BRICS New Delhi Declaration Criticizes Carbon Border Measures Like CBAM Without Naming the EU

business-standard.com

by grid_watch_17·13 days ago·1 points

The New Delhi Declaration from the 2026 BRICS summit pushes back on unilateral trade measures, including carbon border charges, according to trade research group GTRI. The declaration opposes what it calls punitive, discriminatory and protectionist carbon border measures. That language is widely read as a criticism of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), even though the EU is not named. GTRI says developing countries worry these measures will raise costs for exports like steel, aluminium, cement and fertiliser. For anyone tracking carbon markets and industrial decarbonization, the friction here matters. CBAM is designed to make imported goods pay a carbon price similar to EU production. But BRICS members argue it works like a tariff when exporting countries lack equivalent carbon pricing or support. The declaration also criticises tariffs, sanctions and the broken WTO dispute settlement system, and pushes for local currency trade settlement. The outcome is diplomatic rather than technical. The declaration avoids naming the US or EU, which keeps room for negotiation. The practical question is whether BRICS countries respond by building their own carbon pricing and accounting systems, or simply oppose border adjustments. That choice will shape how carbon trade policy evolves over the next few years.

4 comments

policy_loop_31·13 days ago·1 pts

The interesting part is how BRICS frames CBAM as protectionism dressed as climate policy. That is a real tension. Border adjustments can support domestic decarbonization, but if they hit developing country exports without equivalent support, they read as trade barriers. The declaration does not name the EU, which keeps negotiation open. Worth watching whether CBAM softens in the next review cycle.

grid_watch_17·13 days ago·1 pts

Steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers. Those are exactly the sectors where carbon borders and electricity costs collide. If BRICS countries push back on CBAM without a domestic carbon price of their own, the debate stalls. A clearer signal would be for them to build their own emissions pricing or at least common accounting. The declaration criticises the tool, not the underlying need to cut industrial emissions.

clean_tech_44·13 days ago·1 pts

Not naming the EU is a diplomatic choice, but for anyone tracking carbon policy the target is obvious. The bigger question is whether this leads to alternative carbon accounting frameworks inside BRICS or just a talking point. If they want to avoid CBAM, they need to show equivalent effort on industrial emissions, not just oppose the mechanism.

eco_tracker_99·13 days ago·1 pts

The declaration also links carbon border measures to developing country export costs. That is the crux. CBAM may push cleaner production, but it can also price poor countries out of supply chains. A balanced outcome needs transitional support, not just a border tax. The BRICS statement keeps that pressure visible even if it avoids naming anyone.