Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 20
Fifth Report - Greening imports: a UK carbon border approach
Published 4 Apr 2022
Paragraph 107
Environmental Audit Committee Carbon border adjustment mechanisms All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that the Government: a) Ensure, through the oversight of both Cabinet Committees on Climate Action, that the UK’s carbon border approach is aligned with existing environmental, trade, development and fiscal policy, through both its design and implementation stages. This should include setting out how the carbon border approach would interact with the tax and customs arrangements in Freeports; and b) During the design stage, establish methods for monitoring and understanding the impacts of the carbon border approach once implemented. This should include mechanisms for periodic consultation with stakeholders, including those in industry, academics, the environmental community and consumer groups. We expect any statement of policy on the UK’s carbon border approach to be presented to Parliament.
From: Environmental Audit Committee, Fifth Report - Greening imports: a UK carbon border approach (HC 737), paragraph 107, 4 April 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 21 June 2022 (deadline 4 June 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it agrees that multilateral solutions are needed and that "the risk of carbon leakage is real", and intends to consult later in 2022 on carbon leakage mitigation options, including whether a CBAM "could be appropriate", without committing to any course of action.
- The government agrees that "we need multilateral solutions" and says it is "committed to building on our COP26 climate leadership" by working with international partners towards a common global approach to carbon pricing and leakage.
- It intends to consult "later in the year" on carbon leakage mitigation options, including "whether measures such as product standards and a CBAM could be appropriate tools". It states the announcement "does not commit the Government to any course of action down the line".
- On alignment with wider policy, it "agrees with the importance" of aligning its approach with environmental, trade, development and fiscal policy, and will continue to engage the relevant Cabinet Committees.
- On linking the UK and EU emissions trading schemes, the government is "open to linking the UK ETS internationally in principle" and "is considering a range of options", with "no decision on any preferred linking partners" made.