Addressing a debate at the Climate Finance Summit at Sasana Kijang here today, Rokas said all the measures taken by the EU are compliant with the World Trade Organization.

“We are the number one development assistance donor in the world. And all our actions in all developing countries have the strongest pro-sustainability, green, gender-inclusive components that you will find.

“We have a general system of preferences which allow smaller economies, like Laos and so on, free entry to the EU and duty-free tariffs for everything but arms.

“We are to blame for many things, historically, but I take a lot of pride in what the EU is doing now,” he said.

The CBAM – which imposes prices on carbon emissions generated in the production of carbon-intensive goods entering the EU – is in its transitional introductory phase from 2023 to 2025, and applies mainly to cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen.

Rokas was replying to a question by Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman, who had criticised the CBAM as a unilateral measure that was not discussed beforehand with developing countries.

“There’s been a persistent effort by developing countries under the Group of 77 and China to talk about unilateral trade measures, and particularly CBAM and its cross-border impact.

“(They) only want to have a discussion, and have been shot down. They (the EU) don’t want to discuss it,” Meenakshi said.

In response, Rokas said the EU has been a “trailblazer” in the area of climate action, adding that “when you are a trailblazer in something, maybe there are elements (that other countries) don’t like”.

“Nothing is perfect, but we need to act. And the EU has been the first to act,” he said.

Rokas said however he would relay the concerns raised at the summit today to the EU headquarters and ensure they are taken into account.