Recital 97

(97) With a view to achieving the climate-neutrality objective set out in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, a Union-wide climate target for 2040 should be set, based on a legislative proposal to amend that Regulation. The EU ETS should be reviewed to align it with the Union 2040 climate target. As a result, by July 2026 the Commission should report on several aspects of the EU ETS to the European Parliament and to the Council, accompanying the report, where appropriate, by a legislative proposal and impact assessment. In line with Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, priority should be given to direct emission reductions, which will have to be complemented by increased carbon removals in order to achieve climate neutrality. Therefore, among other aspects, by July 2026 the Commission should report to the European Parliament and to the Council on how emissions removed from the atmosphere and safely and permanently stored, for example through direct air capture, could potentially be covered by emissions trading, without offsetting necessary emission reductions. Until all stages of the life of a product in which captured carbon is used are subject to carbon pricing, in particular at the stage of waste incineration, reliance on accounting for emissions at the point of their release from products into the atmosphere would result in emissions being undercounted. In order to regulate the capture of carbon in a way that reduces net emissions and ensures that all emissions are accounted for and that double counting is avoided, while generating economic incentives, the Commission should assess, by July 2026, whether all greenhouse gas emissions covered by Directive 2003/87/EC are effectively accounted for, and whether double counting is effectively avoided. In particular, it should assess the accounting for the greenhouse gas emissions which are considered to have been captured and utilised in a product in a way other than that referred to in Article 12(3b), and take into account the downstream stages, including disposal and waste incineration. Finally, the Commission should also report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the feasibility of lowering the 20 MW total rated thermal input thresholds for the activities in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC, taking into account the environmental benefits and administrative burden.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-14 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.