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Glossary

Benchmark – EU ETS

Under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), an EU-wide value setting how many free allowances an installation gets per unit of output, such as a tonne of product or a terajoule of heat. It starts from the 10% most efficient installations.

Who it applies to
Installations that receive free allocation: their EU country multiplies each benchmark sub-installation's benchmark value by its historical activity level. The values for 2026 to 2030 are set by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1412.
Example
An installation has a heat benchmark sub-installation with a historical activity level of 1,000 terajoules (TJ) of measurable heat a year. At the heat benchmark value of 31.2 allowances per TJ for 2026-2030, its preliminary free allocation is 31,200 allowances a year, before the carbon leakage factor and the other factors.
Also known as
EU ETS benchmark, ETS benchmark, benchmark value, product benchmark, heat benchmark, fuel benchmark

The starting point for each benchmark is the average performance of the 10% most efficient installations in a sector or subsector in the EU in 2007-2008. As a rule, benchmarks are calculated for products rather than for inputs.

An installation is divided into sub-installations, and most follow one kind of benchmark:

  • A product benchmark, for a product that has its own benchmark
  • The heat benchmark, for measurable heat not covered by a product benchmark
  • The fuel benchmark, for heat from burning fuel that isn't measurable heat

Process emissions that fit none of these go to a process emissions sub-installation, which has no benchmark: its free allocation follows a separate rule based on its process-related historical activity level.

For 2026 to 2030, the values were updated with data for 2021 and 2022. The benchmark sets the starting amount of free allocation; the factor for carbon leakage and the other factors come after it.

Pending, not law: Commission proposal COM(2026) 619 would raise the free allocation the heat and fuel benchmarks give for 2026 to 2030, by adjusting their maximum annual update rate; the benchmark values would be adjusted for 2027 to 2030. The change wouldn't apply to installations carrying out oil and gas activities under NACE codes 0610, 0620, 1920 and 4950.

Our free allocation explainer lists benchmark values for 2026-2030 and shows the whole calculation.

Regulations

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