Designing Border Carbon Adjustments for Enhanced Climate Action

This research paper analyzes border carbon adjustments (BCAs) as a mechanism to prevent carbon leakage—the shift of emissions from countries with strict climate policies to those with less stringent ones—within the fragmented architecture of the Paris Agreement.

• Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) are proposed as a method to address carbon leakage, which is defined as the displacement of emissions from states with more stringent climate policy constraints to those with less stringent ones.
• The current environment provides a window of opportunity for BCAs due to improved emissions data methodologies, the existence of a long-term agreement reducing fears of disrupting climate negotiations, and fraying trade relations characterized by WTO gridlock and tariff conflicts.
• Despite their potential to accelerate global climate action, BCAs are not considered a stable or desirable long-term option for global climate action due to their complexity, trade-offs, and remaining legal uncertainties, including risks of trade retaliation and challenges before the WTO.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2019). Designing Border Carbon Adjustments for Enhanced Climate Action. https://www.sei.org/publications/designing-border-carbon-adjustments-for-enhanced-climate-action/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Designing Border Carbon Adjustments for Enhanced Climate Action. 2019. https://www.sei.org/publications/designing-border-carbon-adjustments-for-enhanced-climate-action/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Designing Border Carbon Adjustments for Enhanced Climate Action |date=16 July 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/designing-border-carbon-adjustments-for-enhanced-climate-action/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2019designing, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Designing Border Carbon Adjustments for Enhanced Climate Action}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/designing-border-carbon-adjustments-for-enhanced-climate-action/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }