Businesses Count the Cost of Carbon and Prepare for CBAM
25 February 2025
Local businesses have welcomed Chamber International’s initiatives to help importers and exporters deal with Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) requirements.
What is CBAM?
An environmental tax measure, the overall purpose of CBAM is to reduce carbon emissions related to the production and transport of goods, regardless of where they are produced in the world. It is based on a system of certificates covering the embedded emissions in imported products, so that importers must pay the same carbon price as domestic producers under the EU emission trade system (ETS).
In its initial phase, from 2023 to 2025, the EU’s CBAM focussed on particularly carbon-intensive products (iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen) and their precursors. During this phase, CBAM did not directly increase import costs for EU importers, but they did have to collect and report carbon data on a quarterly basis, and could be fined for not doing so accurately.
From 2026, however, the EU’s full CBAM regime will begin to be implemented. The UK intends to introduce its own CBAM (for goods imported into the UK) in January 2027.
The challenge for businesses
CBAM brings challenges for exporters and importers, because the carbon emissions inherent in a product are not easy to assess, not least because of today’s complex international supply chains, where components and intermediate products may be produced in different countries, then processed in others, prior to import. The fact that many businesses will have to deal with both EU and UK requirements only adds to the difficulties they face.
CI’s Trade Procedures Manager Sam Paley said: “For businesses who have already had to deal with being outside the EU Customs Union, and new GPSR regulations for product safety, CBAM is coming at a tough time. However, CBAM should level the playing field a bit, so that the UK’s producers are not at a disadvantage because other parts of the parts of the world have less rigorous carbon controls that we do, or because full production carbon costs are being ignored.”
Getting up to speed
CI’s flexible programme of support services includes tailored one-to-one assistance with: understanding CBAM and its impact on the business; supply chain assessment; carbon data extraction and presentation; calculating a product’s carbon footprint; data validation, and more.
Also, because the regulatory environment is changing quickly and CBAM’s roll-out is causing anxiety among businesses, CI has arranged an online workshop: CBAM Masterclass - Policy, Transition and Compliance, to take place on 29 April 2025. Participants will learn about: the EU Green Deal and its tax implications; CBAM policy and its implementation; how to comply; how to keep records; and how to obtain certificates.
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation discussion with our CBAM specialists.
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