The European Green Deal, proposed by President von der Leyen to be delivered in the initial 100 days in office, will include the first European Climate Law enshrining the 2050 climate-neutrality target into legislation. The Green Deal will include a more inclusive Emissions Trading System (ETS), as well as a Carbon Border Tax to mitigate ETS’s effects on the market.
An extension of the ETS in the airlines sector will be translated to increased costs for the industry and additional taxes. The adjustment tax is yet to be formally proposed, but it aims to prevent businesses from relocating to laxer jurisdictions, creating ‘carbon leakage’, and to protect them from non-EU competitors.
The additional tax-burdens are met with criticism due to their incompatibility to WTO rules and the distortion of the level-playing field. If not applied unanimously with European unilateral backing, the tax adjustment risks high costs for businesses and consumers. Additionally, sectors with a high degree of cross-border division of labour or a global supply chain will be most heavily affected. Ramifications of the supposed tax were also felt in wider sectors outside the energy industry, as the levy is feared to worsen trade relations with the US, causing increased tariffs on EU products.