Spanish industry warns EU of risk if it tightens CO2 rights today

Since yesterday, the European Parliament has been discussing more than 600 amendments approved by the Environment Committee, proposing on 16 May to tighten the EU emissions rights trading regime by anticipating 2030. removal of free allocations (instead of 2036 as recommended by the European Commission) and advance the start of the gradual reduction process to 2026.

Although the result of the vote to be held in the European Parliament today cannot be predicted, the atmosphere in the room yesterday looked positively to the European Parliament, given that the parliamentarians have the freedom to vote. MPs water the committee’s proposal Environment Although it is not certain that the most moderate date (2036) intended by the European ruler will be brought back.

Most of the amendments propose an end to the free transfer of rights to industries emitting CO2 on dates after 2030, but in some cases this is assumed to be done in 2032, others in 2034, and some in 2036. It has been registered and defended by individual parliamentarians as well as by Industry and Transport committees. The room that demands a less accelerated deduction path in line with these sectors. There is a belief that some of these will be successful and that manufacturing sectors may still have a place to adapt to European policy against climate change.

What seems like a broad agreement is to support Parliament’s Environment Committee’s proposal to expand economic sectors protected by so-called border regulation: a mechanism to tax imports from countries that producers do not have to bear. the extra cost of emission rights. Formulas are also analyzed to alleviate this burden on Europe’s exports to markets where local producers do not carry these loads.

Yesterday, the European Chamber also seemed largely inclined to support the change introduced by the Environment committee to have border regulation managed centrally by a European agency, rather than decentralized by states, as the European Commission intended. This amendment is aimed at preventing competition between European countries and the emergence of arbitration situations.

The European Commission argues that industries such as domestic (digits) and transport are necessarily integrated into the rights system to penalize their emissions, however, the Parliamentary Environment Commission recommends that only legal persons do this: families will be exempted, but not the self-employed and carriers.

The proposal, which has tick marks, provides for the creation of a Social Climate Fund to compensate these sectors, which will be fed by the collection of emissions rights. Estimates predict a positive distribution for Spain, which will receive 18% of the mobilized amount and will not be distributed by the European Commission through direct transfers and not through the Government as in other European funds.

Spanish sectoral employers Unesid, Oficemen, Aspapel, FIAB, Feique and AOP yesterday called for “realistic” CO2 emission targets, free allocation of CO2 entitlements at “adequate” levels. to guarantee “equality” in international competition, Coordinating the implementation of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) with the Carbon Emissions Boundary Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), not introducing new conditionality criteria, implementing “effective” measures to offset the indirect costs of carbon, and avoiding “disproportionate” costs of Market Stability Reserve and its readjustment.