Authors : Chikezie Bethel Uchechukwu

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 7 - July

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/yhteejje

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/5abekcy4

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26jul1366

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : The definitive phase of the European Union Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) commenced on 1 January 2026 for cement, aluminium, fertilisers, iron and steel, hydrogen and electricity. The policy is intended to equalise carbon costs and reduce leakage, but its distributional consequences are asymmetric because developing and emerging economies often combine carbon-intensive production, limited measurement-reporting-verification capacity, expensive capital and strong dependence on a narrow set of exports. This study develops an integrated trade-carbon-cost framework linking multi-regional input-output and computable-general-equilibrium channels with product-level carbon footprints, price-elasticity analysis and plant-level carbon capture and storage (CCS) investment thresholds. The legal baseline incorporates the 50-tonne de minimis rule, the 2026-2034 phase-in, recognition of carbon prices paid in the country of origin and the published Q2-2026 certificate price of EUR75.28/tCO2. World Bank exposure rankings are combined with six literature-calibrated industrial archetypes: blast-furnace steel, cement clinker, primary aluminium, ammonia, grey hydrogen and coal-based electricity.

Keywords : Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism; Carbon Capture and Storage; Industrial Competitiveness; Embedded Emissions; Developing Economies; Climate Finance; Just Transition.

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