PolicyPhasing in
EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
A carbon price on imports of emissions-intensive goods into the EU.
CThe Collabryx EditorialCurated for the network15 October 2026 · 2 min read
At a glance
- Jurisdiction
- European Union
- Status
- Phasing in
- Applies to
- Importers of cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. Small importers are exempt under a de minimis threshold introduced in 2025.
- Timeline
- Oct 2023 – Dec 2025 — Transitional phase: reporting embedded emissions, no payment
- From 2026 — Definitive regime: importers pay for embedded emissions via CBAM certificates
- Phase-in runs alongside the reduction of free allocation under the EU ETS
- Last reviewed
- June 2026
What it requires
Importers declare the embedded emissions of covered goods and surrender CBAM certificates priced in line with the EU Emissions Trading System. Carbon prices already paid in the country of production can be deducted.
What practitioners actually do
- Collect installation-level emissions data from non-EU suppliers
- Verify embedded emissions rather than relying on default values, which are deliberately conservative
- Model the cost exposure and the case for sourcing lower-carbon material
Why it matters for your work
CBAM pushes product-level carbon accounting into procurement and trade. Exporters to the EU — in India, Turkey, China and elsewhere — need suppliers who can produce credible installation data.