The draft agreement also seeks changes to existing green legislation.
Responding to a demand from Italy, countries will demand that “zero- and low-carbon fuels” continue playing a role in “road transport,” a reference to weakening the bloc’s 2035 combustion-engine phaseout.
To appease Poland, the draft deal also calls on the Commission to postpone the introduction of a new carbon tax on transport and heating fuels — key to meeting the bloc’s existing 2030 climate target — by one year. The text also suggests heavy industry be given free pollution permits under the bloc’s carbon market for longer than planned.
A deal on the 2035 target, which is not legally binding but mandated by the Paris Agreement, remains uncertain. A second draft text, also seen by POLITICO, sets this goal between 66.25 and 72.5 percent, echoing an earlier informal statement.
Yet this goal requires unanimous approval, and three diplomats said Hungary was as yet unable to agree.
Louise Guillot contributed reporting.