Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ENVI Chair, reacts to the Frans TIMMERMANS, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the European Green Deal, and Commissioner for Climate Action Policy presentation of the upcoming climate legislative package to the members of the EP Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). The new legislation aims to align climate and energy policies with the new objectives of the European Climate Law.

Brussels

exchange of views

statement

meeting

2030 framework for climate and energy policies (T)

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

TIMMERMANS, Frans (NL, EC)

CANFIN, Pascal (Renew, FR)

European Green Deal (T)

european climate law (T)

European Green Deal - Fit for 55 in 2030 package: statement by Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ENVI Chair - ENVI committee

Title: European Green Deal - Fit for 55 in 2030 package: statement by Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ENVI Chair - ENVI committee 

SOUNDBITE (French), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ENVI Chair, I am in favour of the package proposed by the European Commission, today but I am very critical about one element of this package. And this element of the package is putting a carbon price on the gas or oil that we use to heat our homes, our apartments and on the fuel of our cars. Why? Because when you live at 20 or 30 km from a city centre, you don't have public transport, you don't have an alternative and if you do not have alternatives, it's not because gasoline is 10 cents or 20 cents more expensive that you simply change, it costs you more. But there is no CO2 reduction, it's just a constraint for you. And this is precisely what happened in France with the yellow vests and I would definitely like to avoid reproducing the same error. Unfortunately, the Commission, in my view, is making this mistake and here, in the European Parliament and with the Council we are going to try to fix this error.

SOUNDBITE (French), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ENVI Chair - ENVI committee, By 2035, all the cars sold in Europe will be zero emissions, will be electric cars. This is something that everybody understands, I think, and it's going to be a big change for the next 13,14 years. We are going to change profoundly one of the largest European industries, the automotive industry.

SOUNDBITE (French), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ENVI Chair, So if we choose this start date, I think it's the right date and the car manufacturers themselves support it.

SOUNDBITE (French), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ENVI Chair, We have an alliance with a large part of the car manufacturers to achieve this goal. This is not an impossible goal. The second element is a social one which is also very important. In 2026, thanks to the decrease of the battery cost of the electric vehicle in 2026, the electric car will be cheaper than the gasoline or diesel car. So this transformation has already started and more cars we're going to produce, the less expensive they're gonna be.

SOUNDBITE (French), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ENVI Chair, There is a financial package associated to this climate package which includes the income of the ETS, of the carbon market which will be adapted to a country like Poland in order to accompany it in the change of its coal-based electricity. In addition, the climate package is part of an even wider package in which there is the Transition Fund of &euro;17 billion euros for regions and countries like Poland, to help them to change their technological model. So we are aware and we are solidair because this is the only way. We are telling them that they have to play the game and that they can not be the clandestine passenger of the climate. But we stand in solidarity and we are aware that we need to help them more. And that's the only way we can do it.