The European Union’s proposal to start charging importers for bringing emissions into the region should be expanded to cover hydrogen, organic chemicals and polymers, according to proposed amendments seen by Bloomberg News.
The 27-nation bloc plans to introduce a new levy, called the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, to ensure a level playing field among producers during an unprecedented shift to climate neutrality. The tariff initially would target steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers and electricity to discourage those manufacturers from moving plants abroad to take advantage of laxer pollution policies.
Yet Mohammed Chahim, the lawmaker steering the proposal through the European Parliament, said the proposal is too narrow. In his role as the rapporteur, he wants to accelerate implementation of the levy, create a central authority to enact it and ensure the EU can boost financing to help the least-developed countries shift away from fossil fuels. Chahim, a Social Democrat member of the assembly, submitted his report on the legislation Wednesday.
“The rapporteur welcomes the overall design of the mechanism by the Commission and considers it a solid starting point for the legislative process,” Chahim said in the report, which is yet to be released. “The rapporteur nevertheless aims to further strengthen its climate ambition, its long-term effectiveness and its governance through a number of targeted amendments.”
The border levy proposed in July is meant to combat what’s called carbon leakage. The intentions are to make importers pay for emissions embedded in certain goods, thus protecting local manufacturers, and prod other regions to follow the EU’s lead. The plan triggered hostile reactions from some trading partners, including Russia and China.
After a data-collection stage from 2023 to 2025, importers would be charged in line with prices in the bloc’s Emissions Trading System, its cap-and-trade market for permits, according to the commission’s draft. The fee could be at least partially waived if one was paid where the goods were produced.