Online ReporterSouth Africa appealed to the European union to reconsider its planned implementation of an expanded levy on carbon-intensive imports and requested the same flexibility that has been promised to the US.
The EU’s so-called carbon-border adjustment mechanism, or CBAM, could end up stifling efforts by South Africa and other developing countries to address climate change and decarbonise their economies, the nation’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition said in a letter to the European Commission.
It pointed to a US-EU framework on balanced trade reached last week, in which Europe pledged to work toward providing options around the implementation of the charges that affect small and medium-sized businesses in America.
“South Africa calls on the EU to extend such flexibilities to South Africa and other African countries,” the department said in the letter dated August 26 and published online.
CBAM is designed to reduce emissions by ensuring imports are subject to the same surcharges as domestically produced goods that use carbon-intensive methods.
The EU plans to start levying the charges next year, and the UK plans to follow suit, while countries including Australia and Japan are considering introducing similar measures.
Africa’s most industrialised nation uses coal to generate the bulk of its electricity and is the world’s 14th-largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions.
About 422 000 South African jobs are supported by exports to countries with active or incoming CBAMs, according to a June report by Net Zero Tracker, a research unit run by organisations including the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit.
“We urge the European union to reconsider the implementation of the CBAM and not to expand the scope further as it will lead to further negative impacts on South Africa and other developing countries, especially in Africa,” the department wrote. — Bloomberg
