On Monday 13 September, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament sent a letter to the European Commission, calling on it to speed up the introduction of measures proposed in the ‘Fit for 55’ climate legislation package presented in July.
“We need to go much faster (...), much further”, said Philippe Lamberts (Belgium), co-chair of the group.
In particular, the Greens/EFA want to stop the approval of new internal combustion engines from 2030 (the Commission proposes 2035 - see EUROPE 12762/3), introducing a minimum EU tax on paraffin and marine fuels from 2023 rather than 2032 (see EUROPE 12762/9) and rapidly phasing out free allowances as part of the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), with a possible short transition period to allow time for Europe's trading partners to comply with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). According to the Commission’s proposal, these quotas would be reduced by 10% per year and completely abolished in 2036 (see EUROPE 12762/1).
They also call for: - an expansion of the renewable energy capacity to at least 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2040; - binding national energy efficiency targets; - a ban on all public support for fossil fuels through the revision of EU State aid rules.
See the requests of the Greens/EFA: https://bit.ly/3tEB5p0 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)