What is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)?
CBAM prevents companies that do business in the European Union from exporting polluting industries to countries with lax carbon emission reduction rules. If you import things that are highly polluting, you will need to buy carbon offsets to mitigate the emissions associated with the production and transport of that product. The concept of goods being made in places where their emissions impact is not mitigated is referred to as Carbon Leakage.
Wow, is this really happening now?
Yes, it is happening. Today, January 31st, 2024, is the first day that emissions reports are due for a small subset of goods. See below for a list. The EU is phasing CBAM in over several years with full implementation in January 2026. If you are importing CBAM-covered goods you must do the reporting already today.
What goods need to currently have reporting done on them?
The CBAM initially applies to imports of the following goods:
Cement
Iron and Steel
Aluminium
Fertiliser
Hydrogen
Electricity
These sectors were selected following specific criteria, in particular, their high risk of
carbon leakage and high emission intensity.
Wow, I find this stuff fascinating/worrying/confusing! Where can I learn more?
You can get more background here:
You can download templates and learn about the reporting methods here:
I just want to get on with my business. Can somebody help me with the calculations and reporting?
Yes, we hear you, and we can help. Drop us a note at hello@zeuslogics.com and we will schedule a time to start making this process as painless as possible.