EU will try to deliver more support to its heavy industries to help them cut carbon emissions, Europe’s climate chief has pledged, as it plans to slow further limits on their pollution.

Climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said more revenue from the emissions trading system, which places a cost on carbon, would be steered towards businesses in return for their commitment to invest in cleaning up their operations. The scheme raises about €40bn a year for the EU. The Commission will propose a review of the emissions trading scheme on Friday, after lobbying by European heavy industry about the burden of buying allowances. Hoekstra insisted the revision would help deliver the EU’s ambitions of net zero emissions by 2050 and not weaken the system, which is designed to deal with polluting industries such as refineries, cement, steel, aviation and shipping.

In the new proposal, member states must direct at least half of their annual €24bn income from carbon costs toward industry clean‑ups; less than 5 % goes there now. The annual rate of allowance reduction will slow from 4.4 % (2028‑30) to 3.7 % in 2031, and further later in the decade. Businesses will also keep free allowances, amounting to about €35‑40bn a year, if they invest in Europe. The proposals need negotiation with member states and the European Parliament.

The move to give more time for emissions has faced opposition from various climate leaders, though it stops short of the demands of Italy, Poland and other central and eastern states. Hoekstra also said an extension of the scheme to flights departing the bloc would only cover those landing within 5,000 km of the EU, leaving US flights out.