Up to ten countries within the EU including Italy, Poland, Hungary, and Greece want Brussels to rethink the plan for carbon price on heating and transport fuels, Reuters reports. They argue that citizens should not be facing new climate-related fuel costs in the current economic and geopolitical environment.
The dispute aims at ETS2, the new carbon market in the Union for building and road transport. Although already delayed to 2028, the scheme would make fuel suppliers pay for CO₂ emissions from heating and transportation fuels. Supporters say it is needed to push cleaner cars and heating systems.
As it stands, the row could further complicate the EU's wider overhaul of the carbon market. The European Commission is preparing a revision of the existing system for trading emissions, but the opposing countries have more than enough votes to block changes they don't like. At the same time, Germany, Sweden and others see ETS2 as crucial to the EU's transition to clean energy.