EU carbon price to hit €400 mark with 90% climate goal: analysts

(EurActiv, 5 Oct 2023) The European Union’s new climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, made written commitments on Wednesday (4 October) to defend a 90% cut in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, a move that financial analysts say will send EU carbon prices above the €400 mark.

Hoekstra secured backing from the Parliament’s environment committee on Wednesday and was formally confirmed in his new role by the full assembly during a plenary vote in Strasbourg on Thursday.

During a Parliament hearing earlier this week, the former Dutch foreign minister came under pressure from Green and left-wing lawmakers to show his commitment to ambitious EU climate policies by taking a stance on the EU’s climate target for 2040, due to be presented early next year.

His answer was unambiguous. “We will defend a minimum target of at least 90% net reduction by 2040,” Hoekstra said in a written statement sent to MEPs.

The 2040 target will determine the supply of CO2 allowances on the EU’s emissions trading scheme, which puts a limit on the carbon emissions of large industrial emitters.

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EurActiv, 5 Oct 2023: EU carbon price to hit €400 mark with 90% climate goal: analysts