Which countries are most exposed to the EU’s proposed carbon tariffs?

resourcetrade.earth Chris Kardish, Mattia Mäder, Mary Hellmich, and Maia Hall, 20 August 2021

The European Union (EU) is moving ahead with the world’s first border tax on the carbon content of imported goods which aims to strengthen its increasingly ambitious climate targets and policies, but is attracting criticism. How would it work and which trading partners are most vulnerable to its impacts?

Steel mill in Novokuznetsk, Russia. (Sergei Bobylev\TASS via Getty Images)

Contents

The EU is accelerating its climate ambition over the coming decade to support its 2050 long-term strategy of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Key aspects of this acceleration include raising its emissions reduction target from 40 per cent to at least 55 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030 and implementing a sweeping set of policy changes – especially to its flagship emissions trading system (ETS) which puts a price on pollution by requiring companies to purchase allowances for their emissions.

The costs of the allowances have skyrocketed recently and now hovers around record levels of €50 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent or above. This is due – at least in part – to those participating in the market expecting a tighter supply of allowances as the EU increases its climate targets. Prices are expected to continue rising over the coming decade as the EU implements its ambitious climate agenda.

Tiếp tục đọc “Which countries are most exposed to the EU’s proposed carbon tariffs?”