

The decade-long fight against the pipeline helped reshape the environmental movement and turn the focus of activism toward specific pieces of infrastructure as part of a movement to keep oil, gas and coal in the ground. “There are many ways in which you could look at a carbon border adjustment as an opportunity here.The cancelation of the Keystone XL pipeline seems fitting: It was first rejected by the Obama administration, only to be revived by former President Donald Trump. “It’s not off the table, certainly, in any of the discussions,” the White House climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, said Tuesday at a conference organized by Bloomberg. The Biden administration has dangled the prospect of a carbon border tax of its own, though its prospects would likely be dim in a divided Congress. And yet, with no prospect of carbon pricing legislation in the United States, several U.S.

The Biden administration is keen to restore trans-Atlantic alliances, including on climate change. The United States is in a tricky position with respect to a prospective European border tax. The United States, for instance, is particularly concerned about the potential effect on American-produced steel, and it remains to be seen whether the border tax proposal would take into account the carbon emissions intensity of imported steel. And the United States has said only that it is evaluating the idea of its own carbon border tax.Įxactly which products the tax would target is still unclear. Among the products that it could target, according to a draft leaked in June, are steel, cement, iron and fertilizers.Īll eyes are on targets set by the United States and China, which currently produces the largest share of greenhouse gases, and, more important, how they will get there.Ĭhina and India have publicly criticized the idea of a carbon border tax. It would impose tariffs on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with products imported from outside the European Union and, in effect, would protect European companies from goods made in countries with less-stringent climate policies. The most contentious element is something called a border carbon adjustment tax. And they will most certainly invite scrutiny of Europe’s own reliance on extracting and burning fossil fuels in its own territories, from oil and gas drilling in the North Sea to coal mining in countries like Germany and Poland. They will take many months to negotiate among the 27 member countries and the European Parliament before becoming law. The proposals, known as “Fit for 55,” are just that - proposals. The Costs of the War: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven up energy prices and complicated Europe’s switch to greener sources.will label some nuclear power and natural gas plants as sustainable investments. rule counted some organic materials that are burned as fuel, like wood pellets, as renewable energy - even though they release carbon emissions. A Seminal Moment: Last July, Europe unveiled a plan to pivot away from fossil fuels over the next nine years.

But financial and geopolitical considerations could complicate the efforts. Europe’s Shift Away From Fossil Fuels The European Union has begun a transition to greener forms of energy.
