Regulatory round-up

EU finance ministers have agreed a unified position on a proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism that will introduce a levy on imports of carbon-intensive products, such as steel, aluminium, fertiliser and cement. A draft regulation establishing CBAM was released this week. It is the world’s first major climate import tariff and could be introduced as early as 2026.

CBAM will initially complement the EU’s greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system by applying an equivalent set of rules to imports into the bloc, and will progressively become an alternative to the mechanisms established under the existing trading system.