Agreement on ETS2. The EU supported Poland's proposal

By 2040, the European Union's greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by 90 percent compared to 1990. Twenty-one EU countries voted in favor of the new EU climate target, with Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary voting against, and Belgium and Bulgaria abstaining.

Wednesday's vote by EU environment ministers does not conclude the legislative process. The final provisions of the amended EU climate law will be adopted after negotiations between the EU Council, representing the member states, and the European Parliament.

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The new target will complement the EU's current climate law, which requires the EU to reduce emissions by 55% in 2030 and become climate neutral in 2050 (all emissions are to be offset by removals).

The EU's new climate target. Warsaw's idea is approved.

Deputy Minister of Climate Krzysztof Bolesta announced that Poland voted against establishing a new climate target for 2040. Moreover, Warsaw and other opponents of the ETS2 system managed to delay its entry into force - it will come into force a year later than planned - in 2028.

" We couldn't support such ambitions ," said Deputy Climate Minister Krzysztof Bolesta. He added that the ETS2 system, which will enter into force a year later, had been "kicked out."

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"We negotiated all day and all night. We managed to do something that was unthinkable not so long ago – clean up the neglect caused by the PiS government, namely the ETS2 system," Bolesta emphasized after the meeting of environment ministers. "Today, we managed to knock the teeth out of the ETS2 system, " he added.

ETS2 system. Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke

As he explained, the text of the European Climate Law regulation includes the extension of the ETS2 system. The extension of the CO2 emissions trading system to transport and construction, known as the ETS2 system, is scheduled to enter into force in 2028, not 2027.

"In addition, we managed to secure a number of proposals that Poland has been fighting for from the very beginning: tax breaks for the defense industry, a review clause that will allow us to make this climate law bearable for consumers. As for the target, our de facto target is not 90%, but significantly below," he announced.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented on the decision regarding ETS2. "We did it as promised. Two weeks ago, I said we would dismantle ETS2, meaning the heating and transport fees that Morawiecki agreed to. Today, it happened. ETS2 has been postponed, and the European Commission must prepare its review soon. We are doing, not talking," wrote the head of government.

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