Paris, Jan 20 (AFP\/APP):European Union environment ministers gathered in France Thursday to mulls climate policy and the merits of a carbon border tax, while airing differences on whether nuclear energy can be classified as “green”.<\/p>\n
The two-day informal talks in Amiens, hosted by France as it takes the rotating reins of the EU presidency, will look for a unified path toward achieving the 27-nation bloc’s ambitious target of slashing carbon emissions 55 percent from 1990 levels.<\/p>\n
Discussion on overhauling the EU’s electricity market and carbon-trading system, already fraught, unfolds against a backdrop of sharp increases in energy prices, especially natural gas.<\/p>\n
EU energy ministers will join the fray on Friday, and then continue on with separate talks.<\/p>\n
Since last year, French President Emmanuel Macron has led the charge for the rapid implementation of a “carbon border adjustment mechanism”, essentially a tax on imported products made in countries with less stringent rules on reducing carbon pollution.<\/p>\n
The objective is to avoid shifting Europe’s carbon emissions overseas as they are reduced at home — known as “carbon leakage”.<\/p>\n
The sectors affected include steel, alumium, cement, fertiliser and electricity.<\/p>\n
China and the United States are both opposed to such a tax, with Beijing saying last year when the plan was unveiled that it would “violate World Trade Organization (WTO) principles.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paris, Jan 20 (AFP\/APP):European Union environment ministers gathered in France Thursday to mulls climate policy and the merits of a carbon border tax, while airing differences on whether nuclear energy can be classified as “green”. The two-day informal talks in Amiens, hosted by France as […]<\/p>\n
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