The European Commission (EC) adopted on Wednesday July 14 a package of proposals under the EU Green deal that affect the metals industry, including a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The CBAM will apply to imports into the EU of
iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilizers and electricity.
During a transition period from 2023 to 2025, importers will have to report the emissions embodied in the goods brought to the EU without paying any duties.
Definitive measures will come into force in 2026, and importers will then have to declare "annually the quantity of goods and the amount of embedded emissions in the total goods they imported into the EU in the preceding year, and surrender the corresponding amount of CBAM certificates."
CBAM will apply to direct emissions but, by the end of the transition period, the EC will evaluate whether an extension of the measures is needed, possibly including indirect emissions.
The CBAM was designed to put a carbon price on imports of a targeted selection of products to ensure that ambitious climate targets in Europe did not lead...