Awareness raising on the impact of the European Commission CBAM regulation on exporting industries in Africa

December 8th, 2023, at COP28, UCLG Africa Pavilion
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

To foster the transition to the green economy and comply with the engagement of the European Union to become a net zero economy by 2050, the European Commission has put in place a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism that defines a transitional period from 1 October 2023 until 31 December 2025, for any exporter of raw material or goods to the European Union member countries to align with the provisions of the CBAM. Beyond this period any exporter of non-decarbonized products will be liable to a carbon tax on its exported goods at its point of entry in Europe.

The side event attended by leaders of African subnational and local governments as well as African exporting companies help participants to (i) understand what the CBAM is (ii) apprehend how it is going to impact African exporters of raw materials covered by the mechanism i.e. cement, iron, aluminium, hydrogen to name a few and (iii) explore various levers which can be implemented to help African exporting industries to preserve their market shares while meeting SDGs and accelerating their own green transition.

The following recommendations were adopted by participants at the side event:

1) UCLG Africa to disseminate and populate widely the provisions of the European Commission CBAM regulation in African countries and specifically in the cities and territories hosting economic free zones areas which exports to the European Union member countries will be strongly impacted by the CBAM regulation;

2) African countries and subnational governments, particularly those which export raw material to EU member countries or house economic free zones areas to urgently initiate and implement a decarbonation strategy of their industrial areas and exporting activities;

3) The European Commission to accompany African countries in the implementation of the CBAM regulation by providing technical assistance and transfer of technologies using the European Global Gateway or the Team Europe framework.

Media Contact: gyomi@uclga.org; contact@lem-co.com; laurence.em@lem-co.com;