Following a decision from the European Commission today, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will be applied to a selection of imported goods starting in October 2023. This means that any imported goods will have to buy certificates equal to the amount of emission rights that would have been bought if the product was produced within the EU. This way, companies cannot circumvent carbon prices by buying climate damaging goods from other parts of the world. The mechanism will at first apply to iron and steel, cement, aluminium, fertilizers and electricity, and after a transition period the Commission shall assess whether to extend the scope to other goods at risk of carbon leakage, including organic chemicals and polymers, with the goal to include all goods covered by the EU emission trading system by 2030. As EU is a huge market for a lot of products, this may have significant impacts on the profitability of reducing emissions all over the world. Full press release: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20221212IPR64509/deal-reached-on-new-carbon-leakage-instrument-to-raise-global-climate-ambition