Fertilisers are the second-largest CBAM sector by weight: 18.9 Mt in 2025, with a default-value exposure of €1.18 bn in 2026. They are also treated differently from metals in three ways.
Three differences
- Indirect emissions count. For fertilisers and cement, the emissions from the electricity used are part of the embedded emissions.
- A 1 % mark-up in every year instead of 10–30 %, so defaults stay close to the country average.
- Chemistry, not just energy. Most emissions come from making ammonia from natural gas or coal, and nitric acid production also releases nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Ammonia: the core of the chain
The benchmark for anhydrous ammonia is 1.522 tCO₂e per tonne. Default values by origin (2026):
| Origin | Anhydrous ammonia, 2026 default |
|---|---|
| China | 4.404 |
| Russia | 2.283 |
| Egypt | 2.071 |
| Algeria | 2.101 |
| United States | 3.444 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2.444 |
| Other countries | 3.161 |
Coal-based ammonia, common in China, carries far higher emissions than gas-based production. Urea, ammonium nitrate and mixed fertilisers inherit the ammonia footprint through their precursors.
Supply lines
| Country | Imports 2025 | Exposure 2026 | per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 4.9 Mt | €292 m | €59/t |
| Egypt | 3.8 Mt | €166 m | €44/t |
| Algeria | 1.8 Mt | €84.2 m | €46/t |
| China | 1.6 Mt | €131 m | €80/t |
| Morocco | 1.4 Mt | €39.0 m | €28/t |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1.3 Mt | €92.2 m | €73/t |
| United States | 867 kt | €101 m | €116/t |
| Türkiye | 573 kt | €52.9 m | €92/t |
| Uzbekistan | 565 kt | €60.5 m | €107/t |
| Chile | 249 kt | €22.7 m | €91/t |
Europe’s fertiliser imports run through the Black Sea and North Africa: Russia, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco, plus Trinidad and Tobago and the United States across the Atlantic. Russian fertilisers also face EU tariffs that started in July 2025 and rise over several years — see Russia.
For farmers, CBAM shows up in the price of nitrogen fertiliser, not on a customs form.