Today at the European Parliament in Brussels, at the initiative of PiS MEP Anna Zalewska, chair of the ECR Working Group on the Reform of the European Green Deal, a conference was held titled “Can Europeans Afford the Green Deal?” During the discussion, experts from Poland, Lithuania, and Italy addressed the issue of protecting the interests of European citizens against the harmful and costly effects of the Green Deal. They focused on the impact of the expansion of the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) on the transportation and construction sectors (EU ETS 2) and on the consequences of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) for the EU construction sector.
Anna Zalewska stated that “subsequent elements of the Green Deal are becoming increasingly ideological and out of touch with reality.” She highlighted the most controversial issue: the expansion of the emissions trading system to the road transport and construction sectors (EU ETS 2). The MEP agreed with Sławomir Mazurek, a social advisor to the President of Poland, that ETS2 has overly ambitious targets and that the system was analyzed without taking into account the citizens who will be affected by drastic increases in fuel and coal prices.
In this context, she referred to the Buildings Directive, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector. “The data clearly indicate that unimaginable sums are needed to implement the Buildings Directive, which makes it impossible for European Union citizens to comply,” she said. “Failure to implement the Buildings Directive will result in taxes on heating with coal, gas, and heating oil,” she said, referring to the direct consequences for citizens.
Anna Zalewska also addressed the issue of the Social Climate Fund, noting that it is a fund that will be financed by proceeds from auctions of ETS and ETS2 emission allowances. “So, even though it’s intended to help, the consequence is accepting emissions fees,” the Polish politician explained. “The Social Climate Fund (SCF) is intended to provide financial support to Europeans most affected by energy poverty, and the funds will be distributed by the European Commission,” — said the chair of the ECR Working Group on the Reform of the European Green Deal. “By agreeing to support Europeans most at risk of energy poverty through the SFK, we are agreeing to ETS2 taxes that depend on the free market,” — she noted, pointing out that a similar situation had occurred previously with ETS1, whose costs also could not be estimated.
The MEP also reminded her audience that while the European Union claims in its communications to be responsible for 8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, it is actually increasing those emissions by moving all of its production outside the European Union. “Blocking ETS2 is the first step toward halting the entire Green Deal, because it exists only as a directive and has not yet been implemented by any member state,” concluded Anna Zalewska.
