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CBAM certificates: price, purchase, surrender and repurchase

CBAM certificates are the financial side of the mechanism: declarants buy them and surrender a number matching the embedded emissions of their imports. This page explains the calendar, the price calculation and the reductions that apply.

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Answers are written by a language model solely from this base's documents, with numbered sources. They can be wrong and aren't legal, medical or financial advice: check the sources before any important decision.

Buying certificates and their price

From 1 February 2027, each Member State sells CBAM certificates to authorised declarants established on its territory, on a common central platform managed by the Commission. Each certificate gets a unique identification number, recorded with its price and date of sale in the declarant's registry account.

The price is the average of the closing prices of EU ETS allowances on the auction platform for each calendar week, published on the first working day of the following week. For emissions declared for 2026, the price is instead the quarterly average of those closing prices for the quarter in which the goods were imported.

Quarterly holding and annual surrender

From 2027, at the end of each quarter, a declarant must hold certificates covering at least 50 % of the embedded emissions of all goods imported since the start of the year, based on default values without mark-up or on the previous year's surrender. If the account falls short, the competent authority gives the declarant one month to fix it.

By 30 September each year, first in 2027 for 2026, the declarant surrenders certificates matching the declared and verified embedded emissions of the previous year.

The number to surrender is reduced to reflect free allocation of EU ETS allowances to EU producers of the same goods, and may be reduced for a carbon price effectively paid in a third country.

Carbon price paid outside the EU

Where emissions are based on actual data, the declarant may claim a reduction for a carbon price effectively paid in the country of production, minus any rebate or compensation available there. The documentation must be certified by a person independent of the declarant and of that country's authorities, and kept until the end of the fourth year after the declaration year.

Alternatively, a reduction can be claimed by reference to yearly default carbon prices where the third country has set a carbon price. With default emission values, only this option is available.

Frequently asked questions

Can unused CBAM certificates be sold back?

Yes. On request, the Member State repurchases excess certificates left after surrender, through the common central platform, at the price paid for them. The number repurchased is limited to the certificates the declarant was obliged to hold under the quarterly rule during the year of purchase. The request is due by 31 October of the surrender year, and certificates bought in 2027 for 2026 emissions can only be repurchased in 2027.

What is the penalty for not surrendering enough certificates?

For each certificate not surrendered by 30 September, the declarant owes a penalty identical to the EU ETS excess emissions penalty, as increased under that Directive, for the year of importation. The authority may reduce it where the shortfall results from incorrect information from an operator, a verifier or the person certifying the carbon price.

What happens to certificates that are neither surrendered nor repurchased?

On 1 November of each year, the Commission cancels without compensation any certificates purchased during the year before the previous calendar year that remain in a declarant's registry account. Certificates purchased for 2026 emissions that remain are cancelled on 1 November 2027.

For developers and agents

Embed / API / MCP

Connect this base to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT or your own app. Each API or MCP request costs €0.10, charged to your Kopik credit (not charged if nothing is found). You need an API key: create one from your dashboard.

MCP for your agents

This base's MCP server URL (tools ask_base and search_base):

MCP URL
https://kopik.io/api/mcp?base=eu-cbam-carbon-border
Claude Code, Cursor and other clients
Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http kopik-eu-cbam-carbon-border "https://kopik.io/api/mcp?base=eu-cbam-carbon-border" --header "Authorization: Bearer kpk_…"
JSON config (mcpServers)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kopik-eu-cbam-carbon-border": {
      "url": "https://kopik.io/api/mcp?base=eu-cbam-carbon-border",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer kpk_…"
      }
    }
  }
}

REST API for your apps

mode is "answer" (written answer + sources) or "passages" (raw passages only). Add an optional maxPriceCents to cap the price: if the base costs more, the call is refused and nothing is charged.

curl
curl -X POST https://kopik.io/api/v1/bases/eu-cbam-carbon-border/query \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer kpk_…" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"question": "Your question here", "mode": "answer"}'

Getting started

  1. Create a key in your dashboard and top up your credit.
  2. Replace kpk_… with your key.
  3. Full details (responses, errors, JS and Python examples): developer docs.