EU
ministers are set to give renewed consideration to French calls for a
"carbon inclusion mechanism" in an attempt to curb unfair competition
from countries like
China
, which have weaker climate
protection laws. But opinion is still divided on the issue of carbon tariffs at
the EU's borders.
EU ministers in charge of
competitiveness are meeting in
Brussels
today (1 March) to adopt conclusions on a "new industrial policy".
"The discussion is expected
to concentrate on key objectives for establishing the principles that should be
included into a fresh and integrated approach to keep EU industry
competitive," reads a background statement prepared by the Spanish EU Presidency
ahead of the meeting.
In the aftermath of the UN climate
conference in
Copenhagen
, EU ministers will debate ways of protecting industrial competitiveness
from the risk of 'carbon leakage', meaning the relocation of factories, jobs
and carbon dioxide emissions to countries with less stringent environment laws.
"We are underlining that
carbon leakage is a major problem for industry," said a diplomat from a
large EU member state. "Above all, this is a major problem for the
climate. And so we are repeating what we have said permanently - we have to
protect ourselves from carbon leakage."
A pet project of French President
Nicolas Sarkozy, border tariffs aimed at restoring fair competition between
European industries and major polluters such as
China
have gained little support from other EU leaders, with the exception of
Germany
's Angela Merkel.
Franco-German letter ahead of Copenhagen
Ahead of the
Copenhagen
climate conference in December, Merkel and Sarkozy wrote ajoint letterto
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon calling for the possible introduction of
"appropriate adjustment measures" against countries that do not make
sufficient commitments on climate change.
But Karel de Gucht, the EU's new trade commissioner, rejected the idea
during a hearing in the European Parliament in January, saying it "will
run into many practical problems" and risk triggering a trade war.
Meanwhile, "it has become a
bit of a controversial issue because it was
France
that proposed it and because it has been named a carbon tax at the
border," said the diplomat, who did not wish to be named.
But he said that the way of
thinking is evolving among
France
's EU partners, who are no longer talking of carbon tariffs but a
"carbon inclusion mechanism" that integrates the CO2 cost of products
imported into the EU.
Poland
,
the diplomat continued, has rallied behind the French position and countries
like
Belgium
and
Italy
are also starting to change their views.
"We are saying explicitly in
the text that the implementation of [EU climate change laws] should aim for two
things: tackling climate change on the one hand and improving competitiveness
on the other," he says, adding this represented "an evolution"
from previous positions.
German hesitation
Draft conclusions from the
ministerial meeting indeed state that "appropriate measures" can be
considered to tackle carbon leakage if they are compatible with international
trade rules. But it makes no specific mention of carbon tariffs or a
"carbon inclusion mechanism" at this stage.
Angela Merkel, who supported
Sarkozy's calls for a level playing field for European industry in the face of
Chinese competition, has not made up her mind yet on the specific issue of
carbon tariffs, according to German sources in
Brussels
.
"We do see the problem as
well," said an EU diplomat, pointing out that this is "quite a
sensitive issue in
Germany
,"
which has the largest industrial base in
Europe
.
But he stressed that WTO
compatibility was "very important" to
Germany
as manufacturers there had the most to lose from a trade war.
(from
EurActiv)