The text of the climate package on the carbon border tax was rejected by the European Parliament. “A failure of course, but that must be put into perspective in two ways. The first way is that we are going to tackle a new compromise tomorrow and we have set ourselves the objective of voting on the three key texts of the climate package, the social fund for the climate, the carbon market and the carbon border tax, on June 23. The coalition that voted against today, which goes from the extreme left to the extreme right, is a coalition that we loses 15 days and we will vote, I am sure, on June 23 for the rest of the climate package”explains Pascal Canfin, MEP and Chairman of the Environment Committee.
On the other hand, parliament also voted to end the sale of thermal cars for 2035. A decision that worries Marine Le Pen in particular: “She wants to lock the French into dependence on gasoline and therefore on oil. Oil that comes from Russia, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. I think that both for the climate and for our geopolitical independence, we have to get out of this situation where we are totally bound hand and foot with great powers like Russia, because of our dependence on oil. When things get out of hand, like today with the war in Ukraine, the impact on the purchasing power of the French is immediate. The best way to get out of this dependence is to switch to a car that does not run on petrol”.
Regarding this transition, concern is also growing among the employees concerned. “First of all, we give a period of time which is not negligible. 13 years to adapt to this important transformation, both for car manufacturers, for equipment manufacturers and for employees. For employees, in the text that we voted today, we have decided on a just transition fund to support social transition. You will indeed have jobs that will be destroyed, on the other hand you will have thousands of jobs created at the same time in companies that will make electric batteries”emphasizes Pascal Canfin.
It is therefore Europe which is thus trying to show the way forward to the United States and other great powers. “We are the first in the world to do this. I consider it not only our responsibility towards climate change, but it is also our interest. Because this transition of the automotive industry is taking place all over the world. Manufacturers like General Motors, Ford or Volvo are in the process of going 100% electric. So taking a step ahead, putting the industrial means to manufacture batteries and cars at home , it gives us back a capacity for independence, power and strategic autonomy”he concludes.