Europe's Biggest Political Group Wants to Slow Down Carbon Rules for Industry

Europe's largest group of lawmakers wants to make it easier for companies to deal with the European Union's main climate law. The group is called the European People's Party, or EPP. A draft paper seen by the news agency Reuters shows the EPP wants to slow down how quickly companies must cut their carbon pollution. The EPP says these changes are needed so that European factories can still compete with businesses around the world.

The EU has a system called the Emissions Trading System, or ETS. It requires power plants and factories to buy permits every time they release carbon pollution into the air. The more a company pollutes, the more permits it must buy. This system is meant to push companies to pollute less and less over time.

The European Commission, which is the EU's main governing body, plans to propose changes to the ETS on July 17. Different governments have different ideas about what those changes should look like. Some want stricter rules to fight climate change, while others want to ease the burden on struggling industries. The EPP's draft paper clearly sides with those who want to give industry more breathing room.

Right now, the ETS cuts emissions by at least 4.3% every year, rising to 4.4% starting in 2028. The EPP wants to slow this pace after 2030. Its draft says annual cuts should be at least one percentage point lower between 2031 and 2035, and even slower after that. This would give companies more time to change how they operate.

The EPP also wants companies to receive free pollution permits for a longer period of time. Currently, the EU gives industries a set number of free permits so they can compete with foreign companies that don't face the same pollution costs. The draft says no more than 30% of these free permits should be removed before 2030. This pushes the bigger changes further into the future.

Since the ETS began in 2013, it has raised about 260 billion euros — roughly 297 billion U.S. dollars — and most of that money has gone to national governments. The EPP's draft paper says governments should spend more of that money on helping industries become cleaner and greener. An EPP spokesperson did not comment on the draft document when asked by Reuters. The draft has not been officially published and could still change before it becomes a formal position.