英国酝酿在2026年推出碳边境税

英国财政大臣杰里米-亨特（Jeremy Hunt）正计划从2026年起对来自气候监管较弱国家进口的碳密集型商品征税，这与欧盟正在采取的措施相仿。

 

该计划可能将在近期的政府季度声明中宣布。英国政府曾在今年早些时候就是否引入“碳边境调节机制”（CBAM）公开征求过意见。

 

欧盟于今年9月启动了CBAM计划，以解决“碳泄漏”问题。预计亨特将宣布，英国将在欧盟机制生效的 2026 年启动英国版的 CBAM 计划，以避免英国成为面临欧盟征税的碳密集型产品的“倾销地”。

 

政府确认继续实施该计划将受到英国工业界的欢迎，但官员们提醒说，政府机构间的谈判仍在继续，任何宣布都可能推迟到春季预算周期。

 

贸易机构英国钢铁公司（UK Steel）的总干事加雷斯-斯特斯说：“随着英国钢铁工业向绿色钢铁生产转型，非常重要的是，它不再继续被高排放的进口钢材所取代。”

 

“欧洲正在实施自己的CBAM，如果我们不尽快制定和实施自己的措施，英国就有可能与我们最大的贸易伙伴之间形成破坏性的贸易壁垒。”

 

英国政府还面临一个挑战，即如何使本国碳市场与欧盟碳市场保持一致，以避免英国制造商在 CBAM 下要对本国出口产品征税，因为英国市场的碳价格远低于欧盟市场。

 

财政部在 2021 年 10 月的净零审查中提出了 CBAM 的前景，但警告说实施起来会很复杂。英国首相苏纳克（Rishi Sunak）今年早些时候表示，这一想法“合情合理”，并暗示英国可以就其计划与布鲁塞尔合作。

 

欧洲议会首席谈判代表彼得-利塞（Peter Liese）去年表示，欧盟的 CBAM已成为“欧洲有史以来，也有人说是全球最具规模的气候法。” 该机制最初要求进口商收集信息而不征税。

 

从欧盟外向欧洲销售铁、水泥、化肥和电力供应等产品的公司，如果没有可比的碳成本，将面临与欧盟排放交易体系下与碳价格挂钩的新征税。

 

但无论英国是否建立 CBAM，如果英国不在法律上将其碳定价与欧盟的碳定价挂钩，那么如果英国的碳价格仍然较低，英国的出口仍可能面临征税。

 

即使是可再生能源电力的出口也可能面临征税，因为从一个电网出口到另一个电网时，无法识别电力供应是来自绿色能源还是化石燃料。

 

英国能源行业组织副主任亚当-伯曼（Adam Berman）说：“将我们的碳定价制度与欧盟的碳定价制度挂钩，可使英国公司免于承担这些成本。”

 

英国脱欧后的碳市场与欧盟排放交易计划相似，但今年英国碳价大幅下跌，因为苏纳克政府提供的碳配额远超此前的预期。英国的碳价格约为每吨 41 英镑，而欧盟的碳价格为每吨 66 英镑（76 欧元）。

 

据英国能源部计算，英国财政部每年因碳价疲软而损失近30亿英镑的收入。能源部警告说，如果碳价继续打折，每年约5亿英镑的边境税实际上将由欧盟而非英国获得。

 

能源与气候信息小组（Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit）能源主管杰斯-拉尔斯顿（Jess Ralston）表示，CBAM或有助于恢复部分绿色投资者的信心。

 

“欧盟跃跃欲试地推出 CBAM，美国《通胀削减法案》则如幽灵般时刻吸引着大西洋彼岸的低碳投资，英国确实必须行动起来了。”

 

上个月对英国制造业 400 名高级经理进行的一项调查显示，四分之三的人支持英国引入 CBAM，只有 8% 的人反对。该调查覆盖了建筑、机械、汽车和食品等行业。

 

这项由智库E3G 委托进行的调查发现，每 10 家英国制造商中就有 7 家表示，英国未来的任何碳边境措施都应与欧洲的计划相一致。

 

但CBAM也遭到了一些贸易竞争对手的批评，尤其是美国、中国和南非，他们认为该政策将不公平地惩罚这些国家的制造商。

 

财政部表示将在适当的时候宣布下一步措施。“我们不会对财政事件前的猜测发表评论。”

 

英文原文：

 

Jeremy Hunt, the UK chancellor, is planning to introduce levies on imported carbon-intensive goods from countries with weaker climate regulations from 2026, mirroring measures being introduced by the EU.

 

The plan, which could be announced in this month’s Autumn Statement, follows a consultation earlier this year on whether to introduce a “carbon border adjustment mechanism”, or CBAM, to protect industries from unfair competition from regions with lower carbon costs.

 

The EU soft-launched its CBAM programme in September to tackle “carbon leakage”, when companies move production to countries with weaker or non-existent carbon costs while retaining free access to markets where heavy industry pays for emissions.

 

Hunt is expected to announce that the UK will launch its own CBAM programme in 2026, when the EU mechanism takes effect, to avoid the risk of the UK becoming a dumping ground for carbon-intensive products facing levies by the EU.

 

Confirmation that the government was going ahead with the plan would be welcomed by UK industries, although officials cautioned that cross-Whitehall negotiations were continuing and any announcement could slip to the spring Budget. 

 

“As the UK steel industry is transiting to green steel production, it is essential that it is not continually outcompeted by high-emission, imported steel,” said Gareth Stace, director-general of trade body UK Steel.

 

“Europe is implementing its own CBAM, and the UK risks a damaging trade barrier with our biggest trade partner if we don’t develop and implement our own measures quickly.”

 

The government also faces a challenge in aligning its own carbon market with the EU’s to avoid British manufacturers facing levies on their own exports under CBAM, as carbon prices in the UK market are far lower than those on the EU market.

 

The Treasury raised the prospect of a CBAM in its net zero review in October 2021 but warned it would be complicated to implement. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, said earlier this year that the idea was “reasonable and sensible” and hinted that Britain could co-operate with Brussels over its plans. 

 

The EU’s CBAM, which initially requires importers to collect information without charging the levy, has been “the biggest climate law ever in Europe, and some say in the world”, Peter Liese, lead negotiator for the European parliament, said last year.

 

Companies selling products such as iron, cement, fertiliser and power supplies into Europe from outside the bloc, and who do not face comparable carbon costs, will face new levies linked to the carbon price under the EU Emissions Trading System.

 

But regardless of whether the UK creates a CBAM, if it does not legally link its carbon pricing to the EU’s, British exports could still face levies if UK carbon prices remain lower.

 

Even exports of renewable electricity could face levies because it is not possible to identify whether power supplies come from green sources or fossil fuels when exporting from one grid to another.

 

“Linking our carbon pricing regime with the EU’s would exempt UK companies from these costs,” said Adam Berman, deputy director of industry body Energy UK.

 

The UK’s post-Brexit carbon market is a close copy of the EU ETS, but this year British carbon prices fell sharply as Sunak’s government made more carbon allowances available than previously expected. The UK carbon price is about £41 a tonne compared with £66 (€76) a tonne in the EU.

 

Energy UK calculates the Treasury is losing out on almost £3bn of revenue annually from weak carbon prices and has warned that about £500mn a year in border taxes will in effect be captured by the EU rather than the UK if prices continue to trade at a discount.

 

Jess Ralston, head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said a CBAM could help reinstate some green investor confidence that was “shaken” by Sunak’s net zero U-turns in September.

 

“With the EU leaping ahead with its CBAM, and the ever-present spectre of the US Inflation Reduction Act luring low-carbon investment across the Atlantic, the UK really does have to act.”

 

A survey last month of 400 senior managers in the UK manufacturing industry covering sectors from construction and machinery to automotives and food found that three-quarters backed the introduction of a UK CBAM, with only 8 per cent opposing it.

 

The survey, commissioned by think-tank E3G, found that seven in 10 British manufacturers said any future UK carbon border measure should be compatible with the European scheme.

 

But CBAM has been criticised by some trading rivals — in particular the US, China and South Africa — who believe the policy will unfairly penalise their manufacturers. 

 

The Treasury said it would announce its next steps in due course. “We do not comment on speculation ahead of fiscal events.”

 

本文 2023 年 11 月 12 日发布于金融时报。文章仅代表作者观点，不代表本公众号立场。

 

翻译 审校/姚喆 韩迪    编辑/韩迪