Germany launches information campaign on CBAM

Many companies are not aware of their obligations under the mechanism

The German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) is launching an information campaign on compliance with the requirements of the European carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). This is reported by Argus.Media.

The campaign, together with the agency, is carried out by industry partners – the BDI Industrial Federation and the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry DIHK.

Many companies are unaware of their obligations under the CBAM, including the need to register and report even minor imports of products subject to the mechanism. DEHSt intends to fill this information gap.

DEHSt cannot quantify the number of missing reports. Jürgen Landgrebe, head of the relevant department at the Federal Environment Agency, which is the agency’s parent, told Argus. Some companies may not be aware that the mechanism applies to their imports.

Landgrebe praised the flexible response of the European Commission, which introduced a «late button» on the relevant platform and extended the reporting deadline.

During the transitional phase, importers had to submit declarations for the fourth quarter of 2023 by 31 January, 2024, but the European Commission granted an extension to the first CBAM report due to technical issues with the relevant register.

According to a representative of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, CBAM is already having a positive effect as countries such as Turkey and Taiwan study the carbon intensity of their export products.

As GMK Center reported earlier, according to industry analyst Andreas Schneider from Stahlmarkt Consult, CBAM creates difficulties for industry, small and medium-sized companies, in particular, in Germany. He pointed to country-specific flaws in the process.

The report must be submitted through a special register, which companies can only access through the responsible national authority. Most EU member states named such an agency at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the announcement for Germany was made two days before Christmas, and it did not reach companies until January. Therefore, the business had less than a month to register and get to know the new system for the first time.