https://arab.news/7nkt3
The EU is widely viewed as the world leader in climate action, a position it has held for the last few decades. Of course, most member states are too small to make a dent in global greenhouse gas emissions on their own. But as a bloc, they have managed to generate positive policy spillovers, creating a virtuous circle whereby their climate ambitions encourage others to follow suit.
Imagine this as a policy flywheel. At first, it takes substantial effort — in the EU’s case, political and diplomatic capital — to get it moving. But once it has begun to spin, each rotation makes the next one easier. Three recent developments underscore the need for Europe to maintain its leadership on climate policy — in other words, to keep the flywheel spinning.
The EU’s most forceful push yet is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which became fully operational on Jan. 1. It puts a price on embedded carbon emissions generated in the production of certain industrial imports, with credits for carbon prices paid at the location of manufacturing.
This has shifted the global political calculus in a much greener direction. To maintain competitiveness, exporting firms and non-EU governments are increasingly amenable to domestic carbon pricing schemes. The UK is developing a similar policy, slated to begin in 2027. And leading up to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism’s enforcement, several major emitting countries including China, India and Brazil have either expanded or introduced carbon pricing.
