The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) He is entering his operational phase more critical. After years of discussions and a period of transition dedicated to monitoring, importing companies are now having to deal with the direct economic impact of the new European legislation.
Dal January 1, 2026, in fact, the import of certain carbon-intensive goods will no longer be just a matter of reporting, but will involvepurchase of special certificates. Ad April, the European Commission has provided the first concrete data on the price of these securities for the first quarter of 2026, marking the beginning of a new era for international trade.
To understand how to prepare and what the real financial impact will be for companies, we interviewed Luigi Ammirati, Senior Sustainability Consultant at Up2You.
Luigi, let's start from the ground up: for those who don't know, what exactly is CBAM?
The CBAM is the European Union's instrument aimed at preventing so-called “carbon leakage” (relocation of emissions). In practice, it applies a price to the carbon emitted during the production of certain goods imported into the EU (such as steel, cement, aluminum, fertilizers, hydrogen and electricity), equalizing the cost of carbon among European products, subject to ETS, and those outside the EU.
It is often referred to as a 'transition period'. Can we say that this test phase is officially over?
Yes, the transitional period, which started in October 2023, has ended. At this stage, companies had to 'only' report the emissions incorporated in the products. But since January 1, 2026, we have moved to the definitive regime: it will no longer be enough to declare, it will be necessary to pay. The announcement of certificate prices for Q1-2026 is an unequivocal sign that the time for theoretical simulations is over.
Let's get to the heart of the economic part: what are CBAM certificates?
CBAM certificates are electronic certificates that authorized importers must purchase to cover emissions embedded in imported goods. Each certificate corresponds to one tonne of CO2 equivalent (tCO).2eq) issued abroad. Unlike a fixed fee, the number of certificates to be returned each year will depend on the environmental impact of its suppliers.
Recently, the EU defined the price for the first certificates of 2026. How are these prices calculated?
The price of the CBAM certificate is not decided arbitrarily. It is calculated based on the weighted average of the closing prices of EU ETS (the EU's emissions trading system) quotas on the auction platforms for each calendar week. For the first quarter of 2026 (Q1), the Commission established a reference price of approximately €75.36 per certificate. This means that companies finally have real monetary value to include in their business plans.
Many companies are asking: “How much will it actually cost me?” Can you give us some practical examples of calculations for different business scenarios?
Certainly. The total cost depends mainly on four factors: product code, volume imported, carbon intensity of the product and price of the certificate, which are multiplied together. However, it is important to emphasize that the definitive calculation is decidedly more complex: determining factors such as the country of production, the free quota based on the European benchmark, the CBAM factor and other factors that could influence the final calculation come into play. For illustrative purposes, we tried to do two simulations that highlight the main peculiarities of the calculation.
Note: If the importer does not receive certain data from the supplier, the EU applies “default” values that are deliberately penalizing. As can be seen between Company A and B, the lack of transparent data can cost more than 6,000€ extra per 100 tons.
What is the main message that companies should get from these simulations?
The simulations show us how sustainability has become a budget item. Not knowing the carbon footprint of your suppliers therefore becomes a financial risk. Obtaining real and certified data essentially makes it possible to save significantly compared to the application of EU standard values.
As clearly emerged from the words of Luigi Ammirati, the CBAM should not be seen exclusively as a new bureaucratic burden or a tax on imports, but rather as a powerful accelerator towards total transparency of the supply chain.
Knowing in advance the price of certificates for 2026 offers companies a competitive advantage fundamental: the possibility of acting proactively instead of passively suffering the costs of the transition. This means having the necessary data for renegotiate supply contracts, reward the most sustainable business partners and correctly integrate the cost of carbon into their pricing strategies and long-term business plans.
