I Strasbourg vedtog Europa-Parlamentet tirsdag nye og omfattende regler med næsten to tredjedeles flertal (413 for, 167 imod, 57 undlod at stemme) med henblik på yderligere at sænke EU’s udledning af drivhusgasser.

EU vil blandt andet tvinge flere sektorer til at betale en afgift på udledningen af ​​CO2, som unionen har til formål at reducere med 62 procent i 2030 i forhold til 2005-niveauet, oplyser Reuters.

Kraftværker og industrivirksomheder betaler allerede CO2-afgift for deres aktiviteter, og fra 2024 vil det samme gælde for transportsektoren.

Under the upgrade, factories will lose the free CO2 permits they currently receive by 2034, and shipping emissions will be added to the CO2 market from 2024.

Fra 2026 indfører EU også en såkaldt kulstofafgift på import af varer, der er produceret med CO2-intensiv produktion, såsom stål, cement, aluminium, gødning, el og brint.

Formålet skal være at forhindre europæisk industri i at flytte ud:

The carbon border levy aims to prevent EU industries being undercut by more-polluting foreign competitors, removing the temptation for EU firms to relocate to regions with lax environmental rules.

For at indføre denne nye klimapakke er EU afhængig af medlemslandenes godkendelse.

The laws still need final approval from EU countries, who will assess them in the next few weeks.

That approval is usually a formality that waves through pre-agreed deals – but the process was upended last month when Germany lodged last-minute opposition to another policy to phase out fossil fuel-powered cars.

Systemet for handel med emissionsrettigheder siges at være afgørende for EU’s emissionsmål:

Peter Liese, Parliament’s lead negotiator on the emissions trading system (ETS) reform, said the success of the carbon market would make or break Europe’s CO2-cutting goals.

«For the climate, the ETS alone is more important than all the other files together,» he told Reuters.

Unionens næste planlagte skridt er også at indføre et marked for emissionsrettigheder til private biler og boliger:

Lawmakers also backed plans to launch a new EU carbon market covering emissions from fuels used in cars and buildings in 2027, plus a 86.7 billion-euro EU fund to support consumers affected by the costs.