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Climate protection in a climate of protectionism

21 March 2025 / Paul Henty
Issue: 8109 / Categories: Features , ESG
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Will proposed EU and UK legislation stop business at the carbon border? Paul Henty examines the implications for businesses, as well as the wider effects on global trade
  • The carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) levies charges on certain imported goods based on their embedded emissions. It aims to ensure EU industries remain competitive while encouraging sustainable practices globally.
  • Businesses need to prepare for CBAM compliance and make sure their systems are agile enough to adapt.

Much attention has been given to the proposals by President Trump to impose tariffs on a wide range of imported goods from trading parties as diverse as China, the EU, Mexico and even Canada. These have triggered discussions about who really pays for tariffs, the extent to which they make imported goods less attractive, and whether they actually redress trade deficits effectively.

Discussion has been more muted about proposed legislation from the EU and UK, which—in the name of combatting climate change—will effectively impose tariffs on certain targeted, imported goods. The carbon border

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NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
David Lammy, Ellie Reeves and Baroness Levitt have taken up office at the Ministry of Justice, following the cabinet reshuffle
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