According to the European Commission’s proposal, emission allowances would have to be bought by imports of various types of commodities or materials. If the plan passes, the system could become operational in two years, and in full by 2026.
Importers of iron, steel, certain types of building materials or electricity from third countries into the European Union would have to start reflecting the prices of greenhouse gas emissions in the price of imported goods. Technically, this would mean the mandatory purchase of emission allowances on import and their price would then be reflected in the import price of the goods in question. The plan was reported by Reuters, stating that it has a document from the European Commission.
The full version of the system should be in place from 2026, with a transition period starting three years earlier, during which the system would be gradually phased in. From this, the European Commission promises not only to take into account the volume of emissions in the production of imported commodities into the Union, but also probably to compare the conditions for domestic and foreign producers. EU industrial and energy companies must either meet relatively strict limits for greenhouse gas emissions or buy emission allowances. In recent days, their price has reached a record level of over 51 euros per tonne.
