Introducing the CBAMBOO CBAM benchmark values model

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will require EU importers to purchase CBAM certificates based on the embedded emissions in their goods. A critical input to this calculation is the benchmark value — a reference point that determines how many certificates an importer must surrender for each tonne of a given product. Yet despite the approaching definitive period, the EU has not published final benchmark values for CBAM-covered goods. This leaves importers, traders, and compliance teams unable to forecast their true CBAM exposure with confidence.

CBAMBOO has developed a proprietary benchmark values model that estimates these figures across all six CBAM sectors: iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, and hydrogen. The model draws on publicly available EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) data, production statistics, and regulatory guidance to derive values that are consistent with the methodology described in the CBAM regulation. Each estimate is updated as new information becomes available, ensuring that users always work with the most current projections.

For importers, having reliable benchmark estimates is not merely an academic exercise. Benchmark values directly affect the number of CBAM certificates required and, therefore, the financial cost of importing goods into the EU. Without these figures, businesses cannot accurately price their supply chains, negotiate contracts with suppliers, or plan their certificate purchasing strategies. The CBAMBOO model fills this gap by giving importers a defensible, data-driven basis for their planning.

The benchmark values model is available to all CBAMBOO platform users. As the EU moves towards publishing official values, CBAMBOO will continue to refine its estimates and will incorporate the final figures as soon as they are released. In the meantime, the model provides the best available basis for importers who need to act now rather than wait for regulatory certainty.