The European Commission publishes a series of guidance documents to support CBAM implementation in the definitive period

On 14 August 2026, the European Commission published a series of ten guidance documents to help non-EU operators with the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) during its definitive period.

The CBAM’s definitive period brings monitoring, reporting and financial obligations for importers of carbon-intensive goods into the EU, set out in the CBAM Regulation and its secondary legislation.

The guidance documents are aimed at a range of stakeholders, with a particular focus on operators of installations outside the EU that produce CBAM goods, as well as authorised CBAM declarants and verifiers involved in the compliance cycle.

What the series covers 

The series is made up of four general guidance documents and six sector-specific guides:

• Guidance No. 1: Introduction to CBAM concepts: an introduction to the CBAM and its compliance cycle, roles and responsibilities, milestones, deadlines and exemptions for operators of installations outside the EU during the definitive period.
• Guidance No. 2: Quick guide for non-EU operators: a roadmap through the key concepts of CBAM emissions monitoring for operators of installations producing CBAM goods, pointing to where more detail can be found across the series.
• Guidance No. 3: Calculation of embedded emissions: the monitoring and reporting obligations and recommendations that may apply to any affected producer of CBAM goods.
• Guidance No. 4: Calculation of the free allocation adjustment: how the adjustment to the number of CBAM certificates to be surrendered for free allocation under the EU ETS is determined, and what information is needed.
• Guidance documents No. 5a–5f: Sector-specific guidance: dedicated overviews of production processes, value chains and monitoring and reporting considerations for each CBAM sector (cement, hydrogen, fertilisers, iron and steel, aluminium, electricity), each supplemented with worked examples.
  • Guidance No. 5a – Sector-specific guidance document on cement
  • Guidance No. 5b – Sector-specific guidance document on hydrogen
  • Guidance No. 5c – Sector-specific guidance document on fertilisers
  • Guidance No. 5d – Sector-specific guidance document on iron and steel
  • Guidance No. 5e – Sector-specific guidance document on aluminium
  • Guidance No. 5f – Sector-specific guidance document on electricity

Why it matters 

Businesses need to ensure they are well prepared for the verification of their emissions data and have the right processes in place to report actual emissions. This set of resources will help you:

• Familiarise yourself with CBAM concepts and understand what to focus on to ensure you can use actual values for your 2026 imports.
• Learn about best practices for establishing a Monitoring Plan and putting in place robust monitoring processes.
• Understand the changes to the calculation of embedded emissions compared with the transitional period.
• Learn how to use default values provided by the Commission.
• Understand how to apply the free allocation adjustment, including through practical examples.

Resources 

• Guidance documents: access the full series on the CBAM website.

The dedicated CBAM website can be reached here.

External link