Environmental Law Lecture series
Welcome to the Environmental Law Lecture series! In this series, environmental law scholars will provide important insights into how EU environmental law helps to achieve a high level of environmental protection in the European Union and beyond.
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism:
Encouragement of Cleaner Industries across the World?
The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, described the state of Climate change in no uncertain terms as: “[…] a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator”. Substantial differences in national climate ambitions can give rise to carbon leakage. Approaches to prevent carbon leakage often include free allocation of emission rights to Energy Intensive and Trade Exposed industries, but such support schemes may do little to incentivize sectors to decarbonize.
The EU’s new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) puts a price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods that are entering the EU. As such, it encourages cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries. The CBAM covers cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. After a transition period starting in October 2023, the system will commence full operation in January 2026. The gradual introduction of the CBAM is aligned with the phase-out of the allocation of free allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to support the decarbonisation of EU industry.
The lecture gives a brief overview of the CBAM and the underlying reasons why it is introduced. It also examines how countries are affected, how they react to it and how the CBAM affects non-EU countries.
Watch it here on Youtube if you'd like to access the video transcript or jump chapters.
Key themes
- Introduction to CBAM: Professor Weishaar explains the CBAM’s role in incentivising both EU and foreign industries to reduce carbon emissions. He highlights how this tool is designed to prevent carbon leakage by imposing a price on imported goods with embedded emissions.
- EU climate goals and CBAM's importance: The lecture emphasises the EU's ambitious climate goals under the Paris Agreement and how CBAM fits into this framework by ensuring global decarbonisation efforts.
- Design features and implementation: Professor Weishaar breaks down the key design elements of CBAM, including its mirroring of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and its phased implementation, with full operation expected by 2034.
- Global responses and challenges: The lecture also explores the potential reactions of non-EU countries to CBAM and the difficulties they may face in implementing their own carbon pricing systems.
- Impact and future implications: Professor Weishaar concludes by questioning whether CBAM will sufficiently decarbonise EU industries and whether it could eventually take on a more protectionist role in global trade.
Speaker
Prof. Stefan E. Weishaar
Stefan E. Weishaar is Professor of Law and Economics at Groningen University. Stefan has a keen interest in the working of markets and regulatory instruments. His work covers several law and economics domains in the areas of Climate & Energy law, Competition law, Procurement law and Market integration. His research frequently employs a comparative law perspective. He is research affiliate at MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research in Boston (USA) and Adjunct Professor at the School of Law and Economics at China University of Political Science and Law. Stefan has been appointed to the UN Subcommittee on Environmental Taxation which, among others, addresses the relation between Carbon Boarder Adjustment Mechanisms and developing countries.
Lecture Series
This lecture is part of a series that runs from 2023 to 2024, providing students and scholars with core insights into the current state of EU environmental law and how it can be improved to achieve greater environmental protection. All lectures will be recorded and made accessible through YouTube, and the series is freely accessible to all.
If you'd like to know more about the other upcoming lectures:
This GreenDeal-Net lecture serie is hosted by MCEL, METRO and organised in cooperation with GLaw-Net and GreenDeal-NET. Maastricht University students will be eligible for certificates of attendance (see more information under the registration link).