When can I use CBAM default values?

When you do not have verified actual installation emissions, you may report embedded emissions using the Commission's default values for the relevant CN code and country of origin, with the regulatory mark-up applied.

What is the CBAM default-value mark-up?

For iron & steel, aluminium and cement, default values carry a mark-up of 10% in 2026, 20% in 2027 and 30% from 2028; fertilisers carry a flat 1%. The mark-up incentivises using verified actual data.

CBAM default values explained (2026)

A practical guide for EU importers · CBAM Compliance

If you import iron & steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers or hydrogen into the EU, your CBAM report needs the embedded emissions of those goods. When you don't have verified actual data from the producer, you use the EU's default values — and getting them right (and applying the correct mark-up) is where most importers slip.

What is a CBAM default value?

A default value is the specific embedded emissions (SEE) — tonnes of CO₂e per tonne of product — that the European Commission publishes for a given Combined Nomenclature (CN) code, broken down by direct and indirect emissions. The Commission's adopted dataset provides these per country of origin (119 countries plus a global fallback), because emission intensity varies by where the goods are made.

How the per-country table works

The engine looks up the best match: the exact CN code and country, then the CN code globally, then a CN-prefix match. That value is the base SEE. Your embedded emissions are simply:

Embedded emissions (tCO₂e) = mass (t) × SEE (tCO₂e/t)

The 2026–2028 mark-up

Default values are deliberately conservative. For iron & steel, aluminium and cement, a mark-up is added to the default: 10% in 2026, 20% in 2027, and 30% from 2028. Fertilisers carry a flat 1%. The mark-up only applies to default values — verified actual data is used as-is. This is the EU's incentive to move from defaults to measured emissions.

Worked example: a steel product with a base default of 1.48 tCO₂e/t, imported in 2026, becomes 1.48 × 1.10 = 1.628 tCO₂e/t — matching the EU's published 2026 column exactly.

When defaults apply — and when they don't

Use defaults when you can't obtain verified installation data. If you do have verified actual emissions (with the required supporting evidence), report those instead: they skip the mark-up and usually lower your liability. Any carbon price already paid in the country of origin can be deducted under Article 9 — once, with evidence.

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