Britain opposes the use of carbon import tariffs against developing countries to encourage them to tackle global warming, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband said on Saturday.
A bill passed by the US House of Representatives last month could allow import taxes on products made in countries that do not have statutory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, sparking an outcry from emerging economies such as India and China.
"We are sceptical about the notion of trade tariffs as a good solution to the issues that we face in relation to climate change," Miliband told AFP.
"Obviously anything that countries put forward is part of the discussion and the considerations that we make...but our position on this is pretty clear," he added.
In Europe, France has been a vocal supporter of carbon tariffs, insisting they could be a plausible option if no deal is struck at December's UN climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark.
But the French proposals have so far received little support from their fellow EU members.
The Swedish EU presidency has said the threat of introducing such measures would only make negotiations in the Danish capital more difficult, while German State Secretary for Environment Matthias Machnig described them as "a new form of eco-imperialism" that would send out the wrong message.
Some rich countries say tariffs are necessary as they could dissuade polluting industries from shifting operations overseas to places with less stringent environmental controls.
But countries such as China and India reject that view, arguing they are merely a pretext for protectionism.
It is under the Swedish presidency that the the 27-member bloc will finalise its joint position for Copenhagen.
The goal is to forge a global deal to tackle global warming after the existing Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
EU nations in 2007 committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020, compared to their 1990 levels.
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