A senior US lawmaker is hoping to convince delegates at the UN Cop 30 climate summit to preserve the use of a carbon boarder adjustment mechanism (CBAM) in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
US senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) arrived at the conference in Belem, Brazil, on Friday, the sole US federal official to attend the talks so far. Whitehouse said that one of the main messages he wants to convey to delegates is that the CBAM, a carbon fee for imports that do not meet certain emissions benchmarks, may be "our last lifeboat" to avoid severe consequences from climate change.
"There is no pathway to climate safety without CBAM, and we must protect that pathway at all costs", he said.
While US lawmakers have yet to give serious consideration to creating a CBAM-type mechanism, there have been signs of some bipartisan interest in the idea. Some Republicans view the policy as one way to limit imports from China. Whitehouse, the senior Democrat on the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has also sponsored his own legislation for carbon border fee.
The CBAM originated with the EU, which adopted it in 2023, and will launch next year. But countries outside the bloc also plan to enact their own border fees, something Whitehouse said he hopes will encourage others to follow suit.
"The fact that the UK is lining up to join and Australia is lining up to join and others could come along behind them is a good signal", he said.
The UK plans to introduce its CBAM from 1 January 2027.
The issue of trade measures has been a major one in Belem, one of four non-agenda items that are the focus of ongoing discussions across the first week. Some developing countries have expressed concern that unilateral trade measures, including the CBAM, will harm their ability to fulfil their climate policy goals.
Whitehouse questioned the authenticity of some of the opposition, some of which has come from major oil producing countries, attributing it mainly "to the fossil fuel industry."
"If we don't do the CBAM, if we don't get a pathway to climate safety, the consequences for many countries will be far worse than anything that can come from CBAM", he said.
Whitehouse also said he wants to use his time at the Cop to let other countries know that the policies of President Donald Trump's administration do not reflect the views of most Americans when it comes to climate change.
"In fact, they're not even close. What they represent is the fossil fuel industry," he said, echoing comments made at the Cop earlier in the week by California governor Gavin Newsom (D).
