Brussels/Bratislava – Slovakia, along with the countries of the Visegrad Group (V4), voted in Brussels at the EU Council meeting on the environment against tightening emissions in the climate law for 2040. The concessions from the European Union in the climate law, as well as the proposal to postpone ETS2 emission allowances by one year, are considered insufficient. This was stated on social media by the Minister of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, Tomáš Taraba (nominated by SNS), TASR reports.
Tomáš Taraba stated that this is the “first admission” that the system is flawed, aimed against the social standard of people. “We will act uniformly against it along with many other countries until its abolition comes instead of postponement,” said the minister.
He considers it lamentable that member states asked the EU to prepare impact studies for individual countries before serious decisions are made. According to him, this proposal was rejected.
Slovakia rejects tightening emission standards that worsen the economic situation of people and industry
According to Taraba, Slovakia rejects tightening emission standards that worsen the economic situation of people and industry. He considers it a success that they managed to push the principle of technological neutrality into the final text, which means that nuclear energy will be regarded as a carbon-free energy source.
“Therefore, in Slovakia, we do not need to have such a high level of investment in wind farms. Slovakia is already among the cleanest producers of electricity today,” the minister stated.
The topic of the extraordinary meeting of the EU Council of Ministers for the Environment was also the revision of the new emissions trading system for the road transport and building sectors, known as ETS2. The EU Council approved that its implementation is postponed to 2028. The ministry claims that Slovakia, the entire V4, and a total of 19 EU countries opposed the measures.
“This is also the first admission that the ETS2 system is flawed, aimed against the social standard of people, and we will act uniformly against it along with many other countries until its abolition comes instead of postponement,” Taraba stated.
The ministers also discussed the importance of healthy and vital forests that mitigate the effects of climate change. In this context, Slovakia supported in Brussels the initiative of 14 member states that are calling for a postponement of the deforestation regulation. “It is also a fact that Slovakia does not have a problem with deforestation, as the area of forests is increasing year by year, and approximately 63 percent of the annual increment of wood mass is harvested each year,” the environmental ministry added.
On Wednesday in Brussels, the environment ministers of the 27 EU member states approved a climate target for 2040, which aims for a 90 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990, but with certain concessions that weaken this goal. European ministers tried to reach an agreement before the COP30 climate summit, which will start next Monday in Brazil (November 5).
