Nicolas Endress is the chief executive and founder of ClimEase, a Swiss-based software company providing a platform designed to help businesses comply with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
From the start of this year, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) started to impose additional tariffs on imports of carbon-intensive products – from aluminium and steel to cement and fertilisers.
Large industrial producers based in the European Union have been paying a carbon price under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), Europe’s carbon market, for nearly two decades. The CBAM – the world’s first carbon border tariff – extends that carbon cost to goods entering the bloc from abroad.
The logic behind the mechanism is that since EU-based manufacturers have paid for the carbon emissions created during their production of goods using the EU ETS, so too should all the other nations that make the same goods.
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However, as companies begin to prepare for the cost side of the CBAM, many are finding that the biggest savings today do not necessarily come from switching to cleaner production. Instead, they come from replacing default emissions values with verified emissions data using EU-approved methodologies and independent verification.
Moving from the default values can significantly reduce their exposure to carbon tariffs even when verified emissions are not especially low.
That could potentially disadvantage relatively efficient producers that do not have access to accredited auditors. If exporters’ capacity to secure verified data is distributed unevenly, the system risks perpetuating inequalities.
Default values inflate exposure
The CBAM requires all EU importers to report the “embedded” carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions – that is, the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions – associated with the imported goods.
They must then compute the actual carbon cost based on the supplier’s reported product-specific emissions data. If no such product-specific emissions data is available, importers must instead apply the default emissions values stipulated by the European Commission.
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To evaluate emissions, manufacturers determine the total amount of fuel and other direct inputs used during the manufacturing process, such as the fuel burned during production at a steel mill.
These inputs are then converted into tonnes of CO2 using EU-approved methodologies. The results are subsequently verified by an independent expert who is accredited under EU rules. This verification process can be expensive and may be difficult to obtain in many developing countries.
CBAM also requires emissions from key precursor materials to be included. This means upstream suppliers’ emissions must also be calculated and verified. If they are not, importers must apply default values for those inputs.
Since these upstream processes can account for up to 80% of a product’s footprint, companies may still face significant exposure to default values even when their direct supplier’s emissions are verified.
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These default values are in general very high and often represent the maximum possible emissions of the most polluting facility within a specific country or region. A highly efficient steel plant in, for example, India, Brazil or Türkiye, would be evaluated as if it was the least efficient plant in that region due to the lack of formally verified emission data which meet EU standards.
Equity at stake
Equity issues exist here as well. Developing-economy suppliers that have actually decreased their emissions will likely see no decrease in their CBAM costs if they have not had their improvements officially recognised by the EU.
However, obtaining third-party verification requires time, expertise and financial resources, which can present practical challenges for some suppliers – especially those with complex supply chains that require multi-stage verification.
EU importers will have to apply the default values when no verified data is available, leading to significantly higher carbon costs even when the manufacturing process is relatively efficient.
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To address this imbalance, the EU could focus on expanding access to accredited verification, particularly in developing markets, while providing clearer guidance and standardised frameworks for emissions reporting across supply chains.
Improving recognition of credible local verification schemes and investing in digital reporting infrastructure would also help reduce reliance on conservative default values.
Without these adjustments, there is a risk that the CBAM rewards those best-equipped to navigate verification requirements, rather than those achieving the lowest emissions in practice.
In this new trade environment, data that proves efficiency – rather than low emissions alone – will determine which producers gain an advantage.
The post EU carbon tax risks penalising efficient producers over data gaps appeared first on Climate Home News.
EU carbon tax risks penalising efficient producers over data gaps
Climate Change
“Sink or swim”: WA Gov hugely underestimating decline in regional gas demand while sleeping on green exports, new report finds
PERTH, Tuesday 13 October 2026 — A new report from Greenpeace Australia Pacific and Springmount Advisory reveals green commodity exports are an untapped economic opportunity for Western Australia in a declining Asian gas market, while offering a genuine solution for decarbonising Asia.
From Gas to Green: Building Western Australia’s Future State is a comprehensive analysis of the declining gas market in Asia, and the untapped economic opportunity for WA to become a global leader in green commodity exports while driving the regional shift away from fossil fuels.
The report offers key recommendations for the WA Government to support regional decarbonisation through an orderly phase out of gas exports in favour of green iron and other green exports. It comes as global climate leaders from across business, politics and advocacy prepare to meet for the Global Citizen Now: Perth event focused on decarbonising WA.
Key findings:
- Gas demand is falling across WA’s core markets in Asia: Gas demand fell in 2025 and is projected to continue to decline, driven by a combination of global geopolitical factors and domestic concerns.
- Policy shifts in key markets since the war on Iran now prioritise renewables and nuclear over gas: Japan, South Korea and China have legislated energy plans that prioritise renewables and nuclear over gas.
- New WA gas would arrive in a saturated, uncertain Asian market filled with cheaper gas: The US is now the world’s largest liquefied gas producer and plans to double its capacity as it also targets Asian markets.
- Green commodities offer a real solution to sustain WA’s economy: WA can lead Australia’s green commodity exports, which by 2060 could be worth almost a trillion dollars.
- Exporting more WA gas is likely to delay or impede Asia decarbonisation: Despite claims by the gas industry, there is no evidence that WA gas is displacing coal in Asia, and in fact diverts resources from genuine decarbonisation options.
Geoff Bice, WA Campaign Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: “As our export partners in Asia shift away from expensive and polluting gas, the WA Government has a golden opportunity to pivot our economy to green exports, like green iron, which is the most effective way to help our region to decarbonise.
“The writing is on the wall: gas is in decline, renewables are our future. In this context, it makes zero sense for the government to encourage high risk projects like Woodside’s reckless Browse gas proposal at Scott Reef.
“This report clearly shows that the WA Government faces a choice: sink or swim. They can either allow the gas industry to keep ripping off West Australians and continue propping up its decline, or choose the path that will deliver enormous benefits to the state and the world by becoming a leader in the rapidly expanding green economy.”
Tom Quinn, Managing Director of Springmount Advisory: “Western Australia prospers when it looks to the future and builds for future demand. Twenty years from now, what the world needs is green commodities made using WAs abundant renewable resources. Just like it did with iron ore in the 1950s and gas in the 1970s, WA should look to the future and build what the world will need, not sunsetting industries like gas that are already past their peak.”
-ENDS-
Media contact
Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org
Lucy Keller on 0491 135 308 or lucy.keller@greenpeace.org
A report from Greenpeace Australia Pacific and Springmount Advisory reveals the untapped green economic opportunity for Western Australia in a declining Asian gas market, which also offers a genuine solution for decarbonisation in Asia.
Is Western Australia clinging to a fading gas industry while a thriving green future passes it by? As major Asian trading partners rapidly pivot away from volatile gas imports toward cheap solar and battery storage, this report exposes a high-stakes choice: risk becoming stranded in an oversupplied fossil fuel market, or harness WA’s unmatched sun and wind to lead the global clean energy transition.
Summary
From Gas to Green: Building Western Australia’s Future State reveals that Western Australia (WA) faces a critical juncture as falling Asian gas demand, geopolitical gas supply volatility and accelerating renewable energy deployment undermine the long-term economic viability of gas exports. By harnessing its world-class wind and solar resources, the report demonstrates that WA can execute an orderly phase-out of gas and pioneer a green commodity export economy that could generate $987 billion in economic value by 2060, create 24,000 ongoing jobs, and drive a 9.6% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.
Key Findings
- Gas demand is falling in Asia – WA can no longer rely on gas exports: Gas demand in core Asian markets fell in 2025 and is projected to continue to decline in 2026. Legislated energy plans in Japan, South Korea, and China now prioritise renewables and nuclear over gas.
- Asia is increasing renewables, importing gas just gets in the way: Evidence from markets like Thailand suggests that gas imports are increasingly crowding out cheaper renewable energy investments and battery storage rather than displacing coal, locking in more emissions over time.
- Green commodities offer a real solution to decarbonise Asia – this is a major win for WA: With world-class renewables, WA can lead Australia’s green commodity exports, which by 2060 could be worth almost a trillion dollars ($987 billion) and support a genuine 9.6% reduction in global emissions.
Recommendations to WA government
Recommendation 1: Plan an orderly gas phase-out aligned with a trading partner pivot plan
Implement a managed, orderly phase-out of gas exports aligned with trading partners’ decarbonisation pathways, rather than waiting for demand to collapse, by:
- Developing and implementing a staged phase-out of gas facilities aligned with feedstock supply expiry or typical end of facility lifespans.
- Committing to no new gas development for gas expansion, including Browse and Kimberley fields.
- Developing new, reciprocal trade relationships with existing gas trade partners, structured to progressively replace gas exports with green commodities – integrated with recommendation 2.
Recommendation 2: Develop an integrated green commodity export strategy, positioning WA as a global green iron manufacturing hub
Establish an integrated green commodity export strategy that immediately prioritises green iron development, positioning WA as a global green iron manufacturing hub, by:
- Committing to green commodity export targets to give industry and investors a clear demand signal.
- Prioritising green iron as the lead sector within the broader green commodity strategy, given WA’s iron ore endowment and first-mover potential.
Recommendation 3: Reject false solutions such as carbon dumping (CCS) and blue hydrogen
Reject carbon dumping (also described as carbon capture and storage, or CCS) and blue hydrogen as viable decarbonisation technologies, and prioritise green hydrogen and proven renewables for clean energy and fuel production by:
- Excluding blue hydrogen projects (and CCS-dependent projects) from all government support programs.
- Requiring existing hydrogen-based production (including ammonia, methanol, synthetic fuels) to have clear, near-term transition timelines to switch to green hydrogen production.
What you can do
Together, we can push for a prosperous green future.
You can help by:
- Sending an email to Environment Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on them to reject Browse.
- Sharing this story to help more Australians understand what’s at stake.
- Encouraging your friends and family to take action.
REPORT: “From Gas to Green” Building Western Australia’s Future State
Cleaner cooking projects in the UN carbon market will have to set aside a share of their credits to insure against the risk that the trees they save are lost to fire, drought or logging, after the market’s regulator rejected calls to exempt the sector.
The requirement is part of a new rulebook that the Paris Agreement carbon market regulator – the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body – approved last Friday for programmes that aim to cut emissions by distributing new and cleaner cookstoves in regions that still burn wood or charcoal for cooking.
These are the UN mechanism’s first rulebooks for cookstoves, one of the carbon market’s most popular credit types and also one of its most criticised for overstating climate benefits.
They consist of two methodologies: one for programmes that aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions by distributing more efficient cookstoves that burn less wood or charcoal, and a separate methodology for projects shifting households to lower-emissions cookers running on electricity or liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
Mkhuthazi Steleki, the South African chair of the Supervisory Body, said “this decision gives cleaner cooking projects a new pathway under the UN carbon market, with clear rules to ensure that each credit represents a real and credible emission reduction”.
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