Glass Alliance Europe, has replied to the European Commission consultations on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) methodology, adjustments for importers, and carbon price paid in third countries.
Glass sectors are covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and recognised as being at significant risk of carbon leakage. Glass products are not included in the scope of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) adopted in 2023.
Given the legislator’s intention to extend CBAM to additional EU ETS sectors, the scope could potentially include glass products in the future. Should such an extension be pursued, it will be essential that the CBAM provides effective protection against the risk of carbon leakage, currently provided by the free allocation system.
In this context, the glass industry provided its comments and reflections, including some key recommendations:
- Include direct, indirect, and transport-related emissions in the declared embedded emissions of imports, with independent verification at installation and electricity supplier levels.
- Apply conservatively high default emissions values for imports to prevent underreporting, and to incentivise the reporting of real data.
- Consult industry when defining the scope of emissions and covered products, to ensure effective protection.
- Set strict criteria for recognising equivalent carbon pricing mechanisms, exclude CBAM-related concessions from trade negotiations, and establish safeguards against circumvention.