Analysts: Charging for emissions from transport and building heating is a logical step

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Prague – The introduction of an emissions trading system for motor fuels in road transport and for heating buildings in the EU is a logical step towards achieving the Union’s climate goals, analysts approached by ČTK agreed. Motor fuels and heating prices will increase but will not be crippling according to them. MEPs approved the charging of emissions from heating buildings and road transport in 2023, the new system will set the price for greenhouse gas emissions from these sectors in 2027. The measures aim to bring the EU closer to its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990.

“If we are talking purely about the Czech Republic, greenhouse gas emissions from transport have increased by more than 60 percent since 1990, which is obviously not insignificant and is in contrast to other sectors where these emissions are falling,” Oldřich Sklenář from the Association for International Affairs told ČTK. According to analyst Kateřina Kolouchová from Fakt o klimatu, personal transport has the largest share in this increase and is the third most demanding sector in the Czech Republic. Therefore, she says, the new emissions trading system is necessary. “We want to motivate households and personal transport users to switch to low-carbon or zero-emission alternatives,” she said.

According to existing studies, building operation in the EU accounts for over 40 percent of energy consumption and related emissions make up around 36 percent. From a European perspective, according to Sklenář, it is also the sector with the greatest potential for energy savings. “Emissions related to the operation of buildings have so far been declining only gradually, while those related to transport have been increasing. I have doubts that states have the tools and the political will to initiate sufficiently rapid emission reductions in these sectors by other means,” Tomáš Jungwirth Březovský, who is also an analyst at the Association for International Affairs, told ČTK.

According to Sklenář, the system of emission allowances for motor fuels in transport and heating buildings is about leveling the playing field. “Currently, we have an emissions trading system that includes, for example, power plants, heating plants, heavy industry, aviation and shipping,” he said. According to him, the current system covers 38 percent of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions, and with the introduction of the new emissions trading system, it should cover another 47 percent. In the future, more than 85 percent of greenhouse gas emissions should therefore be subject to some kind of charge.

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