Outokumpu's sustainability chief champions EU carbon tax as essential for European steel competitiveness. European stainless emits 2-3 metric tons CO₂ per metric ton versus 7-9 metric tons from Asian rivals. Heidi Peltonen urges downstream CBAM application to finished products preventing carbon leakage through assembled goods. Europe's stainless share collapsed from 17% to 10% since 2014. Policy predictability proves essential for multi-billion dollar decarbonisation investments. CBAM incentivises global emissions reduction while preserving European industrial capacity for defense and infrastructure needs.