Last week, the European Parliament voted on several proposals in the framework of Fit for 55. Some proposals (amongst them the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) were not accepted and shall probably be revoted on the 22nd June:
The European Parliament voted against adopting a revision of the EU emissions trading system, rejecting a proposal that had been weakened down from its original ambition. The Parliament sent a proposal to change the ETS, which puts a cap on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by factories, power plants, and aviation to meet overall emissions targets, back to a committee.
Within the cap, which decreases each year, companies can buy and trade emission ‘allowances’. Previously, the system covered 43% of emissions from relevant sectors. The EU Environment Committee sought to increase that to 67%, but pushback from some right-wing parties brought it down to 61%.
Other MEPs, uncontented with what they identified as a watered-down version of the proposal voted against the reform and sent it back to the committee.
The leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Iratxe García said: “You can’t ask for a vote from the extreme-right in order to reduce ambitions and then ask for our votes in order to support it as a whole.”
However, MEPs who voted in favour were displeased that the version of the proposal that arrived was not carried and that the reform was stalled.