(CN) — In a bid to become a world leader on tackling climate change, the European Union on Wednesday unveiled a far-reaching package of draft rules and laws to force the 27-member bloc to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and meet its legal obligations under the Paris Agreement.
Among the proposals, the EU wants to expand its system for rewarding and punishing businesses for how much pollution they emit; charge a tax on foreign goods such as steel and cement that come from countries deemed to be emitting too many greenhouse gases; and further raise fuel standards for cars, ships and airplanes.
The new laws are meant to serve as the core of the European Green Deal, a multipronged strategy to wean the EU off of fossil fuels by building up renewable energies such as wind and hydrogen and making cutting carbon missions a legal requirement. In June, the EU approved a new “climate law” that makes reducing heat-trapping emissions legally binding.
The EU is laying out a comprehensive economic, financial and social framework that puts climate change science at the heart of its policies. It is considered a first-of-its-kind model.
In parallel, the EU plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on projects that reduce pollution. These funds are coming largely from a seven-year 723 billion euro (about $854 billion) coronavirus recovery fund. It has also set up a 17.5 billion euro ($20.6 billion) fund to help regions being forced to stop producing coal, lignite, peat, oil shale and gas.
On Wednesday, the EU's executive body, the European Commission, submitted its proposals to the European Parliament in Brussels, which will debate and vote on them. The proposals are expected to largely remain intact as they go through the parliamentary process this year and next, partly because parliamentarians had a hand in drafting them. Still, opposition to some of the proposals is stiff, especially among poorer Central and Eastern European nations with strong coal regions.
“The fossil fuel economy has reached its limits,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, in presenting the proposals Wednesday. “The European Green Deal is our growth strategy that is moving towards a decarbonized economy.”
With this package, the EU is hoping to modernize its societies, drive economic growth and become a world leader on climate change policymaking.
“Europe was the first continent to declare to be climate neutral in 2050,” Von der Leyen said, “and now we are the very first ones to put a concrete roadmap on the table. Europe walks the talk on climate policies through innovation, investment and social compensation.”
The EU's climate law makes it a legal requirement that the bloc reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels by 2030. Under the law, the EU must become climate neutral by 2050, which means it cannot be adding to global warming.
The EU's climate package, though, has its detractors. Those on the left and many environmentalists say the 55% reduction target for 2030 is far too modest and will let the EU continue to emit far too many pollutants. Those on the right, meanwhile, complain the policies will hurt businesses and workers and put Europe at an economic disadvantage.
There are concerns the poorest will be hit the hardest by the EU's green policies because fuel prices may go up and this in turn could spark backlash, protests and add to the discontent with Brussels and its bureaucrats. To offset this, the commission wants to use revenues generated from Green Deal tax hikes to help people unable to pay for more energy efficient homes and electric cars.
Wednesday's proposals envision putting new prices on carbon emissions and lowering caps on emissions from power plants and other heavy industry. This piece of the package is part of the EU's so-called Emissions Trading System, which is credited with bringing down emissions.
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