Liese pushes earlier net-zero deadline for EU industry

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on Euractiv or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Peter Liese, the European Parliament's lead negotiator on ETS reform, published amendments on 11 September that would bring EU carbon permits to zero by 2045
• He proposes cutting the cap 3.4% annually from 2031, then 2.3% from 2036, slower in the near term than the Commission's draft, steeper later
• He would also require governments to spend 75% of ETS auction revenue on decarbonising covered industries, against the Commission's 50%

🔭 The context: The current 4.4% linear reduction factor would take the cap to zero in 2039, which Liese argues is unrealistic for steel, cement, chemicals and aviation
• Liese's EPP group has led a coordinated pushback on Green Deal legislation amid industry complaints about compliance costs
• He also seeks carbon capture and removal technologies admitted to the ETS from 2029 rather than 2031, adding biochar to the Commission's BioCCS and DACCS

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: A slower near-term trajectory means more cumulative emissions regardless of the end date
• What matters for warming is the total carbon budget rather than the year the cap reaches zero
• Veyt's modelling puts the extra Phase 5 budget from a 3.4% factor at roughly one gigatonne
• Against that, the higher revenue recycling requirement and investment conditionality direct more money into actual industrial decarbonisation rather than general budgets.

⏭️ What's next: Parliament and Council must finalise positions by year-end for trilogue to begin in January
• Liese has described the timetable as ambitious but necessary

💬 One quote: "You cannot emit forever, but it needs to be predictable and it must be step-by-step" — Peter Liese MEP, rapporteur on the ETS revision

📈 One stat: A cap reduction of 3.4% annually from 2031, against the current 4.4% factor.

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