What happened
The European Commission has set the price of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) certificates for the third quarter of 2026 at €82.32.
The new level is about 10% above the second-quarter 2026 price of €75.28. The first quarterly price for 2026 was €75.36, meaning the third-quarter figure marks a rise after broadly similar prices in the first half of the year.
CBAM certificates relate to the embedded emissions of goods brought into the EU when those goods fall within the mechanism's scope. Their quarterly price is calculated from the weighted average achieved in auctions under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).
For importers handling affected goods, the immediate next step is to reflect the €82.32 level in third-quarter emissions-cost calculations and internal planning. Suppliers providing emissions information for EU imports should also ensure their data supports those assessments.
Why it matters
The certificate price is a material input for businesses assessing the carbon cost associated with imports covered by CBAM. A higher quarterly price increases the monetary value linked to each relevant unit of embedded emissions, all else being equal.
The movement also underlines the connection between CBAM certificate values and EU ETS auction outcomes. Organisations should therefore monitor both the quarterly CBAM announcements and the quality of emissions data used for imported products.
Accurate records of product-level emissions, volumes and import timing can help companies apply the relevant quarterly price in their cost models. Finance, trade and sustainability teams may need to align their assumptions where CBAM exposure is shared across functions.
What to watch next
The Commission is expected to announce the certificate price for the fourth quarter of 2026 on 4 January 2027. From the start of 2027, certificate prices are expected to move to weekly publication rather than the quarterly approach used in 2026.
That shift would require more frequent price monitoring and could make timing a more significant consideration in CBAM cost forecasting. Companies can prepare by establishing a regular process for updating price inputs and reconciling them with import and emissions records.
Details of the announced quarterly price were reported by Yeşil Ekonomi.
