Exposed: Living costs threatened further with second Net Zero tax, as pump prices soar

"Smoking gun" revealed, PLUS Reeves makes clear variation from EU alignment is now "exception not norm"

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2026

Even Iran war fails to stop Starmer’s rush to align, as another ‘EU Re-Set’ carbon tax arrives

On Tuesday in a speech, Rachel Reeves went further than ever before in committing this Government to an alignment so close to the EU that not to align to its rules and regulations will be “the exception rather than the norm”. Also on Tuesday we revealed direct evidence of this commitment in the leaking of a secretive negotiation with the EU on Sir Keir’s ‘EU Re-Set’.

The alignment in question is on dearer energy costs. We showed how the Government is intending to align with the EU’s onerous Net Zero taxes on those who use energy in domestic production (businesses) and in consumption (the public). This tax which we described to GB News on Tuesday is known by its initials: ETS, or the Emissions Trading Scheme’.

In this second, exclusive report for GB News, produced by the Brexit Facts4EU think-tank, in collaboration with Stand for Our Sovereignty and The Campaign for an Independent Britain (CIBUK.Org), we bring you what this second Net Zero tax means to the general public and to our economy. Lord Redwood helps to explain, in simple language.

From Tuesday's GB News

If you didn't see Part One on Tuesday, you missed a really popular story.

You can read it now by clicking on the image to the left.

This is the GB News version and you will not be disappointed!

Reform UK’s Deputy Leader Richard Tice MP speaks exclusively to Facts4EU and GB News

“Ed Miliband’s Net Mad Zero policies are bad enough,” Reform UK’s Deputy Leader Richard Tice MP tells us, “but to align with the EU’s even higher carbon tax regime will be a disaster.”
“The Government must do another U-turn on its crazy policy to sign up to EU taxes over which we’ll have no control. The country simply can’t afford to indulge in Ed Miliband’s insane ideological obsession any longer.”
- Richard Tice MP, 19 Mar 2026

Second Net Zero tax - Government continues to keep its EU negotiations as secret as possible

In today’s report we reveal the next step for the Government, which is to align with the EU’s taxes on imported goods. This second Net Zero tax is known as CBAM, or the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and it is used specifically to target imports, making them more expensive to businesses and consumers alike.

With our energy costs only going in one direction – up – it seems the Government is nevertheless pressing on with its alignment with both of the EU’s much higher carbon tax systems. With the Iran war still raging, this will have only one effect – another hike in energy bills and the cost of doing business, and a devastating effect on what is left of the UK’s rapidly closing industrial base. It will also hit consumers in the higher prices they will see on imported goods.

The Government will deny any EU alignment is proposed, so how do we know different?

"The smoking gun"

We know the Government will deny the accuracy of our report. They will say there's no question of alignment with the EU on this new import tax, CBAM. In light of this, how have we been able to bring readers this story?

The answer is down to diligent journalism covering many sources. In this case we have the testimony of a Member of Northern Ireland's Stormont Committee that was looking at the first Net Zero carbon tax we shared with GB News on Tuesday. Michelle McIlveen MLA was very clear in a speech to the N.I. Assembly that a great deal of Government pressure had been brought to bear on the Committee, including the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, texting party leaders just before a key vote.

He is said to have told them that the entire EU Re-Set would be threatened if the Assembly blocked this Statutory Instrument (SI). As Michelle McIlveen MLA says, included in the 'EU Re-Set' negotiations is the new CBAM, or Net Zero import tax.

"Sorry Sir Keir, but here's the 'smoking gun' that proves this new Net Zero tax is part of your 'EU Re-Set'," says Brexit Facts4EU

“What happened was, frankly, disgraceful. Last-minute pressure was placed on parties by UKG.
“A new dimension associated with CBAM [Carbon Border Mechanism Adjustment – Ed.] and impact on EU negotiations was introduced. No facts, detail or proper briefing, just smoke and mirrors.
“That is not the way that we should do our politics, and interference at such a late stage is highly suspicious.”
- Michelle McIlveen MLA, Dep Leader DUP, 10 Mar 2026

This is all happening while Ed Miliband sticks to his extreme position on the UK not using the country’s massive reserves of oil and gas from the North Sea, which could make the UK self-sufficient in energy. Imported energy such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) brought in on tankers will have new EU import taxes imposed on it, in the Government’s rush to please the EU by aligning with its new Net Zero carbon tax import tariffs.

The Rt Hon Lord Redwood was as scathing as Richard Tice, telling us:

“Dear energy is a killer. This is part of a package of measures that lumbers us with energy so dear we cannot make things for ourselves.
“We have seen a catastrophic deindustrialisation, which has gathered huge pace and momentum in the last two years with the intensification of the net-zero policies this Government have welcomed and introduced.
“For the Government to be pressing on as fast as possible towards alignment with the EU’s even higher carbon taxes will destroy what’s left of British industry and jobs.”
- The Rt Hon Lord Redwood, 19 Mar 2026

The UK’s carbon taxes versus the EU’s – How alignment will make energy even more costly

As we showed on Tuesday, the Government is already aligning the UK’s domestic carbon tax system with that of the EU. This will only increase our carbon taxes still higher than they have already become – all on the altar of Net Zero.

This domestic 'Emissions Trading Scheme' (ETS) affects the general public and everyday bills, as well as the costs on industry, jobs, and the UK’s low and teetering growth.

Lord Redwood recently drove the point home by listing a wide variety of companies making closures and laying people off, giving many details.

It is indicative that his list is too lengthy to re-publish here but it included many famous names closing or cutting back.

For example, two large refineries at Grangemouth and Lindsey, the Royal Staffordshire and Moorcroft ceramics factories, Johnsons Tiles, Nippon Electric, Dunbar Cement, the Birtley aluminium extrusion plant, three aluminium door and window manufacturers, and the Port Talbot blast furnaces and the furnaces at Scunthorpe were only saved by the government stepping in.

How much will the import taxes (CBAM) be for the UK and the EU?

The simple answer is that we do not yet know, as the UK's import tax system CBAM is supposedly not being applied until 01 January 2027. However, it seems that CBAM rates will be based around the rates on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) which applies to domestic businesses.

If this is the case, then we can expect any alignment with the EU's CBAM system to reflect the bloc's higher costs for its ETS.

The other, major problem with CBAM is that it's a new import tax. This will impact every trade deal the UK has done with other countries, including the US. The UK government and the EU criticised President Trump’s proposed new tariffs, yet here they are proposing big tariffs on US imports and imports from most of the rest of the world.

It can only be imagined how President Trump is going to react to that.

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Any alignment with the EU on import taxes could bring down a great many UK trade deals

The UK now has trade agreements with over 100 countries, including the EU. Excluding the EU27, many of these countries will find that any new carbon tax on imports imposed by the UK will negate the agreements they have signed. This will once again make the UK dependent on the trade deals negotiated by the EU - something the Commission has shown itself to be remarkably bad at doing.

Whilst Rachel Reeves talks of needing the EU for growth, it is very hard to see how anything other than the opposite will be the case.

EU’s cost per tonne of CO2 set consistently higher than UK’s

The standard measure across the world for carbon taxes is for one tonne of CO2 equivalent. This is CO2 or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases. Countries set a cost for this which can then vary at auction. Below we show the set cost for the EU and the UK for 2025 for its domestic 'Emissions Trading Schemes'. This is the latest data shown on the World Bank’s comparison site.

Whilst we do not yet have the CBAM rates for imported goods, we know they are likely to mirror domestic ETS rates as much as possible. What follows is therefore a good overall indicator.

Aligning with the EU looks very likely to lead to higher carbon taxes

There are a great many factors involved in how much different sectors of industry pay in carbon taxes – far too many and complex to detail in this summary report. Nevertheless, the set cost per tonne of CO2e is the comparison measure used by the World Bank and this is therefore reasonable to use when determining the effect of the UK Government’s policy of aligning with the EU.

The EU’s cost is 23% higher than the UK’s

This speech by Lord Redwood last week sums up many of the issues perfectly

If your browser won't play the video, use this link to watch.

The simplest explainer you’ll ever read about key Net Zero terms

ETS or “Emissions Trading Scheme” - A tax on domestic production and sales of goods

CBAM or “Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism” – An equivalent import tax on goods bought in

Both of these schemes increase costs for businesses and therefore for the public. Energy costs have now become so high that many domestic businesses have closed, resulting in higher imports from countries like China with lower costs due to appalling labour conditions.

Taxes are so high our North Sea oil and gas reserves can’t be used, (and would not get permission under this government anyway), so we import energy at much higher cost and which incurs many times more in CO2 to bring it to the UK.

“Carbon neutral” – What the UK aims to be by 2050 (originally 2035). The condition where we have no net effect on greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. UK’s share of world CO2: 0.9%. If the UK did nothing, the planet would not even notice it.

“Free” wind and solar power: You might think free energy from the sun and wind would bring costs down. Wrong. Capturing this energy costs more than producing coal, oil, or gas. Additional costs are incurred in connecting it all to the grid.

Environmental costs: The massive requirement for land means that vast swathes of the countryside are taken over, and permanently unavailable for growing food. Offshore wind turbines cause damage to fish stocks and devastate the fishing industry. Offshore and onshore turbines also cause noise pollution and kill bird populations.

Observations

There is of course more information we could have provided to readers on this subject, but our report will already be too long for many. We hope the summary above is sufficient to gain an understanding of the two major taxes being introduced, affecting businesses and consumers alike.

Please, please help us to carry on our vital work in defence of independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom by donating today. Thank you.

[ Sources: World Bank | No.10 | Dept of Energy, Net Zero | HM Treasury | Northern Ireland Assembly Official Reports ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thurs 19 Mar 2026

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Reader Comments 5

1. Sparky , Thursday, March 19, 2026, 06:04:

From Energy UK
.
• The UK and European Union share legally binding Net Zero targets and clear
incentives to cooperate on energy and climate-related issues. (Carbon taxes are covered under the "Get Brexit Done" TCA)
• The Government has suggested that closer cooperation on carbon pricing
would be of interest as part of its wider ‘reset’ with the EU.
• Linking the UK’s and EU’s Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) would provide
certainty for industry, remove barriers to trade and encourage investment in
clean technologies.
• Linkage would reduce carbon prices over the next few years for British
industry, bolstering the economy’s competitiveness, and exempt UK exporters
from payments of up to £800m annually from the EU’s forthcoming Carbon
Border tax, ensuring British companies remain competitive.
• ETS linkage is widely supported across UK industry by organisations such as
the CBI, Make UK, UK Steel, and the TUC, in addition to diverse sectors of the
economy like energy, glass, chemicals, paper, mineral products, and ceramics.
.
The issues caused by the war in Iran shows how vulnerable the world is, the more independent on our own energy production the better. In the Taiwan and South Korea restriction are already being implemented, these countries have only 20% renewables. North Sea oil reserves are running down.

2. Alastair Price , Thursday, March 19, 2026, 07:14:

As usual Sparky supports alignment with the EU without even considering the cost. Claims that it will provide certainty and drive investment are clearly rubbish as rising energy costs will drive business offshore, increasing imports and impoverishing the country. Unemployment and inflation will both rise worsening the cost of living crisis and driving up the cost of government borrowing.
In the meantime the fast growing countries such as the USA and Far East countries will see rapid growth while the EU and UK remain moribund.
If the EU reset harms our trade agreements with the fast growing countries it will ensure a poor future for the UK and its residents.

3. DB , Thursday, March 19, 2026, 10:00:

A number of EU countries are unhappy with the EU Commission's climate policy. At least ten member states are urging a review. V d L is said to be brushing off calls to suspend, review, or relax the Emissions Trading System law. Their industries are being damaged too, one voice suggesting it being an "existential risk" for many key industrial sectors.

4. NH , Thursday, March 19, 2026, 10:48:

The average household in the UK already pays over £1800 per year for various environment taxes and this will now increase considerably. The Government claims it's much less than this as businesses pay a large amount of it but the reality is businesses have no choice but to pass costs on to customers.
.
The EU is full of contradictory nonsense. The UK has applied the ETS to airline flights but we already pay air passenger duty APD which is an environment tax and can be as high as £673 per flight. If we compare this with the Republic of Ireland (not NI) they charge the ETS (on EU flights only) but they abolished the APD in 2014. Where is the alignment ?
.
Unfortunately it's worse than that. By value 70% of the world's passenger aircraft are leased from the Republic of Ireland. These aeroplanes have never been any where near Ireland, they do it to avoid paying tax. So the EU is giving low costs to the world's airlines so they can fly more cheap flights and at the same time it's punishing it's own citizens with more and more "environmental taxes".
.
Fortunately for them "top EU officials" will not be suffering. They have just increased their budget for private planes by 50% !

5. Gazzablack , Thursday, March 19, 2026, 14:13:

1, sparkless
.
The only certainty would be the certainty of higher energy costs, to the detriment of UK energy consumers, both industrial and domestic.
.
Basically, it's a stupid idea

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