Despite the high energy prices resulting from the war in Iran, there is no support for fundamentally changing the EU's emissions trading scheme ETS. This was stated by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at a standing press conference in connection with the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.
- We have been vigilant about the EU's basic climate structure, and the ETS is intact. There will be a revision of the system, which had to be carried out anyway. But the system is intact, and that is important, says Ulf Kristersson.
The ETS obliges power plants and industry to buy quotas to cover CO2 emissions. Prior to the EU summit, the EU countries have disagreed about what should happen to the ETS. This is because some EU countries are so badly affected by the high prices of oil and especially gas that they are demanding fundamental changes to the ETS to bring prices down.
A total of ten EU countries have demanded far-reaching changes to the ETS, including more free CO2 quotas for industry. It can lower the price of energy, they believe.
Von der Leyen: ETS works
Climate-minded EU countries such as Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands, on the other hand, say a flat no because they believe it will affect the climate.
- We will not repeal policies that are ultimately crucial to ensuring that this continent becomes greener and stronger in the long term, said the Dutch Prime Minister, Rob Jetten, on the way to the summit.
A similar message comes from Ulf Kristersson.
- The ETS is a success, and it is important in terms of securing Europe's climate transition in the future, says Ulf Kristersson.
By maintaining the ETS, the hope is that the countries that are most dependent on fossil fuels will have a greater incentive to accelerate the development of renewable energy.
On the other hand, At the final press conference, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that the measures to be taken to bring down energy prices must be "temporary" and "targeted". Therefore, the ETS will remain with minor changes:
- The ETS works. It has led to a massive reduction in gas consumption. It has helped reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels. The ETS has also driven investments in the energy transition to renewable energy and nuclear power. But we need to modernise the system and make it more flexible, said von der Leyen.
/ritzau/
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