# How is the price of a CBAM certificate set?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/how-is-the-cbam-certificate-price-set

It follows the EU Emissions Trading System auction price. For goods imported in 2026 the price is the average of each quarter's auction clearing prices; from 2027 it is set weekly. Certificates for 2026 imports go on sale in 2027, so the cost is known only after the quarter ends.

## What drives the cost

- Embedded emissions per tonne of the good.
- The share not yet covered by free allocation in the EU, which phases out to 2034.
- The certificate price, minus any carbon price already paid in the country of production.

## Who pays

The authorised CBAM declarant in the EU buys and surrenders certificates. Exporters feel it through price talks, which is why a lower actual figure can be worth more than a default value.

## Planning

Model a range of prices rather than one number, and agree in the contract who bears the cost if the price moves.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel, electricity and production documents into dated, fingerprinted installation records, the starting point for the actual emissions an EU importer asks for.

- [Certificates to hold each quarter](https://senseible.earth/answers/how-many-cbam-certificates-to-hold-each-quarter)
- [EU ETS vs CBAM](https://senseible.earth/answers/eu-ets-vs-cbam-difference)
- [CBAM clause for export contracts](https://senseible.earth/answers/what-cbam-clause-to-put-in-export-contract)

Sources: [European Commission, price of CBAM certificates](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/price-cbam-certificates_en), [Regulation (EU) 2025/2083, CBAM simplification](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/2083/oj), [CBAM Regulation (EU) 2023/956, consolidated](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/956/2025-10-20)

Last reviewed 2026-10-22.