Lawmakers in the European Parliament on Friday (5 February) backed a levy on carbon-intensive products imported into Europe, calling on the European Commission to introduce a so-called “carbon border adjustment mechanism” as quickly as possible.
In a resolution adopted on Friday (5 February), the European Parliament’s environment committee emphasised the need for the levy to be WTO-compatible and introduced no later than 2023.
“A carbon border adjustment mechanism should cover all imports, but as a starting point already by 2023, it should cover the power sector and energy-intensive industrial sectors like cement, steel, chemicals and fertilisers,” reads the opinion.
The resolution sees the levy as a way to decarbonise in Europe and beyond by exposing imported goods to the same carbon costs faced by EU manufacturers.
European countries are delaying negotiations on the EU’s 2030 climate target, according to Michael Bloss, a Green MEP from Germany who briefed the press after the third round of talks on the European climate law.
Bloss is part of a European Parliament delegation seeking to broker a deal on the climate law in talks with the European Commission and representatives of the EU’s 27 member states in the EU Council of Ministers.
Both sides now have to agree on an identical text before the 2030 objective can be incorporated into the climate law and become a legally binding obligation on the European Union and its member states.
German energy giant RWE has used the Energy Charter Treaty to claim compensation from the Netherlands over its planned phase-out of coal from the country’s electricity mix by 2030.
The arbitration claim for €1.4 billion in compensation was denounced by climate campaigners as yet more proof that the treaty, an international investment agreement signed in 1994, is unfit for supporting the shift away from fossil energy.
“It’s outrageous that fossil fuel firms can use this powerful treaty to obstruct the clean energy transition,” said Wendel Trio, the director of Climate Action Network Europe.
“It’s high time for European countries to withdraw from this dangerous agreement and don’t waste any more time in futile attempts to reform it,” he added.
Oil Change International
C: FoE / OCI
We are two weeks into a Biden Presidency, with the President set to announce further action and commitments on climate during his so-called “Climate Day” tomorrow.
Although Biden has moved quickly to try and repair the climate carnage and environmental vandalism caused by Trump, issuing landmark orders over KXL, Arctic drilling, and rejoining Paris amongst others, pressure is building both domestically and internationally for the President to do more.
According to the
Hill, tomorrow Biden will announce plans for a summit to take place on Earth Day and sign an executive order that initiates a series of regulatory actions to “combat climate change domestically and elevates climate change as a national security priority.” While this looks promising, the