Eastern countries win carbon market ‘study’ at EU summit

(EurActiv, 22 Oct 2021) The European Commission was instructed to “study” trading behaviour on the EU carbon market and crack down on potential abuse on energy markets after hours of tense debate at a summit on Thursday (21 October) where EU leaders haggled over rising energy prices.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and other leaders from eastern Europe poured scorn on the EU’s goal of achieving net zero emissions as the rising cost of energy frayed tempers at a summit in Brussels.

“The Hungarian position is very clear…. This plan increases energy prices,” Orbán said of the EU’s target to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

These prices are already “barely bearable, and if it continues to rise, it will kill the European middle class,” Orbán said as he arrived at the summit in Brussels.

Ahead of the summit, Poland called for the “revision or postponement” of the bloc’s 2030 climate plan, asking for “special emphasis” on the EU’s landmark carbon trading system, the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

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EurActiv, 22 Oct 2021: Eastern countries win carbon market ‘study’ at EU summit