The European Parliament is discussing a carbon levy on imported goods to stop companies moving outside the EU to avoid emissions standards, a practice known as carbon leakage. Society.

As European industry struggles to recover from the Covid-19 crisis and the economic pressure due to cheap imports from trading partners, the EU is trying to honour its climate commitments, whilst keeping jobs and production chains at home.

Discover how the EU’s recovery plan prioritizes creating a sustainable and climate-neutral Europe.

An EU carbon levy to prevent carbon leakage

EU efforts to reduce its carbon footprint under the European Green Deal and become sustainably resilient and climate neutral by 2050, could be undermined by less climate-ambitious countries. To mitigate this, the EU will propose a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which would apply a carbon levy on imports of certain goods from outside the EU. MEPs will put forward proposals during March's first plenary session. How would a European carbon levy work?  

• If products come from countries with less ambitious rules than the EU, the levy is applied, ensuring imports are not cheaper than the equivalent EU product. 

Given the risk of more polluting sectors relocating production to countries with looser greenhouse gas emission constraints, carbon pricing is seen as an essential complement to the existing EU carbon allowances system, the EU's emissions trading system (ETS). What is carbon leakage?  

• Carbon leakage is the shifting of greenhouse gas emitting industries outside the EU to avoid tighter standards. As this simply moves the problem elsewhere, MEPs want to avoid the problem through a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). 

The Parliament's objective is to fight against climate change without endangering our businesses due to unfair international competition due to the lack of climate action in certain countries. We must protect the EU against climate dumping while ensuring that our companies also make the necessary efforts to play their part in the fight against climate change. Yannick Jadot Lead MEP

Existing carbon pricing measures in the EU

Under the current emissions trading system (ETS), which provides financial incentives to cut emissions, power plants and industries need to hold a permit for each tonne of CO2 they produce. The price of those permits is driven by demand and supply. Due to the last economic crisis, demand for permits has dropped and so has their price, which is so low that it discourages companies from investing in green technologies. In order to solve this issue, the EU will reform ETS.

What the Parliament is asking for

The new mechanism should align with World Trade Organisation rules and encourage the decarbonization of EU and non-EU industries. It will also become part of the EU's future industrial strategy.

By 2023, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism should cover power and energy-intensive industrial sectors, which represent 94% of the EU's industrial emissions and still receive substantial free allocations, according to MEPs.

They said that it should be designed with the sole aim of pursuing climate objectives and a global level playing field, and not be used as a tool to increase protectionism.

MEPs also support the European Commission proposal to use the revenues generated by the mechanism as new own resources for the EU's budget, and ask the Commission to ensure full transparency about the use of those revenues.

The Commission is expected to present its proposal on the new mechanism in the second quarter of 2021.

Learn more about the EU's responses to climate change.

Find out more 

• Press release: carbon levy on EU imports needed to raise global climate ambition (5 February 2021) 
• Check legislative progress 
• Study: carbon emissions pricing  
• World Bank: pricing carbon

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