Question 1

What is the carbon price in the EU today?

Accepted Answer

€77.4 per tonne of CO2 (EUA, 11 Jun 2026, Trading Economics). The official CBAM certificate price is €75.36 for Q1 2026.

Question 2

What will the EU carbon price be in 2030?

Accepted Answer

Nobody knows — and we don't forecast. Analyst ranges published in 2025-26 cluster between €90 and €160 by 2030 driven by the tightening cap; our calculator lets you test any price from €20 to €160 as a scenario.

Question 3

When does free allocation end?

Accepted Answer

2034 — completely. The schedule (Reg. 2023/956): 97.5% free in 2026, 90% in 2028, 51.5% in 2030, 26.5% in 2032, 14% in 2033, 0% in 2034.

Question 4

Which sectors does CBAM cover?

Accepted Answer

Cement, iron & steel, aluminium, fertilizers, hydrogen and electricity — with a review to extend to more sectors (chemicals, polymers) before 2030.

Question 5

Who physically pays CBAM — exporter or importer?

Accepted Answer

The EU importer (as 'authorised CBAM declarant') buys and surrenders certificates. Commercially the cost flows into the trade price, so exporters feel it in negotiations.

Question 6

Is there a carbon price in the United States?

Accepted Answer

No federal price. California's cap-and-trade ($29.27 at the Feb 2025 auction) and RGGI (north-eastern power sector) are the main systems; most US industry pays nothing domestically.

Question 7

Do Saudi Arabia or the UAE have a carbon tax?

Accepted Answer

No — no Gulf state prices carbon domestically (voluntary credit markets aside). Their EU-bound steel, aluminium and fertilizer exports pay CBAM at the EU price instead.

Question 8

How is the CBAM certificate price set?

Accepted Answer

Weekly average of EU ETS auction clearing prices, published by the European Commission quarterly — €75.36/t for Q1 2026.

Question 9

What are CBAM default values?

Accepted Answer

Commission-set fallback emission intensities per product and country, used when an importer has no verified data from the producer. They are deliberately conservative — reporting real verified data is usually cheaper.

Question 10

Can verified plant data reduce my CBAM bill?

Accepted Answer

Yes — if your real embedded emissions are below the default values (they usually are for modern plants), reporting them cuts the certificate count directly.

Question 11

Does the EU ETS apply to imported electricity?

Accepted Answer

Imports of electricity are in CBAM scope — relevant for grids bordering the EU (Western Balkans, North Africa interconnectors, UK until linkage).

Question 12

What is the difference between a carbon tax and an ETS?

Accepted Answer

A tax fixes the price and lets emissions vary (Sweden ≈€115/t); an ETS fixes the emissions cap and lets the price vary (EU ETS). Roughly 43 taxes and 37 ETS operate worldwide (World Bank 2025).

Question 13

Which country has the highest carbon price?

Accepted Answer

Among broad-based instruments: Sweden's carbon tax (≈€115/t, 2025) and Switzerland's CO2 levy (CHF 120/t) top the list; the EU ETS is the highest-priced large market.

Question 14

How many countries price carbon in 2026?

Accepted Answer

About 80 instruments across ~50 jurisdictions, covering ~28% of global emissions (World Bank State & Trends 2025) — and roughly two-thirds of global GDP sits in a jurisdiction with a direct carbon price.

Question 15

Is CBAM compatible with WTO rules?

Accepted Answer

The EU designed it as a non-discriminatory climate measure (same carbon cost as domestic producers, deductions for prices paid at home). Challenges are expected; none has succeeded as of mid-2026.

Question 16

How do I find the emissions of a specific plant?

Accepted Answer

For EU installations: the Union Registry publishes verified emissions. Globally: satellite-based estimates (Climate TRACE) — we publish them for 30,000+ industrial facilities and 4,500+ power plants on IndustryAtlas and PowerAtlas, labeled as estimates.

Question 17

What does €77/t mean per MWh of electricity?

Accepted Answer

≈€28/MWh on gas CCGT (0.37 t/MWh) and ≈€73/MWh on coal (0.95 t/MWh) — carbon is now one of the largest single cost lines in fossil generation.

Question 18

What's the cheapest way to cut a carbon bill?

Accepted Answer

Stop buying allowances for wasted heat: uninsulated valves, flanges and hot equipment typically waste 2–5% of fuel-related CO2. Removable insulation recovers it with <2-year payback — faster and cheaper than process changes, fuel switching or CCS.

Question 19

Are these prices live?

Accepted Answer

No — snapshots, each dated at the figure (EUA: 11 Jun 2026). See the methodology for sources and update cadence.

Question 20

Where can I download the underlying data?

Accepted Answer

Facility-level CO2: free CSV (CC BY 4.0) with Harvard/APA/BibTeX citations. Price sources are listed per figure and in the methodology.

炭素価格付け — すべての質問に回答

質問

高温の産業設備? 熱損失を削減しましょう。