A Carbon Border Adjustment (CBA) mechanism is a tool to support the EU's climate leadership by reflecting the carbon intensity of products imported into the EU, such as steel. This mechanism is important because EU producers have the highest environmental and climate protection goals in the world - and higher production costs that accompany this effort.
The European steel industry is therefore at very high risk of carbon leakage - the loss of sales to cheaply-priced, carbon-intense imports. Avoiding the risk of carbon leakage is a pre-condition for preserving both the environmental integrity of EU climate policy and industrial competitiveness since it contributes to reducing emissions at a global level while maintaining jobs and investments in Europe. This will also be instrumental in facilitating the social acceptance of EU leadership in climate ambition.
The European Green Deal underlines that the risk of carbon leakage can materialise in different forms, 'either because production is transferred from the EU to other countries with lower ambition for emission reduction, or because EU products are replaced by more carbon-intensive imports'. As long as there is no international binding agreement with a global carbon price and equivalent efforts, it is essential that the EU legislation adopts effective measures that avoid all forms of leakage in the short and medium terms.
The carbon border adjustment measure should be applied for a transition period until breakthrough technologies reach sufficient market penetration and CO2-lean products represent a critical mass in the market. It represents a broader contribution to a clean planet, as it is also an effective tool of political diplomacy to foster climate ambition in third countries so that deeper emission reductions are delivered globally.
Brussels, 02 July 2025 – The 90% climate target proposed today by the European Commission demands an unprecedented transformation of EU society and industry in just 15 years. The European steel industry is already doing its part, but a viable business case for the transition is still lacking. To enable it, the EU needs to implement the Steel and Metals Action Plan much more decisively, delivering a highly effective trade protection against global overcapacity, access to internationally competitive low carbon energy and scrap, and a watertight CBAM, says the European Steel Association.
How to design a watertight CBAM to protect the European steel industry from carbon leakage
Brussels, 8 May 2025 – Seventy-five years ago, on 9 May 1950, the Schuman Declaration laid the foundation for European unity, placing coal and steel at the heart of a unique peace project that has brought unparalleled prosperity across the continent and beyond. As the EU commemorates this milestone, the fate of Europe’s steel industry will once again determine Europe’s future.