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African countries deem EU carbon border levy ‘protectionist’
(EurActiv, 25 Mar 2021) Some African countries consider the EU’s planned carbon border adjustment mechanism to be “protectionist”. That was the upshot of a conference organised by the French government on Tuesday (23 March), where the challenges such a mechanism would cause developing countries were discussed. EURACTIV France reports.
According to Youba Sokona, vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a carbon border adjustment mechanism would harm “countries with less financial and human capacity,” particularly those with low CO2 emissions.
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, the director general for climate action Raffaele Mauro Petricione acknowledged that “what is expected of an African country in terms of climate policy is not the same as that of a European country.”
“This will give rise to heated debates,” he added.
Timothy Gore of the Institute for European Environmental Policy shared Sokona’s concerns, noting that “it will all depend on the scope of the measures, what products will be included?”
“These countries are very dependent on aluminium exports, they will be very exposed. The ambiguity of the European discourse is to define a small category of high-intensity products. But we don’t know who will be affected,” he added.
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EurActiv, 25 Mar 2021: African countries deem EU carbon border levy ‘protectionist’
