The Commission for Carbon Competitiveness was founded in February 2023 as a cross-party and cross-industry effort to explore how the United Kingdom can reach net zero without undermining the competitiveness of British industry.
We all agree that countries need to reduce their carbon emissions. But if UK manufacturers are bearing high carbon costs that international competitors do not, then we are not competing on a level playing field and risk seeing economic activity moving overseas.
If that happens, decarbonisation will become deindustrialisation, with job losses and industrial decline here, as investments and profits move offshore, potentially leading to increases in global emissions
This is called carbon leakage and is a risk we believe Britain must avoid.
We passionately believe that with the right policies, the factories, foundries and furnaces that form the backbone of our manufacturing sector can thrive as part of the transition to a low-carbon economy.
In August 2023, we published our first report, Fixing the Carbon Leak, which includes 12 core recommendations which if adopted will ensure that growth in manufacturing and delivering net zero are complementary not contradictory.
This means introducing a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), that will create a level playing field on imports and exports between the UK and our international competitors.
We welcomed the commitment by the previous Government to the introduction of a CBAM, and we were particularly pleased to see this had cross-party support. But more needs to be done.
Whilst the current CBAM proposals apply to a number of sectors, they fail to address the carbon leakage risk to other foundational sectors, with no clear pathway to their rapid inclusion.
Alongside the decision to only partially cover Britain’s energy-intensive industries, the discrepancy of timescales for introducing the changes alongside the EU’s own CBAM creates significant exposure for a number of sectors.
Current plans for a CBAM are also silent about the risk of carbon leakage in the export market as well as imports.
We are urging policymakers to bring forward a CBAM that can help deliver net zero without deindustrialising our economy, make UK exports more globally competitive, cut fuel duty and green levies, create high-skilled jobs and boost economic growth.
There is no time to lose: join our campaign to save British industry today by signing the Carbon Competitiveness Charter.
Signatories
Political
Sir Gavin Williamson MP
Former Secretary of State for Defence and Conservative MP for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge
John Penrose
Former Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare
Jo Gideon
Former Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central
Stephen Kinnock MP
Labour MP for Aberafan Maesteg and Minister for Health and Social Care
Simon Fell
Former Conservative MP for Barrow and Furness
Stephen Crabb
Former Secretary of State for Wales and former Conservative MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and Conservative Peer
George Eustice
Former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and former Conservative MP for Redruth and Camborne
Chris McDonald MP
Labour MP for Stockton North
Joyce Watson MS
Labour MS for Mid & West Wales and Member of the Senedd Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee
Huw Irranca-Davies MS
Labour MS for Ogmore and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Martin Vickers MP
Conservative MP for Brigg and Immingham
Alun Cairns
Former Secretary of State for Wales and former Conservative MP for Vale of Glamorgan
Samuel Kurtz MS
Conservative MS for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire and Shadow Minister for Economy and Energy
Paul Davies MS
Conservative MS for Preseli Pembrokeshire and Shadow Minister for West Wales
Baroness Randerson
Liberal Democrat Peer and Spokesperson for Transport
Earl Russell
Liberal Democrat Peer and Spokesperson for Energy and Climate Change
Sir Desmond Swayne MP
Former International Development Minister and Conservative MP for New Forest West
Craig Tracey
Former Conservative MP for North Warwickshire
Henry Tufnell MP
Labour MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire
Melanie Onn MP
Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes
Nick Timothy MP
Conservative MP for West Suffolk
Industry
Energy Intensive Users Group
Umbrella organisation representing the interests of energy intensive industrial consumers
UK Steel
Trade association for steel industry
Chemical Industries Association
Trade association representing chemical and pharmaceutical sectors
British Glass
Trade association for the glass industry
CEMEX
Global building materials company
Community Trade Union
Trade union representing workers across the economy
The Centre for Policy Studies
Independent think tank
Fuels Industry UK
Trade association representing the downstream oil sector
Tata Steel
Major steel producer
British Steel
Major steel producer
Liberty Steel UK
Major steel producer
Net Zero Industry Wales
Not-for-profit body promoting the decarbonisation of Welsh industry
Mineral Products Association
Trade association representing the mineral products sector
United Cast Bar
Manufacturer of continuous cast iron bar products
Valero
Oil refiner and fuel manufacturer
Kiveton Park Steel
Manufacturer of precision steel components
EET Fuels
Oil refiner and fuel manufacturer
GMB Union
Trade union representing workers across various sectors and industries