China, Europe should coordinate on carbon pricing, border tax: energy transition expert

China and Europe should jointly introduce a system like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a levy on carbon-intensive imports designed to account for the carbon costs domestic producers face, which “applies against the rest of the world,” the co-chair of a global energy transition organisation says.

“The biggest single thing which I would love China to do is to say, ‘We want to join with Europe in a climate club’,” said Adair Turner, co-chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, during a panel discussion at the Bund Summit in Shanghai on Thursday.

Turner, who is also the former chairman of the UK’s Financial Services Authority, called on the two economies to commit jointly to carbon prices high enough to drive the decarbonisation of heavy industries such as cement and steel.

Calls for closer China-Europe climate cooperation have grown louder as the US retreats from international climate efforts under the Donald Trump administration, including its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.