Carbon Colonialism — Why BRICS Is Burning Over Europe's CBAM

In a sharply worded and coordinated diplomatic pushback, the BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—have united to condemn the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

- AMB ANIL TRIGUNAYAT & DR. KAVIRAJ SINGH

What the EU projects as an instrument of green accountability is interpreted by emerging economies as a decisive trade barrier—yet another effort to discriminate against developing countries already subjected to green apartheid.

As climate diplomacy enters this new battleground, the carbon tax is quickly becoming a lightning rod for contesting developmental equity, green imperialism, and global trade fairness.

CBAM: A Climate Tool or a Trade Barrier?

At its core, CBAM is a tariff on carbon-intensive imports into the European Union. As per the proposed directive, from 2026, non-EU producers of goods like steel, cement, aluminum, fertilizers, and electricity will have to pay for the emissions embedded in their exports, mirroring what EU companies already pay under the bloc's Emissions Trading System (ETS).

The price of these certificates will reflect the weekly average auction price of EU ETS allowances, which has fluctuated between €60 and €90 per tonne of CO2 in recent years. While the mechanism ostensibly aims to prevent "carbon leakage"—that is, the relocation of polluting industries to countries with lax climate rules—it effectively acts as a trade policy dressed in green robes.

The BRICS nations, representing 41% of the global population and nearly 40% of the global economy (measured by Purchasing Power Parity, PPP), have responded with sharp criticism. They argue that CBAM unilaterally shifts the burden of decarbonization onto developing economies, bypassing principles of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), and respective capabilities that underpin the Paris Agreement.

These countries, already grappling with poverty, infrastructure gaps, and late-stage industrialization, face the risk of being priced out of global markets under the guise of climate compliance.