Efforts to price carbon should be elevated to the international level, the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development told EU finance ministers Saturday.
Mathias Cormann made the pitch behind closed doors in Slovenia, where the finance ministers were holding informal talks on issues such as climate change, technology and tax, according to five EU officials who heard the new OECD boss speak.
Cormann’s comments made some attendants suspicious, considering the OECD chief’s vocal skepticism to the EU’s proposed carbon border tax. One member questioned whether the new OECD boss was acting as a mouthpiece for the U.S. administration, which has described the EU initiative as a measure of “last resort.”
Brussels proposed a carbon border adjustment mechanism in July that targets foreign imports of carbon-heavy products such as steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizer and electricity. The levy is designed to prevent companies circumventing the EU’s green standards, as part of bloc’s bid to become climate neutral by 2050.
Cormann’s argument to elevate the debate on carbon pricing to OECD level is based on avoiding future trade conflicts, the officials said. The OECD was not available for immediate comment.
The EU’s economy and tax chief, Paolo Gentiloni, said that the European Commission was happy to work with the OECD and share notes. But there’s no chance that the EU’s executive arm will give up on its own plans, a Commission official said, given how difficult it is to find consensus on the global stage.
Source: Politico
