New govt commission to calculate Green Deal impacts on Czechia

A new government commission, comprising representatives of employees, employers and several ministries, is to be established to calculate the impacts of the Green Deal on Czechia, Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlicek (for ANO) said after a Tripartite Council meeting.

It is a question whether representatives of environmental organisations would be among the commission members, he said. Havlicek said the Green Deal commission would be similar to the Coal Commission, which recommended the year 2038 as the coal exit date for the country last December.

The Green Deal is the European Commission's plan for climate protection and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and its aim is make Europe climate neutral in 2050. CMKOS umbrella trade union leader Josef Stredula said the costs of the actions taken to meet the Green Deal were estimated at ten billion crowns in the country, which is seven annual Czech state budgets.

Havlicek said representatives of the environment, agriculture, industry and trade and labour ministries, labour unions and employers should sit in the commission. The commission members should be known by June 21 when is the next Tripartite Council meeting.

Representatives of the trade unions, employers and ministries already talked about the Green Deal in December and February. Both employers and trade unions say there were no analyses of the impacts on individual EU member states. They want to know how it would influence Czech automotive industry and other sectors, the whole economy, regions and the social situation of the inhabitants. Havlicek said the Industry and Trade Ministry prepared basic data for the influence of the Green Deal on eight sectors.

Stredula said the state administration has no divisions able to work out strategic documents and analyses. Czech Confederation of Industry head Jaroslav Hanak said he believes the state would use external experts. Stredula said the growing price of carbon credits may lead to the fall of firms and rise in unemployment.

Hanak recalled that Czechia supported the Green Deal in the EU. He pointed out that the impacts on the industrial Czechia will be different than those on the countries in southern or northern Europe. "Green Deal will have impacts on every citizen," he said, adding that industry, transport and food production will have to undergo a major change.

Source: ČTK

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