The EU Environment Council took place today in Brussels. Cyprus was represented by the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mr. Andreas Grigoriou.
The Council held an exchange of views on the "Fit for 55" package presented by the European Commission last July, which includes a series of proposals for the implementation of the European Green Deal. Today's discussions focused on the extension of the directive on the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme (ETS) to buildings and road transport and the Social Fund for Climate.
In his intervention, the Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture stressed that the objective should be the adoption of a balanced agreement leading to the achievement of the agreed climate targets, with a fair and cost-effective burden sharing.
Referring to the proposal on the extension of the emissions trading scheme to buildings and road transport, Gregoriou stressed that for small Member States such as Cyprus, with limited alternatives in road transport and buildings, the effectiveness of the carbon pricing tool is not given, as it adds additional costs to the country's economy without making a significant contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. It therefore recommended that alternative options be considered. Regarding the proposed criteria for setting the target for the allocation of resources and for the allocation of grants through the Social Fund for Climate, Mr. Gregoriou pointed out that the calculation methodology used and the allocation criteria need to be updated in order to make them appropriate to address the specific circumstances of Member States such as Cyprus.
In the context of the work, the Council's General Approach on the new regulation on batteries and battery waste was adopted. The main objective of the relevant proposal presented by the Commission in 2020 is to reduce the environmental and social impacts at all stages of the life cycle of batteries, from the supply of raw materials to production, use, recycling and disposal.
Member states also exchanged views on the Proposal for a Regulation on minimising the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with products placed on the EU market, while during a working lunch a discussion was held on the
