European People’s Party calls for drastic weakening of EU carbon pricing regime

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🗞️ Driving the news: The European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group in the European Parliament, has called for significant weakening of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), urging slower emissions cap reductions, increased free allowances, and added protections for high-emission industries

🔭 The context: The EPP’s position, formally submitted to EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra, comes ahead of a review of the ETS scheduled for July 15
• The group proposes reducing the linear reduction factor, the yearly rate of emissions cap tightening, from 4.4% to no more than 3.4% starting in 2028, slowing progress toward the EU’s goal of 90% net emissions reduction by 2040

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Slower cap reductions and expanded free allowances risk prolonging industrial reliance on fossil fuels, undermining Europe’s emissions-reduction targets and weakening the ETS’s role in driving large-scale decarbonization
• Delaying the transition could also impede investment in low-carbon technologies and increase the bloc’s overall greenhouse gas footprint

⏭️ What’s next: The European Commission will consider the EPP’s proposals as it finalizes the ETS review
• Lawmakers’ debates in Parliament in the coming weeks are expected to determine whether the system is tightened, partially delayed, or adjusted in line with industry lobbying

💬 One quote: “Reducing the speed of the linear reduction factor by at least 1 percentage point would make it harder to reach the EU’s climate goals.” – EPP position paper

📈 One stat: 4.4% → 3.4% – proposed annual reduction of the ETS emissions cap under EPP recommendations, down from the current target

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