CBAM certificate prices: what they are and where they come from

What a published CBAM price tells you

A CBAM certificate is an electronic certificate corresponding to one tonne of CO2e embedded in imported goods. The European Commission calculates the certificate price from EU ETS auction prices and publishes the result under Article 21 of the consolidated CBAM Regulation and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2548.

The published record tells you a price, its application period, and its publication date. It does not by itself tell an importer how many certificates to hold or surrender, or what a final cost would be.

2026 imports keep their import-quarter price

Member States begin selling certificates through the common central platform to authorised CBAM declarants on 1 February 2027. That sales date does not replace the special price treatment for 2026 imports.

For 2026 imports, the applicable certificate price is the quarterly 2026 price for the quarter in which the goods were imported. A later weekly price should not be substituted merely because the certificate is purchased in 2027.

Normal pricing is weekly from 2027

As of 15 July 2026, the Commission has published the Q1 and Q2 quarterly prices for 2026. From 2027, the normal certificate price is calculated and published weekly under Article 21 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2548.

The certificate price tracker keeps each published 2026 quarter visible with its source and date. Later weekly rows should be treated as a different pricing period, not as a replacement for the quarter tied to a 2026 import.

Price is one input, not a final certificate number

The annual surrender number follows the embedded emissions declared for the import year after the Regulation's carbon-price-paid and free-allocation adjustments. Quantity, emissions data, the relevant price period, and those adjustments all matter.

CBAM Pulse's cost calculator can combine user inputs into an editable planning estimate. It does not calculate a declaration amount, a certificate order, an invoice, or a final legal liability.

Purchase, holding, surrender, repurchase and cancellation are separate

The certificate lifecycle has distinct events: purchase starts through the common central platform, quarter-end holding is an in-year account-balance rule from 2027, annual surrender is due by 30 September, repurchase can be requested after surrender subject to Article 23, and cancellation is a later Article 24 step.

A price publication does not perform any of those account actions. The certificate lifecycle guide explains the adopted sequence, including the 2027 first cycle and the pending-dispute exception to cancellation.

What is the current draft on certificate sale and repurchase?

On 9 July 2026, the European Commission published a draft delegated regulation on selling and repurchasing CBAM certificates through a common central platform.

The Commission initiative currently labels the measure ‘In preparation’ and still presents it as a draft act. The feedback period closed on 6 August 2026, and the page does not show a final adopted act.

This draft delegated regulation is not an adopted act. Detailed request, payment, processing, and fee mechanics may change and are not encoded in the price tracker or cost calculator.

Where to see the current figure and dates

The certificate price tracker shows every recorded official figure with its application period, publication date, and European Commission source. The deadline planner and the certificate lifecycle guide keep price publication separate from sales, holdings, surrender, repurchase, and cancellation.