Croatians who use natural gas for heating will be paying 25 percent more for their gas bills by 2026 at the latest, by which time a fee for greenhouse gas emissions would also be put in place, Jutarnji List Daily reported on Monday.

This scenario is included in the recently published European Commission’s energy strategy Fit for 55, which aims to phase out the use of fossil fuels in transport and industry, as well as in the building sector which is one of the biggest CO2 emitters and polluters, the daily reported.

The European Union plans to do away with gas heating by 2050 and the Commission’s proposal is expected to enter into force in 2026, said Professor Neven Duic of the Zagreb University’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture.

“Big consumers, such as electricity producers, are already required to buy CO2 emission rights. This means that small consumers who use electricity for heating are already paying the CO2 emission fee and are being discriminated against compared to consumers who are not paying this fee because they use natural gas,” Duic said.

The Commission’s calculation about the need to increase natural gas prices by 25 percent for Croatian consumers who use natural gas for heating is included in the proposal to amend the rules on emissions trading. The proposal is part of the Fit for 55 strategy, according to which Croatians currently pay 5 cents per kilowatt hour for gas heating and will be paying nearly 9 cents once the CO2 emissions fee is in place, Jutarnji List said.