Czech Republic to seek to soften EU ETS II system that it itself helped push through

Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Petr Hladík, Minister of the Environment, announced jointly at a press conference this week that the Czech Republic will seek changes to the conditions and a postponement of the full launch of the second emissions trading system (EU ETS II). Its introduction was approved in December 2022 during the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU. At the time, government representatives regarded reaching an agreement on changes to the emissions trading system as a huge success of the Czech Presidency.

The Czech Republic will seek changes to the conditions and a postponement of the full launch of the EU ETS II system. The system is to apply to the heating sector and the road transport sector. Its full launch is currently planned for 2027, although under the agreed conditions it may be postponed by one year in the event of extreme energy prices. The monitoring phase for collecting data on the volume of emissions under the second system will begin as early as next year.