EU Carbon Tariff Is Expected To Collect About 10 Billion Euro Annually

British media recently disclosed that the European Union began to levy carbon tariffs, which is expected to generate about 10 billion euro per year. The money, which is claimed to be aimed at tackling global climate change, will be used to repay EU debt.

The Financial Times quoted the legal text of the "carbon boundary adjustment mechanism" to be set up by the European Union as saying that if this mechanism can be fully started and operated by 2030, it is estimated that it will receive 9 billion euro carbon tariff revenue each year.

The European Commission plans to introduce carbon tariffs gradually from 2023, so that enterprises can make adjustments during the transition period, so as to "reduce the burden of trade flows and trade operators as much as possible". Carbon tariffs are levied on imported goods from countries and regions with relatively loose carbon emission restrictions, including steel, cement and fertilizer in the first batch. According to the internal estimates of the European Union, Russian enterprises will be affected the most because of their low carbon emission requirements.

According to the legal text, carbon tariff revenue will be used to support the EU's 750 billion euro recovery fund to help EU Member States recover their economies after the new outbreak.

However, several EU officials said the text may be adjusted before the final version is approved by the European Commission next week.

Several EU trade partners have previously reminded that the "carbon boundary adjustment mechanism" should be compatible with the trade rules of the world trade organization, and should not become a protectionist tool.

In March this year, the European Parliament voted to support the establishment of a "carbon boundary adjustment mechanism", which aims to address climate change by avoiding "carbon leakage", and achieve the benchmark target of the "European Green agreement" and the more ambitious emission reduction target of the European Union in 2030.

In December 2019, the European Commission announced the "European Green agreement", proposing to take the lead in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, that is, reducing net carbon dioxide emissions to zero.