High-Level Conference on Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
On February 12, 2025, the high-level conference “A Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism for Climate” convened European representatives, international experts, industry leaders, and international organisations and civil society stakeholders to discuss the challenges surrounding the European Union’s CBAM.
On February 12, 2025, the high-level conference “A Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism for Climate” convened European representatives, international experts, industry leaders, and international organisations and civil society stakeholders to discuss the challenges surrounding the European Union’s CBAM.
Organized by the French Treasury, the event served as a platform to discuss the implementation of CBAM one year after its entry into force. It also provided an opportunity to explore future developments to enhance its effectiveness in tackling carbon leakage and discuss international cooperation on carbon pricing.
Following the opening speech by Marc Ferracci, Minister for Industry and Energy, the discussions, moderated by Andrei Marcu, Executive Director of the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition (ERCST), began with a first session dedicated to the lessons learnt from the first year of CBAM implementation.
In the presence of Gerassimos Thomas, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) of the European Commission, this session provided feedback from European stakeholders and discussed the issue of simplification.
The second session examined future developments of the mechanism, in particular its potential extension to additional sectors, including downstream sectors at risk of carbon leakage, carbon leakage on the export side, and the inclusion of indirect emissions. The final session focused on prospects for international cooperation on carbon pricing, a critical lever for achieving effective global climate action, and the development of carbon markets and carbon border adjustments in third countries, such as the UK and Türkiye.
Concluding the event, Éric Lombard, Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, reaffirmed France and the European Union’s commitment to addressing climate change and tackling carbon leakage, while advancing a just and competitive ecological transition.
By bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, experts, and international organisations and civil society representatives, the conference played a pivotal role in strengthening understanding and dialogue on CBAM and laying the groundwork for its future evolutions at a time when global climate action is threatened by geopolitical tensions and various forms of disengagement.
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