London — A cross-border levy for carbon-intensive imports into the EU will be introduced in some form, said Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, the European Commission's Deputy Director General for Energy, on Oct. 13.
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Register NowBorchardt confirmed in an interview broadcast to an online audience at the virtual Flame conference that such a mechanism is being formulated, but its exact structure is yet to be agreed upon.
"Something like a carbon border adjustment mechanism will come," Borchardt said, "but there will be first some areas where we test it, and [the] form is still under discussion, because you can do it in different forms."
"We are still struggling in finding a way to such a mechanism in a WTO compatible manner. We have different ideas, but ... still work is needed. Maybe [we will first try] it out in some sectors that are less WTO related than others."
In the interview, Borchardt reiterated that this was the expressed will of the current EC president.