European Parliament adopts carbon border changes

: Emissions, Fertilizers, Metals
25/05/22

The European Parliament today approved changes to the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) that are estimated to exempt 90pc of importers from the measure, linked to the EU emissions trading system (ETS), although a final legal text still needs to be agreed with EU member states.

The parliament adopted by a large majority the European Commission's proposal, with a minor amendment to clarify that CBAM covers electricity importers but not power generated "entirely" in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and imported to the EU. These countries are covered by the EU ETS.

The adopted text also confirms the start date for CBAM certificate sales as 1 February 2027, pushed back from 2026 previously, to "address significant uncertainties related to the year 2026". Parliament said the new de minimis mass threshold of 50t would exempt 90pc of importers from the CBAM.

The commission designed the changes to continue to cover the bulk of CO2 emissions from imports of iron, steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers. Most fertiliser imported to the EU is in the form of bulk shipments, which are well above 50t.

Russia earlier this week launched a formal dispute procedure at the World Trade Organisation against CBAM as an "alleged export subsidy".

By Dafydd ab Iago

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

25/06/20

Brazil's carbon market rulemaking could pick up

Sao Paulo, 20 June (Argus) — Regulations required to put Brazil's regulated carbon emissions market into force have advanced slowly since congress passed legislation in late 2024, but this year may speed several key pieces. The government plans to gradually implement the market by 2030, even as it prepares to host the Cop 30 climate summit in Belem, Para state in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon in November. So far this year, the working group responsible for issuing the regulations that will govern the new market has met 20 times. Participants in the working group include representatives from 10 government ministries, but the finance ministry is spearheading regulations. A first round should be ready by July, the ministry said this week. The working group could define several elements in coming weeks, including clarity regarding the creation of the new agency that will oversee this market. The law stipulates that this new entity have its own technical staff and be independent from the government. "We urgently need to know who is going to be in charge of this market," Guilherme Lefevre, the director of the Getulio Vargas Foundation's sustainability center said, adding that the market needs to have a strong regulator to have credibility. For the market to move forward, Brazil also needs to create a national system for monitoring, reporting, and verification of greenhouse gas emissions. "Brazil still does not have this system, which is fundamental for the development of the regulated carbon market," Lefevre said. This system will underpin the national emissions allocation plan, which will grant companies emission quotas, which can be traded. The law requires companies that emit over 10,000 metric tonnes (t) of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e/yr) to report their emissions and companies with over 25,0000 tCO2e/yr in emissions to participate in the cap-and-trade system that will go into effect when the new carbon market begins operating completely in 2030. "So far, roughly 600 companies have reported their emissions and a total of around 5,000 companies will need to do so to comply with the market requirements," Laura Albuquerque, chief climate officer at Future Climate consultancy said. She added that that while companies in some sectors, such as steel and pulp and paper are already more prepared for the market, others are behind and are working to understand the extent to which the new market represents a risk or an opportunity. The government is also in a race against time to show progress towards creating the new market ahead of the November Cop 30 meeting, when it plans to launch an initiative that will integrate the Brazilian carbon market with markets in the EU, China and California. The goal is to use this coalition of carbons markets as a test case for a future, global carbon market. Not a silver bullet While the creation of a regulated carbon market is an important element of Brazil's decarbonization efforts, it is only part of the plan to meet its emissions-reduction targets. Compared with other countries, industry represents a small share of total emissions. In 2023 — the most recent year with available data — non-agricultural industry only accounted for just 4pc of Brazil's total emissions. Still, because the law permits companies on the regulated market to purchase a share of their credits from the voluntary market, tropical forest protection and restoration projects will also benefit. With Cop 30 leadership pushing for the next gathering to put into effect what has been agreed at previous summits, Brazil will likely feel pressure to advance more quickly on his own initiatives. Brazil's CO2 equivalent emissions by sector, 2023 mn t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Pakistan loses EU GSP+ ethanol status

25/06/20

Pakistan loses EU GSP+ ethanol status

London, 20 June (Argus) — The European Commission today suspended Pakistan's Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status for imports of ethanol. The removal is effective from today, 20 June. A request was lodged in May last year by France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Poland, who sought to activate Article 30 of the GSP Regulation, arguing that ethanol coming from Pakistan since 2022 has "caused a serious disturbance to the Union ethanol market". Under Article 30, the commission can "adopt an implementing act in order to suspend the preferential arrangement in respect of the products concerned". Pakistan was granted GSP+ status in 2014, and this expired at the end of 2023. The status was temporarily extended until 2027. The GSP+ grants reduced-tariff or tariff-free access to the EU for vulnerable low- and lower- to middle-income countries that, according to the EU, "implement 27 international conventions related to human rights, labour rights, protection of the environment and good governance". It fully removes custom duties on two-thirds of the bloc's tariff lines in Pakistan's case, including ethanol. Pakistan is a major supplier of industrial-grade ethanol to Europe, but it does not export fuel-grade ethanol. According to market participants, this is because production facilities in the country lack sustainability certifications such as the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) that are required for biofuels to qualify under the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) targets. Fuel-grade ethanol was not included in the bloc's measures. Several Pakistani market participants were hopeful the GSP+ status will remain in place, which has continued to support ethanol exports from the country to the EU ( see table ). But uncertainty has weighed on demand from Europe recently, suppliers said. A participant told Argus that Pakistani sellers may look to offer more into Africa to soften the drop in demand. Some European suppliers anticipated this outcome, and have already stopped importing from Pakistan. European renewable ethanol association ePure expressed concern about the decision to exclude fuel ethanol from the scope of the measures, noting this could open the door to unintended loopholes and weaken the overall effect of the safeguard efforts. By Evelina Lungu and Deborah Sun European ethanol imports from Pakistan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop 28 outcome must be implemented in full: Cop 30 head

25/06/20

Cop 28 outcome must be implemented in full: Cop 30 head

London, 20 June (Argus) — The incoming UN Cop 30 summit president Andre Correa do Lago has set out his objectives for the conference in November, placing as a key priority the Cop 28 outcome of trebling renewables capacity and transitioning away from fossil fuels. Correa do Lago today said his plan is to drive "collective action" to tackle climate change, placing a strong emphasis on the global stocktake, the first of which was concluded at Cop 28 in 2023 . That outcome saw almost 200 countries commit to "transition away" from fossil fuels, as well as treble renewables capacity by 2030. The global stocktake, a five-yearly process, sets out progress made towards Paris climate agreement goals. Today's "Action Agenda must drive momentum towards the full implementation of the GST [global stocktake]", Correa do Lago said. The incoming Cop president is focusing on implementing agreements made at previous Cops, and ensuring that countries and all other stakeholders — such as sub-nationals and the private sector — work together to put the decisions into action. Correa do Lago's letter today repeated language from the Cop 28 outcome, and noted his other main themes for Cop 30, which will take place in Belem, in Brazil's Para state, on 10-21 November. As well as shifting energy, industry and transport from fossil fuel-powered to lower- or zero-carbon alternatives, he listed forests, oceans and biodiversity and agriculture and food as key topics. Further topics involved building resilience for cities, infrastructure and water and human and social development. A final priority was enablers and accelerators across the board, including for finance and technology. Correa do Lago said in May that Cop 30 should be a "pivot point" to action on climate change, and "a new era of putting into practice" what has been agreed at previous Cop summits. He has noted a difficult geopolitical situation , which could make talks more challenging. Brazil's Cop 30 presidency is also focused on climate finance at UN climate talks, currently underway in Bonn, Germany. These 'halfway point' discussions serve to cover substantial technical groundwork ahead of political talks at Cop summits each November. Brazil yesterday at Bonn presented a draft of a roadmap to scale up climate finance — from all sources — to $1.3 trillion/year by 2035. The roadmap will not be officially negotiated, although it was a key outcome from Cop 29 in 2024 and is likely to be finalised just ahead of Cop 30 this year. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Eur Cu scrap prices rise on cathode supply squeeze

25/06/20

Eur Cu scrap prices rise on cathode supply squeeze

London, 20 June (Argus) — Millberry copper scrap is trading at the same level in Europe as the London Metal Exchange (LME) copper cash price, as buyers turn to high-grade scrap to replace the limited availability of cathodes that were pre-emptively shipped to the US to avoid potential tariffs under US president Donald Trump. The Argus weekly assessment for Millberry (bare bright) rose to 99.5-100pc of the LME cash price on 17 June, from 98-99.5pc on 9 June. Europe #1 (Berry/Candy) was last assessed at 97.75-98.75pc of the LME cash price and Europe #2 (Birch/Cliff) was at 91-93pc. Millberry is a suitable substitute for copper cathode owing to its high copper content of around 99.95pc, while even Berry/Candy with slightly lower copper content, is also a viable alternative. Birch/Cliff scrap, a more mixed grade, requires more processing and yields lower copper output, but is still being evaluated by some buyers because of limited cathode availability. The price convergence is being driven by copper cathode shortages in Europe after exporters began shifting large volumes of the metal into the US earlier in the year owing to concerns that Trump will impose heavy import duties on the metal. Trump officially ordered a section 232 investigation on 25 February into whether copper imports threaten US national security, encompassing all forms of copper, including raw mined copper, copper concentrate, refined copper, copper alloys, scrap and derivative products. Section 232 is the same basis on which the US applied 25pc tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which it raised to 50pc at the start of the month. Fears that copper could face similar measures spurred exporters to ship material to the US, rapidly draining European and Asian LME warehouses of cathodes. The shift in market behaviour caused LME on-warrant copper stocks to plummet by over 78pc from the start of the year to 54,400t today. Copper prices on the US Comex exchange have surged on the drive to shift metal into US warehouses, pushing the arbitrage between LME and Comex benchmarks to record highs. The arbitrage between Comex spot-month copper and LME cash prices was $868.95/t in favour of Comex on 18 June, down from a peak of $1,862.13/t on 26 March but still easily strong enough to make sellers of Comex-deliverable cathode likely to choose the US option. "Cathode premiums are going up in Europe mainly because of the arbitrage rather than demand, which is not particularly strong," a trader told Argus , referencing that premiums in Europe are at record highs because of critical supply shortages for immediate delivery. The Argus assessment of the delivered Germany copper cathode premium to the LME cash price rose to $270-290/t on 17 June, up by 56pc since mid-March. Offers for cathode were heard at premiums as high as $300/t delivered Germany this week, demonstrating that the shortage is likely to continue to push premiums higher. Sources expect cathode premiums to remain elevated until the Section 232 investigation is officially concluded in late November 2025, which means demand for high-grade scrap will be sustained in the near term. "Because of the lack of cathodes, I have people I haven't heard from in five years come to me asking for scrap," a trader noted, referencing that the current tightness in the cathode market is supporting a higher demand for high-grade copper scrap. Several market participants said they would not be surprised if copper scrap temporarily begins trading at a premium to the LME price in Europe given the scarcity of cathodes. By Roxana Lazar Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Urea prices surge in Australia, prompt supply limited

25/06/20

Urea prices surge in Australia, prompt supply limited

Sydney, 20 June (Argus) — Domestic urea prices in Australia have surged on the back of rising international fob prices because of ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, and prompt supply has tightened on increased demand. Israel's attack on Iran in the early hours of 13 June and the further escalation of tensions has caused international urea prices to surge on tightened supply as Egyptian output was halted on 13 June and Iranian urea production went off line on 18 June because Israeli gas flows have stopped. Saudi Arabian fertilizer producer Sabic sold 45,000t of granular urea at $450/t fob on 17 June, a sharp rise from $402/t fob in a deal four days earlier. Domestic urea prices in Australia rose throughout the week to 20 June almost as fast as international prices as suppliers raised their offers on a day-by-day basis. Retailers that previously hesitated to buy from importers because of weak domestic demand rushed into the market to procure supplies on fears of further price rises. Offers started the week at around A$775/t ($503/t) fca Geelong on 16 June, increasing to A$790-800/t on 17 June. Cargoes were reportedly sold as high as A$865/t as buyers rushed into the market. Two suppliers reportedly offered urea out of Geelong at A$900/t late on 18 June, but buyers retreated at that level. Weekly average domestic granular urea prices were assessed much higher on the week at a midpoint of A$865/t fca Geelong in the week to 20 June, up from A$745-750/t a week earlier ( see graph ). Urea stocks high, prompt supply limited Healthy stocks and underwhelming domestic consumption from growers owing to unfavourable weather conditions had limited demand for urea so far in 2025, which in turn buoyed stocks and prompted suppliers to lower prices from mid-April until hostilities broke out in the Middle East. Australia imported 1.26mn t of urea in the first four months of the year, the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show. Urea imports reached an estimated 601,000t in May and are expected to decrease to 508,000t in June, according to vessel-tracking data from trade analytics platform Kpler. This suggests Australia's urea imports could reach 2.37mn t in January-June, down from 2.49mn t in the first half of 2024. But Australian urea stocks are still likely to be higher at the end of June 2025 compared with the same month a year earlier, according to Argus estimates. Favourable weather conditions for urea utilisation early in 2024 reduced urea stocks in the country last year. Urea stocks in Australia are healthy and suppliers started selling cargoes in May for delivery in 1-3 months' time because of sluggish local demand. This has led to at least one supplier running out of supply for prompt sale and delivery after buyers entered the market this week. The tight supply for prompt delivery of urea likely supported the surge in domestic urea prices over the past week. By Tom Woodlock Price of granular urea fca Geelong (A$/t) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more