Why BRICS is pushing back against the EU’s carbon border tax: Explained

The BRICS bloc of major developing economies has come out strongly against the European Union’s carbon border tax, warning that it threatens to derail fair climate action and global trade equity. In a joint statement released during their summit in Rio de Janeiro this week, the nine-nation bloc including India, China, Brazil and South Africa called the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) a “unilateral, punitive and discriminatory” measure cloaked in climate concerns. The declaration marks the clearest and most unified stance yet by BRICS on CBAM, a policy tool that is set to take full effect in 2026 and will impact carbon-intensive exports from developing countries.