Low-carbon aluminium producer En+ Group has urged the European Union (EU) to adopt a more effective climate change strategy that will better support the decarbonisation of the entire aluminium value chain and boost the competitiveness of lower-carbon manufacturers across the region.
In its response to consultations by the EU Commission, the group’s metals segment, represented by aluminium company Rusal, warned that applying a one-size-fits-all Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), as currently envisaged to aluminium, could prove counterproductive.
It says the removal of EU tariffs on low-carbon aluminium would provide a much bigger spur to the green economy.
Rusal warns that the CBAM, as currently anticipated, could unnecessarily harm the EU’s downstream aluminium producers, which employ over 200 000 people, and could fail to properly differentiate between high- and low-carbon aluminium imports.
Rusal has urged the EU to zero rate existing tariffs on low-carbon aluminium to incentivise the use of this.
Coupled with mandatory rules on emission disclosures, En+ Group says this will further incentivise the decarbonisation of the global aluminium industry and provide Europe’s downstream producers with access to competitively priced aluminium with the lowest possible carbon footprint.