The EU’s nominee for climate chief proposed taxing all fossil fuels, including those used in the shipping and airline industries, to raise money for a fund that would help countries affected by carbon pollution.
Wopke hoekstra, former Dutch Foreign Minister, said at a confirmation hearing on Monday with EU legislators that he will try to open international discussions about the planned “loss and damages” fund, by suggesting raising funds for it through fuel levies.
The EU’s emissions trading scheme will be expanded to include shipping next year.
Hoekstra testified before the European Parliament’s Environment Committee that he wanted to investigate a kerosene international tax, maritime levy and fossil fuel tax. He even suggested a portion of [the EU emission trading scheme] profits.
The EU scheme requires businesses to pay for carbon dioxide emissions. More than €25bn in revenue is raised each year, and the money goes primarily to state budgets. Hoekstra stated that the revenues will increase “exponentially”.
Bas Eickhout is a Dutch Green Member of the European Parliament who questioned Hoekstra’s “credibility” regarding fuel taxes, because such decisions need unanimity from all EU member states. He told the Environment Committee that “any individual member state could block this”.
JuttaPaulus, a German Green Member of the European Parliament, stated after the hearing that “Hoekstra is very aware that any global taxes agreement would either be insubstantial, or delayed, or both.”
Hoekstra’s nomination as EU Climate Commissioner follows Frans Timmermans’ departure from the position to run for the Dutch elections in November.
Hoekstra is a politician of the centre-right who was criticized by some MEPs because he worked for Shell. He promised “continuity and ambition” as well as “outreach”.
The change in EU commissioners comes just weeks before UN COP28, when the EU faces opposition to its green agenda by industry and conservative politicians. The EU has traditionally been one of the most aggressive negotiators in UN events.
Since the UN COP27 Climate Summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh, last year, the concept of the fund was agreed upon at first, international talks on the size and form have been tense.
The official are trying to reach an agreement on the structure of the fund by the COP28 summit, which is scheduled for December. However, disagreements have arisen over the funding, whether the fund should be managed by a multilateral bank or stand alone, and who should oversee it.
Officials involved in the discussions said that the fund shouldn’t be treated like an ATM, where states could tap it to compensate for damages caused by carbon pollution.
US and EU officials aim to create a fund to address specific climate risks. People close to the discussions said there were some recent progresses.
Hoekstra stated in written testimony before the confirmation hearing that the decision to establish a “loss-and-damage funding arrangement, including a trust fund” was an historic milestone, but “one fund alone will not be a silver bullet”.
He said that “all countries in a position of providing support” should contribute to the fund. This was a subtle reference to the western nations who are pushing China and Gulf States to contribute to it despite their status as poor developing countries.
Hoekstra apologized to the Environment Committee for blocking the establishment of a EU fund for poorer member states for several months when he served as Dutch Finance Minister during the Covid Pandemic. He said that he had not shown enough consideration for the hardships faced by some members states.
The parliament will vote Thursday if two-thirds support Hoekstra.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, is expected to accept the view expressed by parliament despite its advisory nature.
More than 104,000 people have signed a petition against Hoekstra being appointed as EU Climate Commissioner.
Hoekstra, the Dutch Finance Minister, has been criticized for approving, during the pandemic, a multi-billion euro bailout to the airline KLM without specifying that the company reduce emissions.
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