The implementation of the CBAM system for collecting cross-border carbon dioxide emissions will not be postponed, it will be simplified. This is the latest information from Brussels. CBAM should be operational from January 1, 2026. This tax, among other things, threatens the export of electricity from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The situation in the electricity sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina is becoming increasingly complex. This was also stated after a meeting of representatives of the three electricity companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
CBAM threatens the export of electricity from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The implementation of the system is expected on January 1, 2026. Additional levies will be paid to the European Union due to the non-taxation of sulfur dioxide emissions within Bosnia and Herzegovina. This means that domestic producers are losing markets or significantly reducing their income.
“The Electricity Law has been practically harmonized at the entity levels and is now moving forward towards the Council of Ministers, which is the first step towards establishing a national stock exchange and practically trading emissions through the ETS, so that we can gradually seek approval of free quotas from the Energy Community, that is, the European Commission,” said Sanel Buljubašić, General Director of Elektroprivreda BiH.
Working groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been dealing with this issue for years. Time is running out. The European Union’s ambition is to encourage countries outside this bloc to step up climate measures.
“Our energy needs are growing. And that is justified in a way if it will make our lives easier. However, we have to move into new production capacities because the existing ones are definitely nearing their end, especially thermal power plants, and without building new ones, it is difficult to achieve electricity independence and, on the other hand, keep prices low,” notes energy and climate change expert Nihad Harbaš.
CBAM will be paid by importers to the European Union. This way, they could ask suppliers from Bosnia and Herzegovina for a lower price. By establishing the ETS, the tax is paid by the manufacturer. The money stays in the country. Is this a solution for Bosnia and Herzegovina as well?
“For us, it is best to introduce the simplest mechanism, which is direct taxes, and to measure the level of these taxes so that they do not have a significant impact on producers and consumers, i.e. so that these taxes are at the level of CBAM for exports,” points out Damir Miljević, “ReSet” – Center for Sustainable Energy Transition.
While we strive for European standards, according to the latest report, thermal power plants in Bosnia and Herzegovina emitted 11 times more sulfur dioxide than allowed. This is the state of domestic thermal power plants. The largest polluters in the region.
“It’s a combination of several factors. One of them is the very low quality coal. The second thing that is very important here is that our thermal power plants are very old, they have not been overhauled at all. The third thing is that there is absolutely no concern for the health of the population in this regard,” says Dragan Ostić from the Center for the Environment in Banjaluka.
The European Commission has been proposed to postpone the application of the CBAM from January 1, 2027. The response is awaited, BHRT writes.
