The European Commission’s program to combat climate change will affect supplies from Russia of steel, aluminum, pipes, electricity and cement totaling $ 7.6 billion, the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation calculated. Earlier today, July 14, the European Commission presented an extensive action plan for the complete elimination of carbon emissions in the EU by 2050, which will require a complete overhaul of the EU economy.
“When the mechanism is fully operational, metals, pipes, fertilizers, cement, and electricity can be imported into the EU only on condition that every ton of CO2 emissions generated during their production is paid for. It is assumed that the price of a ton of CO2 will be equal to the average price determined at auctions under the EU emissions trading system. The measure will affect Russian supplies to the EU of iron and steel, aluminum, pipes, electricity and cement in the amount of $ 7.6 billion, ”the Russian Ministry of Economy said in a statement.
The head of the department, Maxim Reshetnikov, said that there was no confidence in full compliance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement if this program was implemented. “We hope that the EU representatives will keep the promises made to us earlier and will ensure the compliance of the document with the WTO norms, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international agreements. We look forward to a meaningful dialogue with colleagues from the European Commission, ”added Mr. Reshetnikov.
In his opinion, the relationship between the proposed EU mechanism and the fight against climate change is not obvious, given that the Paris Agreement guarantees countries the right to independently determine the most effective methods for combating climate change. Mr. Reshetnikov is convinced that the problem can be solved only through coordinated action by all countries, taking into account the fact that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change states that measures to combat climate change should not be used to restrict international trade. The department believes that the new EC project is a fight against the transfer of industrial production from the EU to other countries.
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