MEP Beata Szydło (ECR, Poland), submitted her draft opinion on the creation of a ‘Social Climate Fund’ on 21 January, in which she stresses in particular the importance of taking into account the different starting points and transformation paths of Member States.
“High climate ambitions present new challenges in this fight – challenges that will greatly vary across the EU, due to different starting points and policy choices of individual Member States”, she notes.
The MEP is particularly concerned about the consequences of the potential new carbon market for emissions from heating of buildings and road transport (ETS2). According to the Commission, the new ETS “will impose (...) an additional burden on Member States which, for historical and geological reasons, base their energy mix on fossil fuels”.
In her draft opinion, she therefore proposes that the introduction of national measures relating to boilers and natural gas heating systems and distribution infrastructure to support vulnerable households and micro-enterprises in particular should be taken into account in the measures and investments to be included in the estimated total costs of social climate plans.
Once amended and adopted by the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), this draft opinion will feed into the work of the Parliament’s two co-rapporteurs on the ‘Social Climate Fund’, David Casa (EPP, Malta) and Esther de Lange (EPP, Netherlands). A version of their draft report was previously detailed in our columns (see EUROPE 12871/12).
To see Beata Szydło’s draft opinion: https://bit.ly/3Axu397 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)