2023-04-18 18:01:09
It’s a “historic reform for the climate”, according to Pascal Canfin, member of the Renew Europe (RE) group and chairman of the environment committee in the European Parliament. On Tuesday April 18, the institution gave its final green light to the establishment of a carbon border adjustment mechanism (MACF) by 487 votes for, 81 against and 75 abstentions.
The regulation establishing this MACF is one of the central texts of the legislative package which aims to reduce the EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
Negotiations have been lengthy over ways to “green” imports from the European Union (EU). But with this vote by the European Parliament, the finish line is very close. Member States must also carry out a final validation of the text, a formality. Then, the MACF can be implemented, with the objective of pushing Europe’s trading partners to decarbonise.
A launch in October 2023
“Importers of steel, aluminum or fertilizers, for example, will have to pay the same carbon price as their competitors established on European soil”explains Pascal Canfin, who sees “a concrete example of the integration of the climate into the rules of international trade and the fight against climate dumping by some of our competitors”. The other products covered by the MACF are iron, cement, electricity or hydrogen – only raw materials, therefore.
The launch of the MACF is planned for October 2023 in a kind of “trial version”, limited only to reporting obligations on the part of companies. During this phase, the idea is therefore to manage to collect the data necessary for the full entry into force of the MACF scheduled for 2026. From 2026 to 2034, the MACF should grow since, at the same time, the quotas that previously existed for certain industries will be phased out.
Processed products will then be concerned
The aim of the EU is not to limit itself to raw materials, so that goods (cars, for example) are ultimately also integrated into the mechanism. The European Commission will quickly address this issue, to explain how, in its opinion, “processed products” may also be taken into account.
“I am certain that this mechanism will quickly prove its worth and that we will thus be able to gradually extend it to other sectors”wants to believe Agnès Evren, member of the European People’s Party (EPP) group, citing for example the agricultural sector.
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