European Associations representing the tourism and commercial road transport sectors are calling on the European Parliament to make the extension of ETS to road transport and buildings (ETS II) a fair and fit-for-purpose instrument for both businesses and private buildings/private transport.
“We support the EU initiative to establish a separate ETS for buildings and road transport, which would overall be preferable to different national schemes, providing it is designed in an inclusive and fit-for-purpose way,” says the IRU.
Under the changes proposed by the European Parliament’s ENVI committee, private buildings and private transport would not be included in the new ETS before 2029 when their potential inclusion would have to be subject to a full impact assessment and a new legislative proposal. This change would translate into an unsustainable burden placed on a small portion of actors, in particular as the ENVI compromise also leaves open the possibility to add national taxation and charges for carbon emissions on top of the new EU ETS charge.
The Tourism sector, including its road transport segment, was the hardest hit by the COVID crisis. Currently, it faces a rise of electricity and gas prices in the EU (which in turn causes an increase in the inflation rate). This is further reflected in an increase in the costs of goods and services in the sectors covered by the new ETS system.
As it stands, the private tourism sector will not be able to cope with the extra costs, while bankruptcies will continue to proliferate. A fit for purpose ETS needs a universal set price for CO₂ to foster the greening of both vehicles and buildings and a one-stop-shop for pricing CO₂ emissions.
At the same time, we advocate that ETS revenues are used to support the green transition through support to technologies that contribute to energy, resource savings and pollution reduction. Both companies, especially SMEs, and private householders should have easy access to the Social Climate Fund for the necessary infrastructural changes to be implemented.
As such, we count on the European Parliament’s support to mitigate the costs, and spread the burden between businesses and private buildings / private transport in an equative manner. This will help the tourism sector adapt and use sustainable alternatives to mitigate emissions in the near future. We hope that the tourism sector is able to flourish again.
