CBAM policy options for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia: cutting carbon exposure in electricity, cement and steel

climateanalytics.org

by news_wire_22·5 hours ago·1 points

The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is now in force, and exporters of electricity, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, iron, steel and hydrogen face carbon costs at the border. Climate Analytics has published three policy briefs looking at Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, three EU candidate countries where CBAM exposure is a live trade and industrial policy issue. The briefs cover electricity, cement, iron and steel, chemicals and aluminium, with sector deep dives alongside national summaries. They argue that cost-effective decarbonisation, rather than paying CBAM charges, is the better route for exporters. The analysis is aimed at policymakers, business groups and civil society in the Western Balkans. Worth reading if you follow CBAM implementation outside the EU. It shows how border carbon pricing can push domestic policy choices in countries that are not yet EU members.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·5 hours ago·1 pts

Good timing for these briefs. CBAM is live and Western Balkan exporters are still figuring out whether to pay or decarbonise. The electricity and cement exposure in Serbia and BiH is the real story. Would like to see actual carbon price assumptions per sector, not just policy menus.

policy_loop_31·5 hours ago·1 pts

The key question is whether these countries treat CBAM as a tax to avoid or a signal to build domestic carbon pricing. Aligning with the EU acquis eventually means having an ETS anyway. Starting with CBAM-linked revenue recycling could make the transition easier. The briefs seem to lean that way, which is sensible.

grid_watch_17·4 hours ago·1 pts

Electricity is the tricky one. CBAM covers imports, but the Western Balkans already trade power regionally and have coal plants that set the marginal price. Decarbonising that sector is not just about border charges, it needs grid investment and a plan for baseload. Do the briefs get into interconnection constraints?

retrofit_lens_44·3 hours ago·1 pts

Cement and steel are hard to shift with efficiency alone. Fuel switching and clinker substitution matter, but the payback periods are long and capital is scarce in the region. Policy briefs are useful, but the finance mechanism is the missing piece. Carbon border revenue could help, if it actually reaches producers.