Where Europe’s carbon border lands
In 2025 the EU imported 113.4 Mt of steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers and hydrogen from 152 countries. Declared at the official default values, CBAM would add about €14.4 bn to that bill in 2026.
Largest exposure, 2026 at default values
Share of the 2026 exposure by sector. Exposure is an upper estimate: importers with verified emissions from their suppliers will pay less. How it is calculated.
Latest analysis
More from the atlas
- Sectors
Blast furnace, DRI or scrap: why the steel route sets the price
The CBAM benchmark depends on how the steel was made. A guide to routes C to J and what they mean for exporters.
- Sectors
Aluminium: primary, secondary and the power behind the smelter
Why Canadian and Ukrainian aluminium carry much lower defaults than Chinese metal, and why only direct emissions count.
- Sectors
Fertilisers and ammonia under CBAM
The one sector with a 1 % mark-up, indirect emissions included, and supply chains running through North Africa and the Black Sea.
- Sectors
Cement and clinker: a Mediterranean story
Most of Europe's imported cement crosses the Mediterranean or the Black Sea. CBAM changes the economics of short sea routes.
- Sectors
Iron ore pellets: the CBAM good almost nobody talks about
Agglomerated iron ore is the heaviest CBAM import by tonnage, yet it carries almost no CBAM cost. Here is why.
- Policy
Carbon prices abroad and the CBAM deduction
China, Türkiye, Korea, the UK and India all price carbon in some form. When does a carbon price paid at home reduce the CBAM bill?
- Policy
The UK: its own CBAM in 2027 and a possible exemption from the EU's
The UK launches a CBAM on 1 January 2027. Linking the UK and EU emissions trading systems could take British goods out of EU CBAM.
- Policy
Russia: what still crosses the border, and what CBAM adds
Sanctions and tariffs already restrict Russian steel, aluminium and fertilisers. The flows that remain still face CBAM.
- Exporters
A checklist for producers outside the EU
Registering installations, monitoring emissions, verification and sharing data with EU customers — in the order that matters.