South Africa denounced the European Union’s “Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism” (CBAM), which was introduced in late 2023 and will be fully in place by the end of this year. CBAM is a system of tariffs, imposed on goods imported into the EU, based on their carbon content. This “green duty” will begin to be phased in by 2026 and completed in 2034. Pretoria has accused the EU’s new CBAM of unfairly shifting the burden of climate change measures on to developing countries.
South Africa’s Trade Minister Parks Tau brought up the issue at a recent BRICS trade ministers meeting, declaring that this “Green Duty” contradicts World Trade Organization principles of “common but differentiated responsibility” for climate change. He called for a revision of the CBAM, pointing to the potential negative impact on South African exports.
