BRUSELAS, 13 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The European Parliament and the Council have reached an agreement to create a Carbon Emissions Adjustment Mechanism at the European Union (EU) Border that imposes a tax to fight climate change, prevent carbon leakage and incentivize non-EU countries to increase their climate ambition.

In terms of products, it affects the most carbon-intensive sectors: steel, cement, fertilizers, aluminium, electricity and hydrogen, as well as some precursors and a limited number of derived products. Indirect emissions would also be included in the regulation in a limited manner.

According to the provisional agreement, the mechanism will begin to operate from October 2023 onwards, initially applying in a simplified way only with information obligations.

The aim is to collect data to, from then on, activate the full mechanism, which would be phased in, in parallel with the phasing out of free allowances, once it starts under the allowances trading system. revised EU ETS for the sectors concerned.

This partial agreement depends on an agreement on the reform of the Community Emission Rights Trading Regime. Parliament and Council will have to formally approve the agreement before the new law can enter into force. The new law will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.