Sarkozy calls for carbon tariffs on imports

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the EU may penalize cheap imports from high carbon-emitting countries like China, the Financial Times reported. Speaking in Beijing ahead of next week's negotiations in Bali on a successor to the Kyoto treaty on climate change, Sarkozy said such measures are necessary to protect European companies obliged to meet strict environmental standards. "I will defend the principle of a carbon compensation mechanism at the EU's borders with regard to countries that don't put in place rules for reducing greenhouse gas emissions," he said. The EU has set the informal goal of halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while energy experts believe China will soon become the world's biggest carbon dioxide emitter. However, Beijing is against including fixed targets for emissions reductions in the post-Kyoto pact as it believes the developed world must take the lead in combating global warming.