Mr. Jean-Pierre Schweitzer:

An interesting study a couple of years ago said that if scope 3 or embedded emissions from imported goods were accounted for, the EU would not have achieved any emissions reductions since 1990. The Chairman is completely right that there is a huge environmental impact in all of the goods which we import. It is a vast amount of goods, and it is not just plastics but also the feed for our livestock, fuels and many types of products that have a huge environmental impact.

The system can be fair as long as European goods are held to the same climate standards. The key point is that European and other manufacturers should also be facing the same rules on how energy-efficient and resource-efficient their products are. There is some potential in this measure.