LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – European Union countries voted on Tuesday to approve sweeping reforms to the European Union’s carbon market, its main climate policy, which are expected to hike the cost of polluting in Europe in the coming years and cut CO2 emissions faster.
The member states’ vote was the final approval the policy needed, and it can now pass into law.
The reforms would cut the supply of carbon permits in the market faster than planned, phase out free permits for industries by 2034, and gradually bring the shipping sector into the carbon market, starting in 2024.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett and Bart Meijer)