The Belgrade Stock Exchange plans to introduce trading in carbon credits, according to CEO Lazo Ostojić.
The Belgrade Stock Exchange intends to connect all capital markets in the Western Balkans through various innovative products, enable domestic investors to access foreign stock exchanges, and develop two platforms, Tanjug reported.
One platform is for trading digital tokens, and the other one is related to the European Union’s CBAM regulation.
The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism entered into force on January 1. Firms in the EU that import aluminum, cement, electricity, iron and steel, hydrogen and fertilizers from non-EU countries are obliged to pay a carbon price under CBAM.
Ostojić: The idea is to establish a platform similar to the EU ETS
Ostojić explained that the idea is to establish a platform similar to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). It would enable Serbian firms to buy carbon credits to cover their CO2 emissions and mitigate the risk of additional costs tied to the CBAM regulation, when exporting to the EU, he said.
Photo: Belgrade Stock Exchange/LinkedIn
He expressed confidence that companies from the region that have the same problem would also be interested in this option.
Under the EU ETS, companies are required to obtain emission allowances in the quantity that equals their emissions. They can purchase emission allowances at auctions or receive them for free, and they are able to trade them on the open market.
Serbia recently introduced two taxes related to emissions
Serbia’s Law on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Tax and Law on Carbon-Intensive Product Imports Tax came into effect on January 1 as well, as a response to the rollout of CBAM. Both levies amount to EUR 4 per ton of CO2 equivalent.
The Law on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Tax is for firms that are obligated to have a license for emissions from their industrial production facilities. Fifty companies have obtained such licenses for 92 plants.
Belgrade Stock Exchange CEO Lazo Ostojić recalled that the bourse has switched to the Greek trading system OASIS.
“We have started the process of connecting the region’s capital markets, with the possibility of joining the largest pan-European group – Euronext,” he added.
Be the first one to comment on this article.