09 December 2024
In Brussels, EU member States about to bury climate ambitions
09 December 2024
In the Council of the European Union, a handful of Member States are preparing to bury climate ambitions and the ecological transition
On 10 December 2024, Economy and Finance Ministers of the EU will meet at the ECOFIN meeting of the Council of the EU where they will be discussing a fundamental piece of the European plan to combat climate change: the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD). But a danger is looming: a consensus is close to being adopted to exempt three sectors from the collective effort to transition towards climate neutrality: the aviation, maritime, and fishing sectors (the latter being technically included in the ‘maritime sector’). Following far-right Hungarian proposal, most Member States are on the verge of adopting an unjustifiable position allowing the ETD to maintain fossil fuel subsidies for these three sectors until 2035 at least. This is a pivotal moment at a time when the European continent starts being hit hard by extreme weather events, such as the unprecedented massive floods which have affected thousands of people in Central Europe and Spain (Valencia) this autumn. Hope to derail this regressive consensus lies with a few key Member States, namely France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Slovakia which have shown signs of misalignment with this position. BLOOM calls on these States to firmly oppose, on 10 December, the Energy Taxation Directive as it stands with these unacceptable exemptions.
On Tuesday 10 December, the EU Economy and Finance Ministers will meet in the Council to continue – and perhaps conclude – negotiations on the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive. In force since the 1980s, this directive imposes on Member States to exempt the most polluting sectors from tax on fossil fuels. As negotiations currently stand, all sectors would be subject to minimum taxation except the aviation and maritime sectors, including fishing.
A decision that would go against European commitments and objectives
In line with international commitments and scientific warnings, the European Commission launched the Green Deal in 2019, which aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To this end, a revision of the Energy Taxation Directive has been introduced in order to reform the current European energy tax rules and support the decarbonization of our production systems.
While the Commission’s proposal published in July 2021 proposed to remove the total detaxation and to introduce a minimal taxation as low as 0,036 EUR/L, the Hungarian Presidency of the Council presented a report on 6 November proposing to maintain fuel tax exemptions for the maritime sector, including fishing, and aviation at least until 2035.
A third of transport emissions in the European Union
Yet the aviation and maritime transport sectors together are responsible for almost a third of transport emissions in the European Union. Additionally, the European fishing fleet consumes 2.3 billion litres of fuel each year and emits 7.3 million tonnes of CO2.1
However, this carbon footprint is largely underestimated, given that the fishing sector’s emissions are only calculated based on the amount of fuel burned at sea. Carbon resuspension generated from scraping the seabed is not yet accounted for. A recent study estimates that bottom trawling is responsible for releasing around 370 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year, which represents twice the annual emissions from fuel combustion for the entire world fishing fleet2.
Estimates show that the total amount of the tax rebate to the European fishing fleet each year is between €759 million and €1.5 billion.3 As the amount of the tax rebate is proportional to the volume of fuel consumed, this scheme mainly benefits the most energy-intensive fishing vessels, i.e. those using active gear, which is also the most destructive for marine ecosystems.
As the fishing industry is neither subject to the European Emissions Trading Scheme nor to any international agreement imposing CO2 emission reductions, an absence of taxation under the upcoming Energy Taxation Directive would mean that fishing would be the only sector not subject to any CO2 emission reduction obligations.
France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Slovakia must oppose ocean and climate gravediggers
Eliminating the compulsory detaxation of fossil fuel was part of the EU’s political promises to tackle climate change as well as being a vital measure scientists ask to adopt without any delay. If politicians do not eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, any attempt to revert climate change impacts will be vain.
The political seal of the disaster might be happening behind closed doors on 10 December as Member States are inclined to follow those active few like Cyprus, Malta, Italy and Greece, which are sabotaging the European Commission’s proposal to introduce minimum taxation of fossil fuels for the civil aviation, maritime and fishing sectors and are allying with the Hungarian proposal.
At this stage, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Slovakia are the only Member States to oppose the Hungarian Presidency’s proposal to maintain the status quo. We therefore call on them to shoulder their responsibilities and show courage by vetoing the maintenance of fuel tax exemptions for the maritime, fishing and aviation sectors.
Scientists warn that “we are on the brink of an irreversible climate catastrophe”.4 If the obligatory total detaxation is maintained, it will incentivise the aviation, maritime and fishing sectors to continue burning fossil fuels massively and to continue the devastation of vital marine ecosystems by the most destructive, subsidized and energy intensive fishing vessels.
Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies gradually does not mean to stop all support to the sector. We call on Member States to organize a fair and just ecological and energy transition. Finance Ministers have the power and duty to put citizen’s money to best use and to defend the general interest and future generations by ensuring the safety of civilization by securing the stability of the climate and natural ecosystems.
We urge them to show courage by making the only right choice: climate security.
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