European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition (ERCST) and South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) are organising a virtual South Africa-EU “town hall meeting” on September 22, 2020 on the role that Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs) may play in addressing asymmetry in climate ambition under the Paris Agreement, with special focus on the plans that the European Union has to examine this option. This activity together with other similar planned “town hall” meetings will feed into a policy paper on the international views on BCA that ERCST will publish in collaboration with its partners.

The European Green Deal has strengthened the level of climate ambition, increasing the asymmetry of climate efforts by aiming to achieve climate neutrality in the European Union by 2050. This raises the question of how to deal with competitive pressure and carbon leakage, pushing BCAs to the front as a possible solution.
Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) aim to alleviate negative effects caused by uneven climate policies by including imports and/or exempting exports. BCAs seek to level the playing field in competitive markets, incentivize trade partners to strengthen their own climate efforts and prevent leakage of carbon emissions to jurisdictions with weaker policies. These objectives can be achieved by a tariff or other fiscal measure applied to imported goods, the extension of regulatory compliance obligations (e.g. ETS) to imports or a tax exemption or regulatory relief for exports.
This virtual town-hall is part of the ERCST project on border carbon adjustment, which is supported by Eurofer, Enel, FuelsEurope, the Government of France, the Government of Germany, HeidelbergCement, MetInvest, and Solvay.
 

Participation in these town halls is by invitation only. If you wish to participate, please contact Dariusz at ddybka@ercst.org

 
Workshop Material(s)
22 September 2020 draft agenda South Africa BCA Townhall
22 September 2020 ERCST presentation South Africa -EU Town Hall 
12 September 2020 SAIIA ERCST press announcement
Upcoming Events

• Launch Event: Solutions for exports of EU CBAM-covered goods

  March 25 @ 15:00 - 17:00

• Launch Event – Future of Emissions Trading in the EU: Price Signal and Competitiveness (Public Event)

  March 27 @ 10:00 - 12:00

• Expert consultation: Extension of the CBAM scope

  April 8 @ 15:00 - 17:00

• Stakeholder Consultation – Advancing BECCS Policy: Harmonizing Land Use with Carbon Dioxide Removal Goals

  April 10 @ 15:00 - 16:30

• 2025 State of the EU ETS Report – Launch Event (Public Event)

  May 21 @ 15:00 - 17:00

• Focus Group – Circular Carbon Economy: CO₂ as a Valuable Resource

  March 12 @ 15:00 - 16:30

• Launch Event – Implementation and transposition of hydrogen regulations in the EU Member States

  March 11 @ 15:00 - 17:00

• Stakeholders Consultation: Green Claims Directive (GCD) trilogues – How does the GCD connect to Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs)?

  March 6 @ 10:00 - 12:00