CBAM and WTO Compliance: How India Can Counter Green Protectionism Through Multilateral Forums

The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is a climate policy with a trade edge. It taxes imports based on embedded emissions, but the way it sets default values, verifies carbon intensity, and recognizes foreign carbon pricing can put exporters from developing countries at a disadvantage. Under WTO rules, that risks violating most-favored-nation and national treatment principles, especially when the burden falls hardest on countries with weaker measurement and reporting capacity. India's playbook should be twofold. Legally, it can push for a WTO review of CBAM's methodology to test whether it is truly nondiscriminatory under Article XX. Politically, it can build coalitions with other developing nations in the WTO, UNFCCC, G20, and BRICS to demand recognition of domestic carbon pricing, longer transition periods, and technical assistance for MRV systems. The goal is not to block climate action, but to ensure border measures do not become a hidden tariff wall.