European Union leaders will today introduce thirteen proposed rules (FT) that would help the bloc reach its existing climate goal of limiting greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. If passed, the rules would transform much of everyday life and business. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen dubbed the plan the EU’s “man on the moon” moment.
The proposals would give muscle to the previously announced European Green Deal. The rules are based on the principle that greener options should be cheaper (Reuters) than those that pollute more. They include measures to expand carbon pricing, tax greenhouse gas emissions (NYT) associated with imported products, and offer financial support to households suffering from energy poverty. EU leaders anticipate pushback (Politico) against the hundreds of pages of proposed rules, which will be negotiated by EU member states and the European Parliament.
“We will see a lot of friction and tension over the next two to three years. Europe is set to become a global laboratory for deep decarbonization and the world will have an opportunity to learn how to achieve climate targets,” Bruegel’s Simone Tagliapietra tells Bloomberg.
“The tariffs the EU is expected to propose on Wednesday will leave [U.S. President Joe] Biden with a grim set of options. The White House could take a page from [President Donald] Trump’s trade playbook and impose its own retaliatory tariffs, or it could seek to challenge the EU’s move by resurrecting the World Trade Organization’s hobbled dispute resolution body, an option sharply opposed by U.S. climate policy advocates,” Politico’s Zack Colman writes.
