Border Carbon Adjustments in the EU

Background

Andrei Marcu Canada WTO presentation March 4th, 2021

The Paper BCA in the EU Issues and Options was published on September 30 - the copy is available here

As part of the European Green Deal, implementation of a BCA is once again being considered as a measure to address carbon leakage. According to the roadmap for the European Green Deal, a proposal for a BCA for “selected sectors” will be released in 2021. So far, we can only speculate what such a BCA might look like, as few policy details have been released. Given the resurgence of discussions about BCAs on the EU political agenda, it is an opportune time to have a closer look at the various available policy design elements and options, along with the associated environmental, economic, political and legal implications, in order to better understand what form of BCA might work for the EU.

In the report “Border Carbon Adjustments in the EU: Issues and Options,” ERCST is demonstrating the various forms an EU BCA can take, and synthesize the limitations and implications of various policy options. ERCST was holding in-person meetings and webinars to engage stakeholders and experts across the EU, including events in various EU capitals and Town Halls with prestigious institutions from trade partner countries, such as USA, India, South Korea and Japan.

The ERCST BCA project team has a myriad of experience on BCAs, carbon leakage issues, and other competitiveness topics in the EU context, and will continue to monitor new developments as they are released by the European Commission. This project will continue after the first iteration of ERCST work.