European producers pay 15 times more CO2 tax per euro than foreign competitors.

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The 15:1 ratio is a fabricated figure with no basis in EU carbon pricing legislation or data. The CBAM is explicitly designed to impose a carbon charge on imports 'matching the cost faced by EU producers under the ETS' (European Commission, KPMG).

The EU ETS and CBAM operate with the same carbon price benchmark — the weekly average EU ETS auction price — making a 15:1 discrepancy structurally impossible.

Free allowances under the EU ETS substantially reduce the effective carbon cost for EU producers, further contradicting the claim that EU producers bear a disproportionately higher burden.

Omissions

• The MEP cited no source for the 15:1 ratio figure.
• The claim ignores the existence of CBAM, which is specifically designed to equalize carbon costs between EU and foreign producers.
• The claim ignores that EU producers in CBAM-covered sectors (steel, cement, aluminium, fertilizers, electricity, hydrogen) still receive significant free allowances under the EU ETS, reducing their effective carbon cost.
• The claim was made on 2026-05-19, just as the CBAM definitive regime entered into force in 2026, making the timing particularly misleading.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission – Carbon Border Adjustment MechanismCBAM will apply in its definitive regime from 2026, with a transitional phase of 2023 to 2025. This gradual introduction is aligned with the phase-out of free allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
• PrimaryICAP – EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)Average auction price (2025): EUR 73.43; Average secondary market price (2025): EUR 74.35. Free allocation: ~90% of allowances were allocated for free (Phase 3).
• SecondaryKPMG – EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)Effective since October 2023, CBAM imposes a carbon charge on certain imports, matching the cost faced by EU producers under the ETS and replacing free allowances.
• SecondaryCarbon Market Watch – EU's CBAM will help Asian economies step up their carbon market ambitionsIt will gradually evolve (starting with only 2.5% of CBAM emissions being priced) to fully price all imported emissions for the covered sectors.