European Union regulation | |
Text with EEA relevance | |
Title | Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism |
---|---|
Made under | Article 192(1) of the TFEU |
Journal reference | 2023/956 |
History | |
European Parliament vote | 18 April 2023 |
Council Vote | 25 April 2023 |
Date made | 10 May 2023 |
Entry into force | 17 May 2023 |
Preparative texts | |
Commission proposal | COM/2021/564 final |
Current legislation |
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a carbon tariff on carbon intensive products, such as steel, [1] cement and some electricity, [2] imported to the European Union. [3] Legislated [4] as part of the European Green Deal, it takes effect in 2026, with reporting starting in 2023. [5] [6] CBAM was passed by the European Parliament with 450 votes for, 115 against, and 55 abstentions [7] [8] and the Council of the EU with 24 countries in favour. [9] It entered into force on 17 May 2023. [10]
The price of CBAM certificates is linked to the price of EU allowances under the European Union Emissions Trading System introduced in 2005. [12] [13] The CBAM is designed to stem carbon leakage to countries without a carbon price, [14] and will also permit the EU to stop giving free allowances to some carbon-intensive sectors within its borders. All this should hasten decarbonization. [15]
After the political (provisional) agreement between the Council and the European Parliament was reached in December 2022, the CBAM entered into force on October 1, 2023 and is passing through several phases:
From October 2023 to the end of 2025 transitional phase: importers of products in six carbon intensive sectors highly exposed to international trade, namely aluminium, cement, electricity, fertilisers, hydrogen and iron and steel will need to report their emissions. During the transitional phase, the regulators will be checking if other products can be added to the list like for example some downstream products.
From the beginning of 2026 importers of products included in these 6 sectors will begin to pay a border carbon tax for their products based on the price of allowances in the European Union Emissions Trading System.
By 2030 all sectors covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System will be covered by CBAM.
By 2034 free allowances in the relevant sectors in the European Union will be phased out as the fully implemented CBAM prevents the possibility of no level playing field for European companies in comparison to importers. [10] [16] [15]
To address the 'lose-lose' scenario of carbon leakage, [17] characterised by a general loss of competitiveness of EU industries with no gain from the perspective of climate protection, the CBAM will require importers of the targeted goods to purchase a sufficient amount of ‘CBAM certificates’ to cover the emissions embedded in their products. Since the main purpose of the CBAM is to avoid carbon leakage, the mechanism tries to subject covered imports to the same carbon price imposed on internal producers under the EU ETS. In other words, the EU is trying to make importers bear an equivalent burden, for what concerns regulatory costs, to the costs of European producers.
Under article 6, importers must make a "CBAM declaration" with the quantity of goods, embedded emissions, and certificates for payment of the carbon import tax.
Annex I sets out the goods that attract the import tax, including cement, electricity, fertilisers (such as nitric acid, ammonia, potassium), iron and steel (including tanks, drums, containers), and aluminium.
Annex II specifies that the CBAM does not apply to the four non-EU member states that are included in the European Economic Area, namely Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Annex III sets out the methods for calculating embedded greenhouse gas emissions.
Exporters will be required to report their emissions and purchase CBAM certificates, which will increase their costs and reduce their profitability.
The implementation of the CBAM by the EU is a major step towards addressing the issue of carbon leakage and ensuring a level playing field for European businesses worldwide against cheaper goods from economies outside the EU lacking carbon taxation. The import partners most affected will be Russia, China, Turkey, Ukraine, the Balkans, as well as Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Cameroon. [18] This mechanism allows the EU to unilaterally impose a levy on imports from countries that do not meet the environmental standards set by the EU.
However, enforcing the CBAM requires a robust compliance framework that would ensure transparency, accuracy, and effectiveness. Firstly, the EU should establish clear and objective environmental standards that businesses must meet to avoid tariffs. These standards should be based on internationally recognized methodologies and benchmarks. Moreover, they should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the latest scientific and technological advances in the field of climate change mitigation. By setting clear and objective standards, the EU can ensure that businesses clearly understand what they need to do to comply with the CBAM.
Secondly, the EU should require businesses to submit detailed data on their carbon emissions and energy consumption. This data should be verified by an independent third party to ensure its accuracy and reliability. Businesses that fail to provide accurate data should be subject to penalties and fines. The EU should also establish a reporting framework that would enable businesses to report their carbon emissions and energy consumption in a standardized and consistent manner. This framework should be compatible with existing international reporting standards.
Thirdly, the EU should establish a robust verification and enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with the CBAM. This mechanism should include regular audits of businesses' emission data, as well as on-site inspections of their production facilities. Non-compliant businesses should be subject to sanctions, such as fines, product seizures, or the exclusion from the EU market. Additionally, the EU should establish a complaint mechanism that would allow stakeholders, such as NGOs or competitors, to raise concerns about non-compliance with the CBAM. [19]
Since July 2024 the EU demands "real data" on how energy intensive imported goods were produced, while estimated standardvalues are only allowed for some 20% of the emissions. A spokesperson of the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) complained in September 2024, that the required data are often not available, either because the suppliers dont collect them in the first place, or are not willing to hand them over. Additionally, every importer can be held accountable for the data they collect from their suppliers, but often lack the resources to control them all, or the influence to force the suppliers to comply with the CBAM regulations. Furthermore the national offices which are meant to help companies with problems to obtain accurate data, were often not functional yet. The de minimis rule exempts imports up to € 150 from CBAM while VDMA representatives campaign to raise that to € 5000. [20]
The EU should ensure that the CBAM is compatible with its international obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to two legal scholars at the University of Ottawa. [21] This means that the mechanism should not discriminate against any particular country or violate the principles of free trade. The EU should also engage in constructive dialogue with its trading partners, including major emitters such as China and the United States, to ensure that the CBAM is consistent with global climate goals and does not create unnecessary tensions or trade disputes. [22]
If countries outside the European Union have or will create their own carbon pricing policies, "they will avoid the EU’s carbon border tax and keep the revenues for their own decarbonization projects". [23]
The carbon import fee is not yet proposed to apply to a wide range of other products or services, such as automobiles, clothing, food and animal products (including those that lead to deforestation), shipping, aviation, or the importation of gas, oil and coal.
It has been suggested that the mechanism will help reduce emissions not only by making companies reduce emissions but also by incentivising other countries (like the United States, which lacks federal carbon pricing) [24] to create similar mechanisms. [25] [26] [27] Some authors even argue that the CBAM constitutes the beginning of a climate club, as proposed by Nobel Memorial Prize winner William Nordhaus. [28] [29] [30]
As of November 2023, the Indian Commerce and Industry Ministry under Piyush Goyal is considering levying its own carbon tax to keep the revenues for their own budget. [31]
According to a report of the Asian Development Bank, the CBAM will reduce emissions only a little (which will be quickly offset by the rise in carbon intensive production), while harming import to the European Union. The report says "mechanisms to share emission reduction technology would be more effective". [32]
According to one Amsterdam legal scholar, the EU should provide adequate support to the least developed countries (LDCs) to help them comply with the CBAM. This support could include technical assistance, capacity building, or financial incentives for investments in low-carbon technologies. By providing such support, the EU can ensure that businesses have the necessary resources and knowledge to transition to a low-carbon economy and avoid the risk of carbon leakage. [33] Another author has suggested that the transition to a low-carbon economy requires technology and investment, which may require investment in countries in the Global South. Proposed solutions include technology transfer and green finance. [34]
A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden social costs of carbon emissions. They are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by essentially increasing the price of fossil fuels. This both decreases demand for goods and services that produce high emissions and incentivizes making them less carbon-intensive. When a fossil fuel such as coal, petroleum, or natural gas is burned, most or all of its carbon is converted to CO2. Greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change. This negative externality can be reduced by taxing carbon content at any point in the product cycle.
Carbon offsetting is a carbon trading mechanism that enables entities to compensate for offset greenhouse gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere. When an entity invests in a carbon offsetting program, it receives carbon credit or offset credit, which account for the net climate benefits that one entity brings to another. After certification by a government or independent certification body, credits can be traded between entities. One carbon credit represents a reduction, avoidance or removal of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide or its carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e).
The European Union Emissions Trading System is a carbon emission trading scheme that began in 2005 and is intended to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Cap and trade schemes limit emissions of specified pollutants over an area and allow companies to trade emissions rights within that area. The ETS covers around 45% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions.
William Dawbney Nordhaus is an American economist. He was a Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, best known for his work in economic modeling and climate change, and a co-recipient of the 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Nordhaus received the prize "for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis".
Greenhouse gas inventories are emission inventories of greenhouse gas emissions that are developed for a variety of reasons. Scientists use inventories of natural and anthropogenic (human-caused) emissions as tools when developing atmospheric models. Policy makers use inventories to develop strategies and policies for emissions reductions and to track the progress of those policies.
Carbon pricing is a method for governments to mitigate climate change, in which a monetary cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions. This is done to encourage polluters to reduce fossil fuel combustion, the main driver of climate change. A carbon price usually takes the form of a carbon tax, or an emissions trading scheme (ETS) that requires firms to purchase allowances to emit. The method is widely agreed to be an efficient policy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon pricing seeks to address the economic problem that emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are a negative externality – a detrimental product that is not charged for by any market.
Carbon leakage a concept to quantify an increase in greenhouse gas emissions in one country as a result of an emissions reduction by a second country with stricter climate change mitigation policies. Carbon leakage is one type of spill-over effect. Spill-over effects can be positive or negative; for example, emission reductions policy might lead to technological developments that aid reductions outside of the policy area. Carbon leakage is defined as "the increase in CO2 emissions outside the countries taking domestic mitigation action divided by the reduction in the emissions of these countries." It is expressed as a percentage, and can be greater or less than 100%. There is no consensus over the magnitude of long-term leakage effects.
Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon pricing, its purpose is to limit climate change by creating a market with limited allowances for emissions. Carbon emissions trading is a common method that countries use to attempt to meet their pledges under the Paris Agreement, with schemes operational in China, the European Union, and other countries.
An eco-tariff, also known as an environmental tariff or carbon tariff, is a trade barrier for the purpose of reducing pollution and improving the environment. These trade barriers may take the form of import or export taxes on products that have a large carbon footprint or are imported from countries with lax environmental regulations. The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is a carbon tariff.
A carbon fee and dividend or climate income is a system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. The system imposes a carbon tax on the sale of fossil fuels, and then distributes the revenue of this tax over the entire population as a monthly income or regular payment.
A world taxation system or global tax is a hypothetical system for the collection of taxes by a central international revenue service. The idea has garnered currency as a means of eliminating tax avoidance and tax competition; it has also aroused the ire of nationalists as an infringement upon national sovereignty.
Climate change has resulted in an increase in temperature of 2.3 °C (4.14 °F) (2022) in Europe compared to pre-industrial levels. Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world. Europe's climate is getting warmer due to anthropogenic activity. According to international climate experts, global temperature rise should not exceed 2 °C to prevent the most dangerous consequences of climate change; without reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, this could happen before 2050. Climate change has implications for all regions of Europe, with the extent and nature of impacts varying across the continent.
Coal, cars and lorries vent more than a third of Turkey's six hundred million tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions, which are mostly carbon dioxide and part of the cause of climate change in Turkey. The nation's coal-fired power stations emit the most carbon dioxide, and other significant sources are road vehicles running on petrol or diesel. After coal and oil the third most polluting fuel is fossil gas; which is burnt in Turkey's gas-fired power stations, homes and workplaces. Much methane is belched by livestock; cows alone produce half of the greenhouse gas from agriculture in Turkey.
The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. The plan is to review each existing law on its climate merits, and also introduce new legislation on the circular economy (CE), building renovation, biodiversity, farming and innovation.
Fit for 55 is a package by the European Union designed to reduce the European Union's greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. It is part of the union's strategy of the European Green Deal presented first in December 2019.
Implicit carbon prices arise from measures which impact on the marginal cost of emitting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions without targeting GHG emissions or the carbon content of fuel directly. As such, they contribute to climate change mitigation. Examples of these instruments include fuel taxes applied to reduce local pollution and the removal of subsidies for fossil fuel consumption.
A climate club is a coalition of the willing among countries that wish to adopt more stringent climate mitigation policies.
The Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency Act, S.1863, is a bill in the United States Senate to study the greenhouse gas intensity of certain industrial products of the United States and other countries. Chris Coons (D‑DE), its lead Senate sponsor, intends it to "provide reliable data that’s needed to quantify the climate benefits of the United States’ investments in cleaner, more efficient manufacturing practices and to hold nations like China accountable for their emissions-heavy production of goods like steel." John Curtis, the bill's lead House sponsor, describes it as "leveling the playing field in international competition" given US regulations and technology for cleaner energy. He also envisions it helping to "strengthen our trade relationships, and provide our allies with a reliable energy partner."
The United Kingdom Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is a carbon tariff on imports of certain goods produced with high carbon emission into the United Kingdom, similar to the European Union’s CBAM. It will cover slightly different goods, with the list pending consultation in 2024, and is to be rolled out in 2027. The sectors within scope are aluminium, cement, ceramics, fertiliser, glass, hydrogen, iron and steel. There are some differences regarding the type of emissions covered. Both EU and UK CBAM cover direct emissions. Regarding indirect emissions, the EU covers only emissions from electricity consumed during the production process. The UK CBAM proposals cover more indirect emissions, namely from heat, steam and cooling, as well as electricity.