A very good afternoon, everybody,

and welcome to the press conference on the electrification action plan and the review of the EU emissions trading system that the College just adopted.

Just to clarify, the College is still ongoing, which means that this is not the College readout,

just the press conference on these files.

There will be a readout that follows later with Executive Vice President Virkkunen and Commissioner McGrath.

And we are sending the press material to you as we speak with links to the legal text. You've been now waiting long enough.

I will pass the floor to Executive Vice President Rivera, followed by Commissioner Hoekstra and Commissioner Jørgensen. Executive Vice President, thank you.

Thank you so much and thanks for joining us today.

I think that we come with very important proposals.

We know we have been experiencing that in the recent weeks.

We use Last Wednesday to give a a smart reminder to all of us on to what extent climate change case.

Climate change means destruction for the economy, for the society, for the infrastructures.

We are a continent committed to climate neutrality to 2050.

We are a continent that has been driven action for the last 20 years at least.

And it is from that experience that we came up today with updated proposals on how to keep on doing, how to keep on driving,

getting the lessons from the previous experience and looking into the future on how we can be more effective.

Because the economics of climate also shape competitiveness,

resilience, and innovation.

We have been working to mainstream climate action across our policies for 20 years,

and today I'm here with the Commissioners Hoekstra and Jørgensen to introduce the emissions trading scheme review.

The electrification action plan and the proposal on futureproof electricity bills, all topics that help in this exercise, ensuring that all those things that we have been achieving in the last years,

but at the very same time that those things that still need to be achieved are within reach.

All initiatives with a single logic to make the right choice to invest in Europe's future prosperity.

To help to build a cleaner, more resilient and more competitive economy rooted in our shared values and common goals. On prices that tell us the truth. Green is cheaper and wiser. Dependency is expensive.

We know that carbonization is the best economic and security strategy for Europe.

It strengthens competitiveness, reduces our dependence on imported fossil fuels, and makes our economy more resilient.

These are the very key elements that are at the backbone of this mandate,

that are the backbone of the Clean Industrial deal.

Emissions trading schemes make pollution pay its price while generating the revenues needed to invest in our future,

and together they point Europe's economy in one direction towards a future that is cheaper,

greener, fairer, more competitive and more secure. That is what today is about.

The emissions trading system is our flagship climate instrument.

It's been 20 years since we first implemented an emissions trading scheme in Europe.

It works well and provides an efficient manner to show how to invest in a wiser way, and after 20 years,

it is good to draw lessons and ensure it is still helping to keep a driving force for the next 20 years ahead of us.

These last 20 years have shown to what extent the reduction of emissions in the sectors governed by the ETS has been effective,

particularly in the power sector.

These 20 years have driven EUR 270 billion in investments for decarbonisation in our continent.

And have led us to a positive ripple effect across the world. But we have also learned important lessons.

These are the lessons that help us to build on what works.

To improve what still needs improvement and to provide a predictable framework for the next 20 years,

rewarding those who move first,

who trust this transformation while giving others the confidence to catch up.

This is a proposal that secures a robust carbon price signal to continue to guide investments,

so to move away from fossil fuels and bring new clean products to our markets.

It keeps putting a price on carbon and reaffirms the confidence to invest in Europe.

It improves the way we can reinvest in an efficient manner the revenues we get to help European industry to innovate,

modernize and lead transition.

The emissions trading system is still a central driver of a whole of economy transition to net zero in alignment with the 90% target of the European Climate Law for 2040.

And it does so in the broader Paris Agreement international context.

From 2036, as said in the Climate Law, we could count on the possibility to count on a limited number of high integrity,

cost effective international credits in case it is needed.

The use of those credits will be subject to a Commission report by 2033.

And using these credits could help to the Paris Agreement architecture,

sending a message of cooperation towards our international partners.

Our vision to have homegrown green energy to avoid fossil fuel dependencies also gives an important step forward today.

We present the electrification action plan to leave barriers to unlock electrification. We have achieved a great deal.

But it is still too little, too slow.

We've done a lot, but much still needs to be done.

Our electrification rate has been stuck at 23% for a decade, and we think we can do better. The electricity plan delivers on three fronts. It sets ambition and predictability. It makes clean choice the default option.

And with the accompanying legal proposal on futureproof electricity bills we are adopting today.

We are setting in new law that we need electricity tax lower than gas,

that we want network charges to be more efficient to drive a more optimized energy system.

And that it is important to accelerate the rollout of smart meters to at least 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2033.

We commit to adopt a framework to phase out the €100 billion being dedicated to subsidize fossil fuels.

We are convinced that this is the way forward.

We think that this deserves the attention of people to count on the right schemes,

on the right tools to make it easy.

Thinking of socialism schemes, the use of the AIT, the industrial industrial decarbonization Bank and the investment booster sought to support to help into these very same goals,

including some innovative mechanisms such as the Clean Heat Market mechanism.

We can make it better and we are convinced that we Europeans not only have the choice to do it,

but the capacity, the strength to succeed. Every year of delay.

Is another year of higher costs of additional vulnerabilities, another year of exposure to crisis we did not choose,

another year that could be missing opportunities for Europe and the Europeans.

So we are convinced that we are ready to keep on doing.

Commissioner Hoekstra will introduce the topic which is of the interest of the room together with the electricity action plan.