South Africa once again warns the European Union (EU) against the consequences of the carbon tax at the borders decided by the Twenty-Seven to fight against ecological dumping by penalizing countries which do not have a climate policy as ambitious as it. “This Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism shifts the cost of climate change onto developing economies and places an unfair burden on our countries and industries,” complains South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition in a letter to the European Commission quoted by Bloomberg.
The EU has decided to gradually introduce, from October, a tax on imports from sectors considered to be the most polluting, such as cement, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizers or even electricity. Importers will have to declare the “carbon” content of their goods and buy “certificates” to align with the rules that apply to companies producing in Europe, to incentivize them to reduce their CO2 emissions. However, the first payments will only take place in 2026 and gradually, since in 2030 importers will only pay 30% of the theoretical tax.
South Africa, about half of whose exports depend on the mining and coal sector, considers the system too discriminatory. It estimates the potential cost at $1.5 billion per year (or €1.3 billion). “Our heavy reliance on raw material exports which are then valorized in third countries is a historical legacy imposed on us,” writes the Ministry of Commerce in reference to the country’s colonial past: “Rather than encouraging us to adopt more ambitious climate policies, [this European decision] risks compromising our ability to achieve our climate objectives. It will increase poverty and unemployment. »
The government of Cyril Ramaphosa was the first among developing countries to conclude, in November 2022, a Partnership for a just energy transition with France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU and the United States, accompanied by an envelope of 8.5 billion dollars in grants and concessional loans. However, this agreement did not extinguish the debate on the historical responsibility of industrialized countries. Pretoria expects more international solidarity to help it decarbonize its economy without penalizing development.
Iron in Zimbabwe, aluminum in Mozambique
South Africa is the first country emitting greenhouse gases on the continent, the thirteenth in the world. “One of the ways for the EU to defuse this potential conflict would be to demonstrate its ability to finance the climate policies of developing countries”, suggests Nicolas Berghmans, Europe expert at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), recalling that the proposal to use the revenues from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism for this purpose has so far been rejected by the Twenty-Seven.
In Africa, eight other countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Mozambique) would be the most penalized by the new carbon tax, according to a World Bank study. In Zimbabwe, for example, 87% of iron and steel exports go to the EU. In Mozambique, 74% of aluminum exports would be affected. The African Climate Foundation and the London School of Economics also point, in a joint assessment published in June, to a greater impact on African economies than “on all other regions”. “This is because the EU is a particularly important outlet for the continent, accounting for 26% of fertilizer exports, 16% iron and steel, 12% aluminium, 12% cement,” the experts describe.
Africa, which is asking for its particular situation – development delay and marginal contribution to climate change – to be taken into account, has so far not been heard by Europeans. But the discussion is not over. The criticisms formulated by the South African government, widely shared by its counterparts on the continent, should find a new platform at the African Climate Summit, from September 4 to 6 in Nairobi, where it will be above all a question for the continent to assert its right to climate justice.
