CAKE on CBAM Global Townhall 2022

CAKE on CBAM Global Townhall 2022

CAKE on CBAM Global Townhall 2022

On May 18, 2022, Izabela Tobiasz, a modeling expert at the Center for Climate and Energy Analysis, took part in a meeting organized by ECST entitled CBAM Global Townhall 2022.

The European Commission has put forward a proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which is the subject of ongoing discussions in the European Parliament and the Council. The lead committee on the CBAM in the European Parliament, ENVI, was voting on compromise amendments on May 17th. This is a decisive moment for the CBAM on the European stage. The exact role of the CBAM on the international arena remains a subject of debate, even as the EU process moves forward. No matter what the final shape and role of the CBAM, if it is to be successful, concerns about circumvention need to be allayed. Questions of resource shuffling, transshipment, and other circumvention and avoidance strategies are frequently voiced by concerned stakeholders and should be addressed. Meeting, convened by ERCST on the basis of its extensive work on the EU CBAM, brought together global thought leaders that have explore these critical aspects of CBAM/BCA, unpacking the proposals and considering the options.

Izabela Tobiasz referred to the vote of the ENVI committee on CBAM. She mentioned, among others on the extremely important issue of shortening the period of withdrawing free allowances for CBAM sectors (ENVI proposes the period 2026-2030 vs. 2026-2035, EC proposal) or shortening the pilot phase for CBAM sectors by 2024 (the EC proposal assumed its duration until 2026). Izabela Tobiasz also presented Poland’s position in this regard. Finally, she stated that CBAM should be primarily an instrument to encourage developing countries to make appropriate efforts in the field of climate protection. The creation of an instrument directly compensating developing countries for the creation of the CBAM will reduce the effects of the mechanism.

Full recording of the meeting is available here.