The European Commission has launched a tender to establish the Common Central Platform, which will manage the sale and repurchase of certificates under the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, with the system expected to become operational by February 2027.
The tender, issued by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union late Feb. 16, will remain open until March 20, 2026.
“By Aug. 31, 2026, the contractor must have developed a pre-operational version of the CCP, incorporating all core functionalities necessary to support sales, repurchase and reconciliation operations, and ready for testing,” the Commission said in the tender.
This marks a key step in implementing the EU’s CBAM, which requires importers of carbon-intensive goods to purchase certificates corresponding to the emissions embedded in products entering the bloc. The mechanism aims to prevent carbon leakage by ensuring imported goods face similar carbon costs to those produced within the EU, potentially affecting trade flows of iron and steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen.
EU’s CBAM started its definitive phase on Jan. 1, 2026, but importers will only be able to purchase CBAM certificates starting in February 2027 to cover the emissions embedded in their imports for 2026, giving businesses more time to adapt to this carbon pricing mechanism.
The Common Central Platform will serve as the centralized system for managing CBAM certificate transactions, handling both primary sales to importers and potential repurchases, according to the Commission.
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 Emissions Trading System or do not have a price on emissions altogether.
Carbon permits in Europe are currently around seven times more expensive than compliance prices in China, the world’s industrial powerhouse.
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed EU Allowances for December 2026 at Eur70.21/mtCO2e ($83.09/mtCO2e) Feb. 17. This compares with China’s compliance emission allowance, or CEA, which was valued at Yuan 76.14/mtCO2e ($10.94/mtCO2e) Feb. 6, according to the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange.
