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

The briefing argues that as countries increase climate ambition and carbon pricing, carbon border adjustments (BCA) are becoming inevitable to prevent carbon leakage. To ensure these mechanisms remain environmental rather than protectionist, the author proposes specific principles—such as prioritizing leakage prevention over competitiveness and providing credits for equivalent foreign carbon pricing—and best practices regarding coverage, data standards, and appeal mechanisms. The author suggests the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the ideal multilateral forum for discussing these guidelines, specifically highlighting the 2021 Ministerial Conference (MC12) as a critical starting point.

• Carbon border adjustments (BCA) are transitioning from theoretical hypotheses to active policy proposals in several major economies, including the European Commission's proposal for 2023, formal consultations in Canada, and commitments from the United States and the United Kingdom.
• BCA is presented as a necessary tool to prevent 'carbon leakage'—the increase of emissions abroad resulting from stricter domestic climate policies—particularly for energy-intensive, trade-exposed sectors like steel, cement, aluminum, and chemicals.
• The author proposes five core principles for BCA: prioritizing carbon leakage prevention over national competitiveness, redistributing a significant portion of revenues to exporting countries or firms, avoiding 'double protection' for domestic producers, granting credits for equivalent foreign carbon pricing, and maintaining transparency and openness with trading partners.
• Recommended best practices for implementation include 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 (such as the GHG Protocol or ISO 14064), and establishing independent appeal mechanisms.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) is identified as the ideal multilateral forum for these discussions, with the November 2021 Ministerial Conference (MC12) viewed as a crucial moment for members to engage on the issue, potentially through informal working groups rather than binding consensus agreements.

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} }