The Chancellor of Great Britain, Jeremy Hunt, said that the country plans to introduce a tax on the import of carbon-intensive goods from 2026, similar to European carbon import adjustment mechanism (CBAM).
This will help protect local industry from competition from regions with lower carbon costs, reports the Financial Times.
"As the UK steel industry moves towards green steel production, it is important that it is not displaced by high-emissions imported steel," said Gareth Stace, CEO of UK Steel trade body. "Europe is implementing its own CBAM and the UK risks creating a disruptive trade bar." with our largest trading partner unless we quickly develop and implement our own measures."
It is noted that Great Britain can announce its own Central Bank of Ukraine in the autumn statement in November. In the EU, the first stage of the introduction of the carbon tax began on October 1, 2023. Until 2026, companies only have to report on the volume of their emissions.
The article emphasized that the British government is facing the problem of harmonizing its own carbon market with the EU in order to avoid the imposition of a carbon tax. After all, carbon prices on the UK market are much lower than on the EU market. So in 2023 they reached 41 pounds sterling per ton, compared to 66 pounds sterling (76 euros) per ton in the EU.
The FT explained that this was due to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government providing more carbon allowances than previously expected. CBAM will be able to help restore the confidence of green investors, which was "shaken" by Sunak's policy.
It is noted that the UK carbon market is an exact copy of the EU ETS. However, companies will not be able to avoid the tax burden if carbon prices in the country remain lower than in the EU.
"Linking our carbon pricing regime to the EU regime will relieve British companies of these costs," said Adam Berman, deputy director of industry body Energy UK.
The article highlighted that the UK is losing almost £3 billion in revenue each year due to low carbon prices.
It said 300 out of 400 senior manufacturing executives support the introduction of CBAM in the UK, with only 8% opposed. In addition, seven out of 10 British manufacturers believe that the UK's carbon tax should be compatible with the European scheme.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey, Alparslan Bayraktar, said that the country plans to introduce a national emissions trading system (ETS) in 2024.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, in the EU, the transitional period of application of the CBAM (Carbon Import Adjustment Mechanism) began on October 1. Until 2026, when the payment of the carbon tax begins, importers are required to obtain so-called CBAM certificates for their products.
