EU Should Soften Caps in Emissions Market, Key Lawmaker Says

The planned reform of the European Union’s carbon market should involve a slower annual pace of emissions reductions for industries from chemicals to cement, according to a member of the biggest political group in the bloc’s parliament.

Peter Liese, a German lawmaker of the European People’s Party and its lead on environmental issues, said his group wanted a “balanced” approach to overhauling the emissions cap-and-trade program. The European Commission, the EU’s regulatory arm, is due to unveil the details of the reform in the third quarter, according to its tentative work program.