Carbon Border Adjustment mechanism: An agricultural perspective; Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): An agricultural perspective

Next week, the Agriculture Committee will vote on its position on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that will be presented to the leading Committee on the Environment. The CBAM is an integral part of the Fit for 55 package which sets an ambitious emissions reduction target of net 55 per cent compared to 1990 levels. The existing EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) deals with the emissions generated by domestic production, while the CBAM, designed to complement it, deals with emissions linked to goods produced outside and imported into the EU. ECR Rapporteur for the AGRI opinion Zbigniew Kuźmiuk states that the EU urgently needs a mechanism to tackle “carbon leakage”, which occurs when, for example, production is moved outside the EU to circumvent the ETS system and other EU environmental standards. The CBAM should help to level the playing field between the EU and third-country producers. However, extra care should be taken to offset the CBAM’s impact on the prices of products covered by the regulation and its implementation costs, particularly for SMEs and the agricultural sector, plus the impact on Member State administrations, as well as the relationship between the new mechanism and the existing ETS system. During the negotiations, a broad consensus was reached, partially addressing these concerns and focusing on proper monitoring of the CBAM’s impact on EU markets, in particular on agricultural production. The issue of disparity in production standards and requirements between the Union and its external trading partners, in particular in agriculture, was also duly considered.

Vote: Tuesday @ 10:00

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)

On Thursday, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs will adopt the outcome of Trilogue negotiations reached on 24 November on a pilot regime for market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). A distributed ledger is a type of shared database through which transactions are validated. ECR Rapporteur Johan Van Overtveldt commented: “Distributed Ledger Technology can bring a number of potential benefits in the provision of financial services, including reduced complexity, improved end-to-end processing speed, strengthened network resilience, and reduced operational and financial risks. The agreement reached on the DLT pilot regime should help to foster the development of successful DLT projects within the EU. At the same time we managed to build in sufficient safeguards to maintain financial stability, market integrity and a level playing field.”

Vote: Thursday @ 10:00