Europe News Desk!! European Union (EU) member states have adopted five new laws that will enable them to cut greenhouse gas emissions within core sectors of the economy, including the maritime transport and aviation industries. The law is part of the EU’s main climate action package, called Fit for 55, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, Xinhua news agency reported. To do. Voting in the Council of the European Union is the final step in the decision-making process. The EU carbon market, which is based on the polluter pays principle, grants emissions allowances to energy-intensive industries, power generation and the aviation sector.
However, under new rules for the Emissions Trading System (ETS), sectors such as the energy, iron, paper and oil industries must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by up to 62 percent compared to 2005 levels. Free emission allowances in the aviation sector will be phased out from 2026. Marine transport emissions will be brought under the purview of the ETS for the first time. Compulsory surrender of allowances for shipping companies will be gradually introduced. Most large vessels will be included within the scope of the ETS from the outset, while offshore vessels will initially be covered by the Regulation on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of CO2 Emissions from Maritime Transport. A new, separate emissions trading system has been created for buildings, road transport and small industry. The new system will apply to distributors who supply fuel to buildings, road transport and additional sectors from 2027.
A safeguard has been put in place so that if oil and gas prices are exceptionally high before the launch of the new system, it will be postponed until 2028. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which deals with the import of products in carbon-intensive industries, will remain in place until the end of 2025, and gradually become mandatory, along with a phasing-out of free allowances. Free allowances for sectors covered by the carbon cap adjustment mechanism include cement, aluminium, fertiliser, electric power generation, hydrogen, iron and steel. These will be phased out over a period of nine years between 2026 and 2034.
–IANS
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