Glossary
Default value
Under the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a value for the embedded emissions in a good, calculated or drawn from secondary data, not the producer's figures. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 sets them by good and exporting country.
- Legal source
- CBAM Regulation, Article 3(27) ↗
- Who it applies to
- Authorised CBAM declarants that determine the embedded emissions of their imports by reference to default values instead of actual emissions. Competent authorities also use them to work out the certificates behind a penalty.
- Example
- For threaded screws and bolts of iron or steel from China, Combined Nomenclature (CN) code 7318 15, the default value is 6.375 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) per tonne. With the 10% mark-up for 2026, that becomes 7.0125 tonnes of CO₂e per tonne of bolts, by our arithmetic.
- Also known as
- default values
The CBAM Regulation sets the method for goods other than electricity: a default value is the average emission intensity of the exporting country for that good, increased by a mark-up. Where reliable data for a country can't be used, the value is based on the average of the 10 exporting countries with the highest emission intensities for that good.
The values for goods other than electricity are in Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621, as amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1740. Other annexes to that regulation hold the values for indirect emissions and for electricity. For cement, iron and steel, aluminium and hydrogen, the mark-up is 10% for 2026, 20% for 2027 and 30% for 2028 onwards; for fertilisers, it is 1% from 2026.
Default values are the alternative to actual emissions from the producer's installation, for calculating
Regulations
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1740 corrected Annexes I and IV of the default values act, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621
Used in
EU CBAM authorised declarant: how to apply, or use a customs representative
Beyond the 50-tonne exemption, only authorised declarants can import CBAM goods into the EU. How to apply, the guarantee, and the representative route.
EU CBAM certificate price: how certificates work and what they cost
How the EU CBAM certificate price is set, when you can buy, the 50% quarterly holding rule, surrender by 30 September 2027, and a worked cost example.
EU CBAM default values or actual emissions: which to use, and how embedded emissions are calculated
Under the EU CBAM, you declare embedded emissions from verified supplier data or from default values with a mark-up. How to choose, and what to ask suppliers.
EU CBAM 50-tonne threshold: does it apply to you, and what if you cross it?
At 50 tonnes or less a year of CBAM goods (not electricity or hydrogen), you're exempt from the EU CBAM. What counts, and the penalty for crossing unauthorised.
EU CBAM for producers and exporters outside the EU: registration, verification and who pays
Making steel, aluminium, cement or fertiliser in India or elsewhere outside the EU? What EU CBAM means for you: optional registration, verification, who pays.
EU CBAM downstream products: what the proposed extension covers, for whom and from when
The Commission proposes adding downstream steel and aluminium goods to EU CBAM from 1 January 2028. Check the CN codes, who it affects and where it stands.