Cembureau respond to BAM aimed at cement sector

CEMBUREAU states that "the cement sector is deeply worried about the amendments to be submitted for vote tomorrow (15 December) in the European Parliament's Environment Committee, which foresee in an introduction of a Border Adjustment Measure (BAMii) with the loss of free allowances for the cement sector in Phase IV of EU ETSii, starting in 2020.

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While the final amendment no longer explicitly refers to the cement sector, it singles out sectors not having trade intensity above 10 per cent in several calendar years. A simple analysis of the carbon leakage list shows that the text still targets the cement sector but now also takes lime, bricks and tiles in the scope.

The targeting of the cement sector, however, was already confirmed in texts circulated by both a few political groups and statements made by MEPs.

A few points:


• A border adjustment mechanism that does not apply to all sectors alike is discriminatory and legally flawed, especially when differentiating between sectors that are active on the same downstream markets and when the justification lies in non-objective criteria such as "removing a sector from the carbon leakage list"

• Policy can not be driven by an intention to target a specific sector and affecting its growth, investment and jobs in Europe thus limiting its ability to compete globally and internally

• The EU ETS debate is not about protecting other sectors more, it’s about finding the right incentives to drive down emissions and improve benchmarks based on real data and the cement sector has proven it can do so and will do so in the future

• It is appalling to see that policymakers let themselves guided by reports published by NGO’s without any proper control on the data or figures provided and without any proper consultation of the sector targeted; this is worrying for the way policy is made in Europe

• Singling out the cement sector for a yet undefined BAM means depriving the sector from legal certainty which is essential for it to play its role in offering concrete solutions (concrete is a low carbon product) for our sustainable buildings, houses, schools, hospitals and infrastructure of tomorrow. Growth in Europe is brought by products that are offered to customers through a competitive supply chain.