Fitfor55: MEPs to Vote on Three Laws Next Week

The European Union's ambitious "Fit for 55" plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. MEPs are set to vote on Tuesday on three laws that are part of this package: the revised legislation on land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), the effort sharing regulation (ESR) for road transport, heating of buildings, and agriculture, and the revision of the Market Stability Reserve for the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

The LULUCF legislation seeks to increase the EU's carbon sinks target for the land and forestry sectors to 310 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This would bring the EU's greenhouse gas reductions in 2030 to 57% compared to 1990 levels. The ESR regulation sets binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions for EU member states for road transport, heating of buildings, and agriculture. For the first time, all EU countries will have to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions between 10% and 50%, with targets based on their GDP per capita and cost-effectiveness.

The revision of the Market Stability Reserve for the EU ETS is also part of the deal. This will place 24% of all ETS allowances in the market stability reserve to address possible future imbalances between the supply of and demand for allowances in the market due to external shocks such as those caused by COVID-19.

The new laws  will have a significant impact on farmers, particularly those involved in agriculture and forestry. The Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), which sets binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions for EU member states in the sectors of road transport, heating of buildings, and agriculture, may require farmers to make significant investments in new technologies such as precision farming in order to meet the required emissions reductions goals.

In addition, the revised legislation on land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) will require farmers to adopt new land use practices and forestry management techniques that increase the amount of carbon that is sequestered in soils and trees.

You can follow the legislative procedures for each law through the links below:

• LULUCF legislation: 2021/0201(COD)
• ESR regulation: 2021/0200(COD)
• Revision of the Market Stability Reserve for the EU ETS: 2021/0202(COD)