BRUSSELS — The European Union’s carbon price is too high and should be capped, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš told the Commission and fellow leaders in a letter.
Since taking office late last year, the right-wing Czech government has made no secret of its plans to campaign against the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), which puts a price on planet-warming emissions.
Babiš took aim at both the EU’s ETS1 — which requires power plants, heavy industry, airlines and shipping companies to pay for every ton of CO2 they emit — and the upcoming ETS2, which will increase the cost of fossil fuels used in heating and road transport from 2028.
Under ETS1, companies currently have to pay around 80 euros per ton of carbon. This is a higher price than assessments had previously predicted and far above carbon prices in other countries, Babiš writes in a letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and other leaders.
