of the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package due in June, the European Commission plans to present a revision of the ETS which should lead to the extension of the scope of the scheme to the maritime sector and potentially to the buildings and road transport sectors (see EUROPE 12702/8).
While some Eastern European Member States have already expressed reservations about such a possibility, fearing in particular higher prices for consumers, Wednesday’s debate did not reportedly lead to any strong positions.
“It will depend on how the Commission’s proposal is designed. Member States are waiting to see what the proposal will look like before they say what they think of the idea of including new sectors”, a source told EUROPE.
During the debate, Member States were said to have nevertheless expressed quite strong support for the EU Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) (2018/842) to remain an important part of the EU climate framework.
This regulation sets greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets by 2030 for each Member State for sectors not covered by the ETS, such as road transport, buildings, agriculture as well as waste.
While this regulation will also be reviewed in June, Member States have reportedly already expressed divergent positions on the balance to be struck between the equity criterion (allowing for differentiation of targets according to Member States’ gross domestic product per capita) and the ‘cost-effectiveness’ criterion.
Some countries, like Sweden, have called for more emphasis on cost-effectiveness and more convergence between the targets of different Member States set in the ESR Regulation.
Many Member States also stressed the importance of taking into account that the level of ambition expressed in the national targets will also depend on the sectors covered by the Regulation.
According to another source, in contrast to the European Council of 10-11 December (see EUROPE 12621/1), the May summit is not expected to lead to real negotiations between the 27 EU heads of state or government on climate change, as it will be a discussion rather on technical aspects.
And to underline: “The main purpose of the European Council will be to provide guidance to help the European Commission get the focus right in its work on the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package that it will present in June”. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)