CBAM certificate prices: what they are and where they come from
CBAM certificates are what authorised CBAM declarants surrender for the emissions embedded in the CBAM goods they import, and the certificate price is derived from EU Emissions Trading System allowance prices. The European Commission (DG TAXUD) publishes the price — quarterly during 2026 and weekly from 2027 (Regulation (EU) 2025/2083). Because a company's actual cost also depends on import volumes, embedded emissions, and the CBAM factor, the published price is a planning input rather than a final cost.
Last updated: 4 July 2026Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/956Regulation (EU) 2025/2083EC DG TAXUD — Price of CBAM certificatesEuropean Commission — CBAM
What are CBAM certificates for?
In the CBAM definitive period, authorised CBAM declarants account for the greenhouse-gas emissions embedded in the CBAM goods they import and surrender CBAM certificates to cover them. One certificate corresponds to one tonne of embedded CO2e (Regulation (EU) 2023/956).
The certificate price is how CBAM mirrors the carbon cost that EU producers face under the EU Emissions Trading System, so that imported and EU-made goods carry a comparable carbon price.
Where the price comes from
The CBAM certificate price is set by reference to EU ETS allowance prices and is published by the European Commission. The official figures live on the DG TAXUD certificate-price page, which is the source CBAM Pulse links to for the current value.
CBAM Pulse does not set or predict the price; it points to the European Commission's published figure and shows when it was published.
How often the price is published
During 2026, the European Commission publishes the CBAM certificate price on a quarterly basis. From 2027, publication moves to a weekly cadence (Regulation (EU) 2025/2083).
The dates that matter for planning — the quarterly publication points in 2026, certificate sales opening in 2027, and the first annual surrender — are laid out, each source-linked, in the deadline planner.
Why the price is a planning input, not your final cost
A single published price does not tell you what CBAM will cost your business. The cost attached to a given import depends on the quantity, the emissions embedded in those specific goods, the CBAM factor that phases the obligation in over time, and the certificate price at the point of surrender.
Treat the published price as one input for planning and budgeting. It is not a quote, and it is not a final cost figure for your imports.
Where to see the current figure and dates
The certificate price tracker shows the latest published figure with its publication date and a link to the European Commission source. The deadline planner and the updates feed track when new prices and other CBAM milestones are published.