EU lawmakers adopt deals on emissions trading, carbon tax by 55%

European Union lawmakers on Tuesday adopted key pieces of a package designed to achieve the EU’s climate goals of cutting emissions of the gases that cause global warming by 55 per cent over this decade.

European Parliament members approved deals to reform the 27-nation bloc’s emissions trading system, introduce a so-called carbon border adjustment mechanism and to create a new hardship fund for vulnerable households and small businesses affected by higher fuel costs arising from the new measures.

The reform of the emissions trading system, which covers about 40 per cent of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions,