Principios y Mejores Prácticas sobre el Ajuste de Emisiones de Carbono en Frontera: Una propuesta modesta

This briefing by Aaron Cosbey of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) proposes a set of principles and best practices to guide the design and implementation of Border Carbon Adjustments (BCA). The author argues that as countries increase climate ambition and carbon pricing, BCAs are becoming necessary to prevent 'carbon leakage'—the relocation of emissions to countries with less stringent policies—while warning that such mechanisms must avoid becoming tools for protectionism.

• Border Carbon Adjustments (BCA) are transitioning from theoretical hypotheses to active policy proposals in several major economies. The European Commission proposed a BCA mechanism for 2023, Canada has initiated a formal design consultation, and both the United Kingdom and the United States have indicated intentions to follow suit.
• The author proposes five core principles for BCAs: prioritizing the prevention of carbon leakage over national competitiveness or coercing other nations; redistributing a significant portion of revenues to exporting countries or companies; avoiding 'double protection' by adjusting charges based on domestic protections; granting credits for equivalent carbon pricing in exporting countries; and ensuring transparency and consultation with trading partners.
• The briefing outlines several best practices for implementation, including limiting BCA coverage to products subject to domestic carbon pricing, allowing foreign producers to challenge default greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity methods with actual data, using internationally recognized accounting standards like ISO 14064 or the GHG Protocol, and establishing independent appeal mechanisms.
• The author suggests that the World Trade Organization (WTO) is the ideal multilateral forum for discussing these principles, specifically recommending that the topic be raised at the Ministerial Conference (MC12) in November 2021. However, the author clarifies that an informal working group or parallel forum is more realistic than a binding consensus agreement among WTO members.

APA

Cosbey, A. (n.d.). Principios y Mejores Prácticas sobre el Ajuste de Emisiones de Carbono en Frontera: Una propuesta modesta. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/es/node/16155

Chicago

Cosbey, Aaron. Principios y Mejores Prácticas sobre el Ajuste de Emisiones de Carbono en Frontera: Una propuesta modesta. International Institute for Sustainable Development, n.d. https://www.iisd.org/es/node/16155.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cosbey |first1=Aaron |title=Principios y Mejores Prácticas sobre el Ajuste de Emisiones de Carbono en Frontera: Una propuesta modesta |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |url=https://www.iisd.org/es/node/16155 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cosbeyndprincipios, author = {Cosbey, Aaron}, title = {{Principios y Mejores Prácticas sobre el Ajuste de Emisiones de Carbono en Frontera: Una propuesta modesta}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/es/node/16155}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }