CBAM certificate prices: the 2026 quarters, and the blank Q4
Law last checked: 31 October 2026. Figures below are copied from the EU texts linked in Sources. This is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules and prices change; confirm them before you import.
Three prices are on the Commission’s board. A fourth box is still empty. That is the whole 2026 price list, and it is worth more than a single “the carbon price” number, because the quarter you import in is the quarter whose price you pay[2][5].
| Quarter | Date published | Price (EUR per tCO2e) | Applies to imports in | Source & date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 7 April 2026 | EUR 75.36 | Goods imported in January–March 2026 | European Commission price page, checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Q2 2026 | 6 July 2026 | EUR 75.28 | Goods imported in April–June 2026 | European Commission price page, checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Q3 2026 | 5 October 2026 | EUR 82.32 | Goods imported in July–September 2026 | European Commission price page, checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Q4 2026 | Due 4 January 2027 | Not published | Goods imported in October–December 2026 | European Commission price page, checked 31 Oct 2026 |
How the price is worked out
A CBAM certificate is one tonne of CO2e embedded in the goods[3]. For 2026 the Commission takes the auction clearing prices of EU ETS allowances, weights each auction by how many allowances were sold, ignores cancelled auctions, and rounds to the nearest cent. It does that four times, once per calendar quarter[5][2]. From 2027 the same idea runs every week, not every quarter[5].
The quarterly price applies to certificates for emissions in goods imported during that quarter[2][5]. A March shipment and a September shipment do not share a price, even if they are the same coil of steel.
What this costs you
On the example 100-tonne shipment (1.8 tCO2e per tonne, 2026 factor 97.5%), Q1 at €75.36 is €339.12 and Q3 at €82.32 is €370.44. The gap is €31.32, and it comes only from the published price. Q4 is not in this sum: the Commission has dated it for 4 January 2027 and the cell was blank on 31 October 2026[2].
You cannot buy the 2026 certificates in 2026. Sales on the common central platform start on 1 February 2027[3][2]. You need them in the account in time to surrender them on 30 September 2027. The week-by-week prices from 2027 are a different series. Don’t drop €82.32 into a 2028 budget and call it a forecast. It is a published quarter, nothing more.
The certificate cost calculator lets you switch quarter, year and the free-allocation factor. The timeline puts the publication dates next to the surrender date.
Sources
Every dated figure on this page is taken from the EU texts below. Where a shipment example uses 100 tonnes and 1.8 tCO2e per tonne, that pair is an illustration, not a published default. Law last checked 31 October 2026. See our methodology and editorial policy. General information, not legal, tax or customs advice.
- [1] European Commission: CBAM definitive regime (from 1 January 2026): https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/cbam-definitive-regime_en (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- [2] European Commission: Price of CBAM certificates (quarterly table): https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/price-cbam-certificates_en (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- [3] Regulation (EU) 2023/956, consolidated 20 October 2025 (CBAM Regulation): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/956/2025-10-20/eng (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- [4] Directive 2003/87/EC, consolidated (EU ETS), Article 10a(1a) CBAM factor: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/87 (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- [5] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2548 (certificate price method): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32025R2548 (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- [6] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2620 (free-allocation adjustment): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/2620/oj/eng (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- [7] European Commission Guidance No. 4 on the free-allocation adjustment (CBAM factor table, including 2034 at 0%): https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/document/download/3aa2c730-4f1b-4524-8f71-d9cfe4880ac7_en?filename=Guidance+No.+4+-+CBAM+calculation+of+the+free+allocation+adjustment+to+the+number+of+CBAM+certificates+to+be+surrendered.pdf (checked 31 Oct 2026)