EU to expand carbon border levy to more goods
The European Union plans to widen its carbon border levy to include car parts, household appliances and other manufactured goods, as Brussels moves to close loopholes that could allow polluting imports to avoid climate costs.
The expansion would significantly broaden the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a world-first climate policy that begins charging importers for the carbon emissions embedded in goods entering the EU from January. The levy currently covers high-emission products such as steel, cement and aluminium, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Under the draft proposal, the CBAM would be extended to items further down the supply chain, including refrigerators, washing machines, construction products, power transformers, cables and farming machinery. The EU selected these products based on their exposure to “carbon leakage”, where companies move production abroad to evade stricter climate rules.
The carbon border levy has drawn criticism from trading partners including China, India and South Africa, which argue the policy unfairly burdens emerging economies. However, the EU says the measure is designed to protect European industries from cheaper, high-emission imports while encouraging cleaner manufacturing globally.
A separate draft proposal shows the EU plans to use 25% of CBAM revenues to support European manufacturers between 2028 and 2029, provided they invest in cutting their carbon footprint. The levy is expected to generate about €2.1 billion by 2030.
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