EU should agree remaining climate laws by summer, Sweden says

The European Union aims for negotiations to conclude by July on laws that will deliver its 2030 climate target. However, a contentious overhaul to fossil fuel taxes may take longer, the ambassadors of Sweden to the bloc stated on Monday (9 Januiary).

The EU, which includes 27 countries, is currently negotiating around 12 laws to combat global warming. Last year, they reached deals on many of them, including a 2035 prohibition on the sale of new fossil fuel cars, and a major overhaul its carbon market.

Sweden holds the rotating presidency of the EU and will be chairing negotiations between member countries until July. It wants to finalize more stringent targets for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and minimum energy performance standards.

"We will make it complete so that during this first part of the year, we are able to state that the Fit for 55 Package has been successfully concluded in terms of legislative work," Torbjorn Hak, Sweden's deputy ambassador, said to reporters in Brussels.

Haak stated that Sweden is not expecting any new emergency proposals to deal with Russia's reduction of its gas flow to Europe. This was after EU countries had agreed to emergency measures last year, including a storage filling requirement and a price cap on gas.

He added: "We don't exclude anything."

It is crucial that the EU meets its target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels. This will help it meet its goal to eventually replace all Russian gas with clean energy.

However, talks between EU countries, which must agree on the final laws with the European Parliament last year, showed that there were moves to weaken certain proposals, including the requirement to renovate energy-guzzling structures.

The prospects of a deal for the proposal to end the EU's tax exemption on polluting aircraft fuel are less positive. It is extremely difficult for countries to approve EU tax changes as they must be approved unanimously.

Lars Danielsson, Sweden's EU ambassador, said: "We don't believe that there is that many results."

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