Designing Border Carbon Adjustments for Enhanced Climate Action

The authors analyze border carbon adjustments (BCAs) as a tool to prevent carbon leakage—the shift of emissions to regions with weaker climate policies—amidst a fragmented international climate architecture. While noting that improved emissions data and shifting trade dynamics create an opportunity for BCAs, the authors highlight ongoing risks regarding WTO compatibility and trade retaliation. The paper provides guidelines for BCA implementation to maximize climate benefits and minimize legal risks, though it concludes that BCAs are not a stable long-term solution for global climate action.

• Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) are presented as a viable method to combat carbon leakage, which occurs when emissions are displaced from states with stringent climate policies to those with less stringent constraints.
• Current conditions, including the availability of better emissions data and a shift in trade relations characterized by WTO gridlock and tariff conflicts, have created a window of opportunity for the adoption of BCAs.
• Despite their potential to accelerate climate action, BCAs face significant legal uncertainties regarding international climate treaties and the risk of trade retaliation, making them an unstable long-term option for global climate action.

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} }