On December 18, the UK government said it would impose a new carbon import tax on some products from 2027 to help protect businesses from cheap imports from countries with less stringent climate policies.
It is reported that the proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will apply to carbon-intensive products in the iron, steel, aluminum, fertilizer, hydrogen, ceramics, glass and cement industries. The fees imposed will depend on the amount of carbon emissions from the production of imported goods, as well as the gap between the carbon price in the country of origin and the UK carbon price.
The UK, which aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, launched its Emissions Trading System (ETS) in 2021, and to achieve this, power plants, factories and airlines will be charged by the ton.
Analysis of the industrial chain: The industrial chain is huge and involves a wide range of industries
The basic principle of carbon trading is that one party to the contract receives greenhouse gas emission reductions by paying the other party, and the buyer can use the purchased emission reductions to mitigate the greenhouse effect and achieve its emission reduction goals.
Carbon emissions: China is the country with the largest carbon emissions in the world, and the energy sector has the largest carbon emissions
The purpose and significance of both carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are to limit carbon emissions. Scientific studies have shown that excessive carbon emissions contribute to global warming, the greenhouse effect, and extreme weather. Among them, the greenhouse effect is the most direct and serious problem. In 2020, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere exceeded 400 ppm, and the global average surface temperature increased by about 1.25°C from the 19th-century baseline, and 0.6°C above the reference period from 1981 to 2010, approaching the hottest record for 2016. Therefore, controlling carbon emissions has long-term and important development significance.
According to statistics from British Petroleum (BP), from 2009 to 2019, the mainland's carbon emissions increased from 7.71 billion tons to 9.83 billion tons, ranking first in the world. In 2020, due to the proper prevention and control of the epidemic in the mainland, various industries recovered rapidly, and carbon emissions reached 9.97 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 1.4%. In 2021, China's total carbon emissions increased again in 2021, reaching 10.59 billion tons, due to the resumption of work and production and the increase in electricity demand caused by frequent extreme weather.
The UK steel industry believes that once the EU's carbon emission curbing measures are up and running, domestic measures are necessary to prevent a large influx of high-emitting products into the UK.
Gareth Stasse, director general of the British Steel Institute, said in a statement: "More than 90% of global steel production has no carbon cost, so it is right to have a new carbon border policy. ”
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