During a discussion in the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) on Thursday 16 January, the European Commissioner for Climate, Carbon Net Zero and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, admitted it was “unlikely” that the legislative proposal on the 2040 climate target (see EUROPE 13547/10) would be presented at the end of February, at the same time as the ‘Clean Industrial Deal’, as some MEPs had hoped.
However, Mr Hoekstra acknowledged the “obligation towards Parliament to present a target for this calendar year. But the most urgent objective is 2035 when we go to Belém, because that’s what the international cycle expects of us”.
This target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 is to be incorporated into the ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDCs), due in February, well ahead of the COP30 in Brazil in November. However, the European Union’s NDC can only be submitted once the legislative proposal to incorporate the 2040 target into European climate legislation is known – which will not happen until later this year.
Clean Industrial Deal. The presentation of the Clean Industrial Deal by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is due to take place on 26 February. During his discussion with MEPs, Commissioner Hoekstra did not go into detail about the proposal, which “still has to be worked out”. He simply stated that this will include “a series of elements”, such as lower energy prices, a reduction in the administrative burden and a level playing field in terms of trade (see EUROPE 13558/8).
ETS 2. Also questioned by a number of MEPs on the review of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS 2), for which some Member States – spearheaded by the Czech Republic – are keen to postpone its implementation, scheduled for 2027, Mr Hoekstra reaffirmed the need to “continue with ETS 2”. That “will also be my response to the Czech Republic”, he said, stressing in particular the importance of the Social Climate Fund in reducing the socio-economic impact of the ETS 2 system.
He also reiterated the potential of the international Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to prevent carbon leakage, while acknowledging that “its design could be simplified”.
Automobile manufacturers. Also questioned several times on the future of the European automotive sector, more specifically on the issue of fines (see EUROPE 13547/17) and the end of combustion engines by 2035, the Commissioner reiterated his support for the political agreements previously reached in 2023 on CO2 emission standards for new cars and vans. For example, he does not want to amend the texts in order to ensure the “stability and predictability” demanded by the automotive industry and other sectors “with investment cycles that sometimes extend over 20 or 30 years”. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)