The European Union will raise an extra 20 billion euros from its carbon market for investments to help end more swiftly the bloc’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels, under a political deal reached on Wednesday.
Negotiators from EU countries and the European Parliament agreed in the early hours of Wednesday to raise 60% of the grants from an EU Innovation Fund – an existing pot of carbon market revenue that is currently spent on breakthrough green technologies.
The other 40% would come from proceeds from CO2 permit sales held earlier than planned.
The EU carbon market forces power plants and factories to buy CO2 permits when they pollute.
