21.02.01~20.02.07 U.K.’s Boris Johnson Considers G-7 Bid on Green Border Levies

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U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering using his G-7 presidency to try to forge an alliance on carbon border taxes, according to two people familiar with the matter.
As holder of the rotating G-7 presidency and host of global climate change talks in November, Johnson has said he wants to make cutting emissions a key priority for recovery efforts.
As part of that, he wants to expand carbon pricing at home. He also wants to get G-7 countries to discuss so-called carbon border adjustments — penalties on imported goods that are produced in countries with weaker climate laws, according to the people.

The U.K. is looking to the election of Joe Biden as U.S. President to inject fresh momentum into discussions, after the world’s second largest emitter was largely absent from climate talks for the last four years.
In contrast, Biden has made climate change a priority in his first weeks as U.S. President. He publicly supported a price on carbon while campaigning, though it hasn’t been part of his main climate blueprint since he took office. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also advocated for a price on carbon before taking office.

The U.K. wants to take a leadership role in tackling climate change this year, and has already set the most ambitious carbon cutting goals among developed nations. It has moved to start its own internal carbon market after leaving the European Union’s emissions trading system. But it remains concerned that this could damage competition at home.

Trevelyan said last week that the U.K. is also closely monitoring EU plans for a carbon border adjustment that will introduce a levy on emissions embedded into goods. The EU’s plans are due to be announced in June, around the same time that G-7 leaders plan to meet in the southwest of England.
The European Parliament’s environment committee is voting this week on a resolution urging the European Commission to put a price by 2023 on emissions from imported products, including cement and steel, and link the levy to the region’s emissions market.


An excerpt from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-04/u-k-s-boris-johnson-considers-g-7-bid-on-green-border-levies?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20210205&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily

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