This document situates CBAM not merely as a climate instrument, but as a systemic stress test for the global trading order. It argues that without coordinated South–South cooperation and a renewed North–South compact, carbon-linked tariffs risk triggering balance-of-payments shocks, industrial decline, and employment losses across developing economies. By grounding CBAM in historical trade crises and present-day structural asymmetries, the document calls for shared frameworks on finance, technology transfer, MRV systems, and transitional flexibility. Its central claim is clear: decarbonization without solidarity hardens inequality, while collaborative governance can turn CBAM from a punitive tariff into a stabilizing pathway for global economic resilience.
