Europe will spend 30% of its total budget on reducing emissions by 50% in the next decade as part of its plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is an essential part of that, putting a carbon price on imports from countries like Australia that do nothing to reduce their own carbon emissions. Economists have joined environmentalists in celebrating the plan as creating a level playing field. “Anyone can get an exemption to the CBAM if they have an equivalent [carbon price] at home,” said energy economist, Sir Dieter Helm. China has criticised the CBAM but, at the same time, is introducing the world’s largest carbon trading scheme. The USA and Canadian governments have proposed similar schemes.
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