Polish politicians have said the pace at which the European Union is trying to reduce industrial carbon emissions through the Emissions Trading System (ETS) is insane, writes Politico.
Speaking at the Politico Energy and Climate Forum in Brussels, Polish State Secretary Krzysztof Bolesta said the EU is moving too quickly to strip heavy industry of its free pollution permits, sometimes cutting them in half. He said it is madness, and it does not apply to just one industry, but to several: “So for me, this topic is actually something that we need to change.” Bolesta added that the current course would give the EU moral superiority, but the bloc would have no industry.
The ETS review is scheduled for July, and it is expected that the European Commission, responding to strong lobbying from industry and some member states, could soften its approach by allowing industry to operate with higher carbon emissions for longer.
Bolesta said he had regular conversations with industry representatives from around the world who asked what Europe was doing and pointed out that what was being done in the field of industrial climate policy was foolish.
EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has already said that the EC is open to the possibility of issuing free permits for a longer period, but also made it clear that there would be conditions for this, for example, industry representatives would have to show that they are interested in transforming their production processes to produce lower emissions.
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Poland criticizes EU climate policy; calls it insane
