The European Commission is working to provide provisional benchmarks for its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ahead of the final adoption of CBAM benchmarks in early 2026, an EC official told Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
“We strive to ensure that a final list of CBAM benchmarks will be available as soon as possible. Concretely, we are indeed expecting that they will only be adopted in early 2026,” the commission official said. “However, the commission is working towards providing as soon as possible additional guidance to stakeholders through provisional benchmarks.”
The official declined to provide further details on how such provisional benchmarks would function.
The move comes as pressure builds on the EC to provide more details around emissions calculations, default values and carbon costs. Businesses are anxiously waiting for these details to help importers estimate the costs of CBAM on their trade and its impact on global supply chains.
The benchmark value is a reference value used to calculate the embedded emissions of imported goods and determine the cost of CBAM certificates. It is derived from the average greenhouse gas emissions of the 10% most efficient installations in the EU for that product.
Industry reaction
The CBAM benchmarks will be based on the respective EU Emissions Trading System benchmarks to adequately mirror the bloc’s carbon market.
“In order to adequately mirror the EU ETS, the CBAM benchmarks will be based on the respective ETS benchmarks. Currently, these ETS benchmarks are being updated for the period 2026-2030,” the official added.
However, industry groups have expressed skepticism about provisional benchmarks. The European Association of Non-Integrated Metal Importers and Distributors said it would be “rather surprised if the commission intended to publish provisional benchmark values,” noting that the EC had previously confirmed CBAM benchmarks would only be available in early 2026.
“In the meantime, the commission is working on the methodology that will ensure CBAM benchmarks are aligned with the ETS benchmarks, and we expect this methodology to be shared with stakeholders,” EURANMI said in a statement to Platts. “But to our understanding, this will not include provisional or indicative benchmark values.”
CBAM is in a transitional phase, requiring importers to report emissions without financial penalties. The mechanism enters its definitive phase on Jan. 1, 2026, with companies liable for their emissions. This is expected to have significant implications for carbon-intensive industries.
CBAM currently covers only sectors including cement, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen.
Platts assessed EU Allowances for December 2025 at Eur79.28/mtCO2e ($92.43/mtCO2e) on Oct. 3.
The aim of CBAM is to level the playing field for EU companies, as most exporting countries either do not have a carbon price as high as that of the EU ETS or lack a price on emissions altogether.
