Carbon Tariff Plan Passed
(Reporter Zhu Xiaobo) On the afternoon of June 22, European local time, the EU made important progress in the legislation of the carbon border adjustment mechanism. The European Parliament passed the proposal for a carbon border adjustment mechanism with 450 votes in favor, 115 votes against, and 55 abstentions. It is reported that the proposal passed in this vote is based on the revised draft of the June 8 version.
It is reported that compared with the proposal on June 8, the amendments passed this time have slightly “mild” terms. The main changes are the transition period and the time when the free carbon quota system will withdraw from the European carbon market. The proposal passed this time will transition The withdrawal period of the free carbon quota system and the free carbon quota system are both extended by 2 years on the previous basis.
Differences between the drafts of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union
However, compared with the content of the draft of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the original draft), the pace of this amendment is considered to be more advanced and less retreated, mainly reflected in four aspects:
First, in terms of the scope of the industry, in the original steel, Based on the five industries of aluminum, cement, fertilizer and power, the new industries include organic chemicals, plastics, hydrogen and ammonia.
The second is the adjustment of the time for the withdrawal of the free carbon allowance system from the European carbon market. The new plan further accelerates the withdrawal of the free allowance system.
The original draft started from the year when the carbon border adjustment mechanism was officially launched (2026), and companies with free quotas would eliminate 10% of them every year, and achieve full paid quotas by 2035. However, according to the latest proposal, from 2027 to 2031, the proportion of enterprises with free quotas will be 93%, 84%, 69%, 50%, and 25%, and will be reduced to 0 in 2032. The free carbon quota system will be more than the original draft regulations. 3 years ahead of schedule to withdraw from the European carbon market.
The third is to incorporate indirect emissions into the accounting system. The newly adopted proposal incorporates indirect emissions from outsourced electricity used by manufacturers into an accounting mechanism to reflect carbon dioxide emissions from electricity involved in the industry chain.
Fourth, in terms of the official implementation time, the newly passed bill extends the official implementation time of the carbon border adjustment mechanism to 2027 (delayed by one year).
In Summary
Industry insiders pointed out that the latest bill was passed at the “first reading” stage of the European Parliament, indicating that the bill has reached a consensus within Europe. Developed countries represented by the United States and Canada are more and more frequent in establishing their own carbon tariff mechanisms, which will inevitably have a greater impact on the future global economic and trade pattern.
It is reported that the European Parliament has passed three important draft laws related to climate change, involving the reform of the Emissions Trading System (ETS), the amendment of the relevant rules of the “carbon tariff” mechanism, and the establishment of the Social Climate Fund (SCF, Social Climate Fund). Fund).
Among them, the newly adopted carbon emissions trading system reform stipulates that by 2030, the scope of carbon emissions statistics in related industries will be expanded from 61% to 63%, and a new carbon emissions trading system (ETS II) will be created for the construction and road transport industries. .
“China Metallurgical News” (2nd edition of June 24, 2022 02)
