Piyush Goyal on CBAM in Berlin: The Claims and the Numbers

A clip of India's Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, pushing back at European climate policy has spread widely since the Berlin Global Dialogue on 22 October 2026. He questioned who caused the climate problem, said wealthy countries had not delivered the climate finance they promised, and argued that the EU's carbon border tax would hurt Europe more than it helps.

What he argued

• Climate finance. Developed countries pledged $100 billion a year for developing countries. Goyal said the money has still not arrived, calling it "all promises".
• Historical responsibility. Countries that grew rich on past emissions, he argued, should carry more of the cost of fixing the problem, in line with the Paris principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
• CBAM and steel. He called the carbon border tax and the EU's steel import restrictions self-defeating: higher prices for steel, aluminium and cement raise the cost of Europe's own ports, roads and housing. "You're inviting disaster," he said.
• Development needs. India has to meet the energy, food and security needs of 1.4 billion people while it decarbonises.

What the numbers show

Coverage of the speech quoted India at "under 3%" of global emissions. That is close to India's share of cumulative emissions, not of today's. Our World in Data, using the Global Carbon Budget, gives these figures for 2024:

Germany, the host country, has emitted more CO2 in total than India over the industrial era with about a seventeenth of its population, and each German still emits about three times as much as each Indian. India's current total, though, is more than five times Germany's. Each side of the argument can point to a true number; they measure different things.

Where the trade deal leaves CBAM

The EU-India free trade agreement concluded on 27 January 2026 does not exempt Indian goods from CBAM. The Commission's chief spokesperson said there was no commitment to change the EU's obligations, and an EU official said the deal opens the possibility of a technical dialogue on the mechanism.

What it changes for Indian exporters

Nothing yet. CBAM's definitive period began on 1 January 2026. EU importers will declare 2026 imports by 30 September 2027 and pay at the quarterly certificate price, €82.32 for Q3 2026. Where an Indian producer sends no verified data, the importer uses the EU default value for India plus a mark-up that grows to 30% by 2028.

• The diplomatic argument may shape future rules, such as how CBAM treats countries with their own carbon price. It does not change this year's bill.
• The one lever an exporter controls is its own data: verified, installation-level embedded emissions replace the marked-up default.
• The UK starts its own CBAM on 1 January 2027, at far lower illustrative rates, and will need the same emissions data.

ZeroCarbon helps Indian exporters build that data: emissions per installation and product, each figure linked to its source documents, and the communication file an EU importer needs.