“The European Parliament, the Council of Ministers represented by the Czech Presidency and the European Commission agreed preliminarily on the conditions on how to include maritime emissions in the EU ETS during the so-called trilogue late Tuesday evening. This agreement is called ‘historic’ by some because for more than ten years the European Parliament, many experts, in particular from the environmental field, many member states and the Commission pushed for this inclusion.
Now it is close to a formal agreement. As proposed by the Commission, not only trips inside the EU but also trips from EU port to third countries and for third countries to EU port (50%) will be included.
“A final agreement on including maritime in the EU ETS is in reach if all sides show good will.”, comments the EP rapporteur on the file, Peter Liese, after a trilogue on ETS that was focussing on the inclusion of ETS maritime. “The effect of the inclusion of maritime alone would be significantly bigger than other parts of the Fit-for-55 legislation for example CO2 cars.
Experts from CDU/CSU, science and industry called for a stronger commitment of the European Union and the Member States to so-called negative emissions, or technologies to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. In this respect, they generally welcome a proposal of the European Commission on a certification framework for carbon removal, which is expected for tomorrow, Wednesday. In a video conference, Peter Liese, the EPP Group’s Spokesman on Environment; Andreas Jung, the CDU/CSU Group’s Deputy Chair and Spokesman for climate and energy in the German Bundestag; Peter Jahr, the EPP shadow for agriculture, as well as Felix Schenuit, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) & CDRterra and Anastasios Perimenis, Secretary General of CO2 Value Europe, commented on the expected Commission proposal.
"For me, the overall result is disappointing," commented Dr. Peter Liese (CDU), the spokesperson for environmental policy of the largest group in the European Parliament after the Sharm El-Sheikh climate summit. "It has not been possible to bring the states of the world on a course that avoids dangerous tipping points in the climate system. To do this, we would have to get well below 2 degrees, as agreed in Paris. This goal is increasingly out of reach. The final document says something about 1.5 degrees, but I lack the imagination to see how we can still achieve that. Nevertheless, it is right to continue pushing for climate protection. Every ton of CO2 we save reduces the risk of dangerous tipping points," Liese explained.
"It is positive that the climate process has not collapsed despite the current international crises and high energy prices. Also, having the U.S. and China talking to each other again on climate change issues allows for progress in the future. The agreement on Loss and Damage is not a historic breakthrough for me because much still needs to be clarified. Above all, I find it disappointing that the largest emitter in the world, namely China, is not standing by its responsibility."
Read more: Peter Liese on climate conference: Overall result is disappointing