The EC warns that it will impose taxes on countries that do not fight against CO ₂

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday warned countries with lax policies against the climate crisis that the EU could apply border levies on their products.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, von der Leyen said Europe is ready to protect its companies and workers from unfair competition, in a veiled reference to China and other major carbon emitters that do not impose sufficient environmental restrictions on their industries.

“It does not make sense that we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, if we increase the import of CO2 from abroad,” warned the head of the European Executive.

“It’s not just a climate issue, it’s also a matter of fairness, a question of justice for our companies and our workers. We will protect them from unfair competition,” he said.

Von der Leyen has referred to the so-called “carbon adjustment mechanism at the border”, one of the most controversial measures that have been announced within the great “green deal” (European Green Deal) with which Brussels intends for the EU to become the first carbon neutral bloc by 2050.

Such a mechanism would entail the application of levies on imports of products that require large amounts of energy, such as steel, cement or aluminum, and that come from countries whose policies against the climate emergency are less demanding than the European one.

The Commission has yet to present a detailed proposal on this adjustment scheme, which will in any case require the approval of the twenty-seven European governments.

One way to protect European companies from unfair competition in this area is through this mechanism of fees at the border, von der Leyen recalled.

But, he added, “I prefer to encourage our trading partners to work with us in order to establish a level playing field at the global level.”

California, he has given as an example, “is showing the way with an emissions trading system that covers 85% of its CO2 emissions.”

Von der Leyen said she was encouraged by the willingness of the Chinese authorities to move towards an internal system of carbon pricing, but has made it clear that she considers it only “the first step”.

“If this becomes a global trend, we will have a level playing field globally where a border tax will not be necessary.”

This issue of the fight against the climate crisis is an example, according to the European responsible, “of the new modern international frameworks that we need”.

“What we ask for is justice in return. We have a lot to offer,” von der Leyen argued.

And he recalled that the EU is the largest single market in the world, one of the three largest economies, the largest source and destination of foreign direct investment, and has more than 80 free trade agreements and more than 700 economic agreements with international partners.

Source: The Vanguard