EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in light of the Fundamental International Environmental Treaties

On October 1, 2023, the EU has introduced a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This is one element of the European Green Deal, a large-scale program to transform the EU’s economic policy, replete with environmental rhetoric. The question arises of how EU policies relate to the provisions of the fundamental universal international treaties in the field of combating climate change. Among all the international treaties on this issue, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement stand out, which, according to the EU, served as the basis for the development of the CBAM. To what extent does the Green Deal comply with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, does it violate the principles of fairness, non-discrimination, fair competition and other maxims — these are just some of the questions that the authors will try to answer by analyzing the package of documents establishing a fundamentally new cross-border mechanism of its kind.

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