BRUSSELS: EU member states and parliamentarians on Sunday announced an agreement for a major reform to the bloc’s carbon market, the central plank of its ambitions to reduce emissions and invest in climate-friendly technologies. The deal aims to accelerate emissions cuts, phase out free allowances to industries and targets fuel emissions from the building and road transport sectors, according to a European Parliament statement. The EU Emissions Trading System allows electricity producers and industries with high energy demands such as steel and cement to purchase “free allowances” to cover their carbon emissions under a “polluter pays” principle. No other continent has such an ambitious carbon price. Pascal Canfin, President of the European Parliament’s environment committee The quotas are designed to decrease over time to encourage them to emit less and invest in greener technologies as part of the EU’s ultimate aim of achieving carbon neutrality. Negotiators representing member states and the parliament had spent more than 24 hours in intense talks before reaching an agreement on Saturday night that widens the scope of the carbon market. The deal means emissions in the ETS sectors are to be cut by 62 percent by 2030 based on 2005 levels, up from a previous goal of 43 percent. Concerned industries must cut their emissions by that amount. The agreement also seeks to accelerate the timetable for phasing out the free allowances, with 48.5 percent phased out by 2030 and a complete removal by 2034, a schedule at the centre of fierce debates between MEPs and member states. The carbon market will be progressively extended to the maritime sector and intra-European flights. Waste incineration sites will be included from 2028, depending on a favorable report by the commission. Climate Action Network, a coalition of NGOs, criticized the agreement, saying it would allow major polluters to continue to receive billions of euros in free quotas for another decade while households would receive little. French MEP Pascal Canfin, president of the European Parliament’s environment committee, said the carbon price for industries affected by the ETS would be around €100 per ton. “No other continent has such an ambitious carbon price,” he tweeted. A “carbon border tax,” which imposes environmental standards on imports into the bloc based on the carbon emissions linked to their production, will offset the reduction of free allowances and allow industries to compete with more polluting non-EU rivals. The agreement also aims to make households pay for emissions linked to fuel and gas heating from 2027, but the price will be capped until 2030.