The European Commission has accepted a Czech request to modify the ETS2 system of new emission allowances, and has presented a concrete proposal for changing the legislation, Czech Environment Minister Petr Hladik announced on social media yesterday.
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra presented the proposals to the ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg yesterday. Their aim is primarily to stabilise the price of emission allowances, known as carbon credits.
Karel Havlicek, deputy leader of ANO, which won the recent Czech election, said he considered the changes to the ETS2 system of emission allowances and the Commission’s proposal to be a debacle, and said a future government headed by ANO would not allow them to be part of Czech legislation.
“Success for the Czech Republic! The European Commission has heard our request for a modification of the EU ETS2 system and has presented a concrete proposal for a change in legislation based on our demands,” Hladik wrote.
“This will make it possible to stabilise the price of allowances and prevent fluctuations. Emission allowances will thus not endanger our households and small tradesmen, manufacturers and entrepreneurs,” he said, adding that the Czech Republic would now work to ensure that the proposal is approved by the European Parliament before the end of the year.
“At the same time, however, we must not stand in the middle of the road and we must continue to seek support for the total postponement of the start of this type of allowances,” said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. “That is why I call on the future government to continue in our initiative. In the Union, it is not enough just to grumble and criticise. We can push through concrete steps that will actually help our citizens only through tough negotiations, patient explanations of our positions and building coalitions.”
At the ministerial meeting, the European Commission described five mechanisms to ensure that the price of emission allowances would be maintained at 45 euros per tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the long term. The mechanisms will be triggered as soon as the price of the allowance exceeds this value, Hladik said. “The price of the allowance will thus be predictable and stable,” he told reporters in Luxembourg.
Negotiations on the matter should now begin between the European Commission, the member states represented in the European Council, and the European Parliament. In this context, Hladik said he had called on the European Commission to debate the matter in an accelerated mode for the European Parliament to be able to approve it this year.
The new ETS2 system proposes extending the trading of emission allowances to road transport and the heating of buildings, among other things. The Czech Republic is one of 19 countries that have called for changes to the system.
Prague explained all its concerns in a letter that Hladik sent to the Commission on behalf of the 19 countries. Yesterday, he received a reply to the letter from Commissioner Hoekstra.
According to Havlicek, the regulation presented by the Commission to the environment ministers in Luxembourg yesterday does not change the situation in favour of the Czech Republic. The Commission’s opinions are becoming increasingly harsh and categorical, Havlicek told journalists yesterday after a meeting between ANO, SPD and the Motorists on the programme of their future coalition government.
“The same position still applies, we will not allow this directive, this regulation to be implemented into the Czech law. In other words, we will not allow emission allowances to be part of Czech legislation, and this is the most important defence for us,” Havlicek said.
The EU currently operates the ETS system of allowances for power plants and industrial enterprises that produce greenhouse gases. Each credit allows one tonne of carbon dioxide or an equivalent amount of another gas to be emitted into the air. EU member states are supposed to use the proceeds from the sale of carbon credits for climate protection measures.
