The European Parliament on Wednesday (15 February) adopted draft reforms of the EU’s carbon market post-2020 that aim to balance greater cuts in greenhouse gases with protection for energy-intensive industries.

The European Union’s emission trading system (ETS), a cap-and-trade permit system to regulate industry pollution, has suffered from excess supply since the financial crisis, depressing its prices and heightening the need for reform, according to Euractiv.com.

But politicians and EU nations are divided over how is best to fix the complex system, with industry and environment groups lobbying hard on opposing sides.

Reform efforts have also been overshadowed by Britain’s decision to quit the bloc, raising fears it would also leave the EU’s scheme, hammering prices.

The draft, adopted by 379-263 votes, rejected a more environmentally ambitious proposal for the faster removal of surplus carbon permits from the ETS – sparking criticism from climate campaigners.

Instead, it sticks with the EU executive’s proposal for the cap on emissions to fall by 2.2% per year – the so-called linear reduction factor – until at least 2024.

The Paris Agreement caps global warming at no more than two degrees above industrial levels.