Border Carbon Adjustments: Trinidad and Tobago country report

The report analyzes how border carbon adjustments (BCAs), such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), affect Trinidad and Tobago's hydrocarbon-dependent economy. It identifies significant risks to the competitiveness of key exports like ammonia and fertilizers, while highlighting opportunities for the country to accelerate its transition to a green hydrogen economy and implement domestic carbon pricing.

• Trinidad and Tobago is highly vulnerable to BCAs due to its reliance on hydrocarbon exports, with 33% of total exports falling under emissions-intensive trade-exposed (EITE) sectors, representing approximately 13.5% of GDP.
• The European Union is the country's second-largest trade partner, and 90.5% of Trinidad and Tobago's exports to the EU, valued at USD 2,320.6 million, are expected to be affected by the CBAM.
• The United States is the primary export destination, accounting for 37% of total exports, and approximately 82.4% of these exports would be covered if the US implemented BCA policies.
• Industrial processes and product use, particularly ammonia (74%) and methanol (17%), account for over half of the country's domestic greenhouse gas emissions.
• BCAs could lead to significant social disruptions, including job losses in extraction and manufacturing and a reduction in government revenue, which currently funds 41% of social expenditure from oil and gas revenue.
• The government is exploring domestic carbon pricing and a transition to a green hydrogen economy to mitigate BCA impacts, including a target of 30% renewable energy in the power supply by 2030.
• Stakeholders identify the coverage of products (31%) and the magnitude of the tax (20%) as the most critical design elements of BCAs.
• The local financial sector is perceived as playing a neutral role in decarbonization, with 52% of stakeholders viewing it as such, citing regulatory uncertainty (28%) and high perceived risk (16%) as primary obstacles to green finance.
• Stakeholders advocate for the repatriation of BCA revenues to developing nations to fund technology transfer and climate mitigation projects.

APA

Mohan, P., & Jagessar, J. (2024). Border Carbon Adjustments: Trinidad and Tobago country report. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-07/border-carbon-adjustments-trinidad-and-tobago.pdf

Chicago

Mohan, Preeya, and Jaymieon Jagessar. Border Carbon Adjustments: Trinidad and Tobago country report. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-07/border-carbon-adjustments-trinidad-and-tobago.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mohan |first1=Preeya |last2=Jagessar |first2=Jaymieon |title=Border Carbon Adjustments: Trinidad and Tobago country report |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=July 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-07/border-carbon-adjustments-trinidad-and-tobago.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mohan2024border, author = {Mohan, Preeya and Jagessar, Jaymieon}, title = {{Border Carbon Adjustments: Trinidad and Tobago country report}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-07/border-carbon-adjustments-trinidad-and-tobago.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }