Ten European Union member states led by Italy and Poland have called for a sweeping revision of the bloc's Emissions Trading System, urging changes to protect industry and households from rising carbon costs ahead of a major policy review.
The European Commission is set to present its ETS overhaul on Friday, and the coalition — comprising Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — wants the reform timeline and conditions diluted. The group demands a radical revision of benchmarks governing free allocation of emissions permits and flexibility to account for national circumstances such as energy mix and GDP per capita. The signatories also want carbon prices to be predictable and shielded from speculation.
The coalition asks that the emissions reduction pathway be extended to 2050 and calls for reconsideration of ETS2, planned for 2028, to avoid new levies on households.