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CBAM Exposure Tracker
Who in Northern Ireland pays a carbon border charge, from when, and at what price. The EU has charged for the carbon in imported steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen and electricity since 1 January 2026; the UK starts on 1 January 2027. Figures as at 22 October 2026.
The short version for NI. Goods made in Northern Ireland, or released for free circulation there, are outside the EU CBAM. The UK CBAM applies across the whole UK, including NI, so the charge NI firms face is on what they import from outside the UK, from 1 January 2027.
EU customers may still ask for your product emissions for their own reporting, and NI groups with an EU company importing CBAM goods are caught on that side.
Key figures
Where an NI business stands
Common situations under each regime. A summary of official guidance, not advice: check it against your own goods, commodity codes and routes.
| Your situation | EU CBAM | UK CBAM | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| You make goods in NI and sell them to Ireland or elsewhere in the EU | Not subject. Goods produced in NI are outside the EU CBAM. | Not relevant: these are exports. | No CBAM declaration is needed for these goods. Customers may still ask for product emissions for their own reporting, so keep the figures to hand. |
| You import steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser or hydrogen into NI from outside the UK | Not subject. Goods released for free circulation in NI are outside the EU CBAM. | Liable from 1 January 2027 once CBAM goods pass £50,000 (30-day forward or 12-month backward test). Register by 31 January 2028; first return and payment by 31 May 2028. | Check commodity codes and import values now. Ask suppliers for verified emissions per tonne, or plan to use default values. Keep records for six years. |
| You send goods from NI to the EU for processing and bring them back | Not the issue here. | Outward processing rules apply. A UK carbon price already paid on the UK-origin goods can reduce the UK CBAM due. | Keep the evidence of the UK carbon price on the original goods. |
| You export goods from NI to the EU and reimport them unchanged within three years | Not the issue here. | Returned goods relief: no UK CBAM, if the goods come back in the same state within three years. The importer need not be the original exporter. | Keep export and reimport records that link the two movements. |
| Your group has an EU company that imports CBAM goods into the EU | That EU importer is caught: authorised declarant status above 50 tonnes a year, certificates from 1 February 2027, first declaration by 30 September 2027 for 2026 imports. | Not relevant to the EU import. | Make sure the EU company has applied for authorisation and is collecting supplier emissions data for 2026 imports. |
| Goods move from Great Britain to NI, or on through NI to the EU | GB to NI movements carry no EU CBAM formalities at present. Movements onward to the EU are covered in the Commission's Q&A (question 7.14). | GB to NI is an internal UK movement, not an import. | Check the Commission's current answer before routing GB-made CBAM goods to EU customers through NI. |
Carbon price and trade
EU CBAM certificate price by quarter
€ per tonne CO2e, as published by the European Commission. One price a quarter in 2026; weekly prices from 2027. Q4 2026 is due on 4 January 2027.
NI goods trade, year to June 2026
£ billion, all goods; change on the year to June 2025. HMRC does not publish NI trade in CBAM goods on its own, so this shows the size of the trade, not the CBAM share of it. 2026 figures are provisional.
EU CBAM and UK CBAM side by side
The rules that matter most to a small or mid-sized business. Implementing acts and guidance keep changing, so confirm the current text before you act.
| Topic | EU CBAM | UK CBAM |
|---|---|---|
| Start of the paying regime | 1 January 2026 (definitive regime) | 1 January 2027 |
| Goods covered | Cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen | Aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel (no electricity), by commodity code |
| Threshold | 50 tonnes of CBAM goods per importer per year (does not apply to electricity or hydrogen) | £50,000 of CBAM goods: 30-day forward test or 12-month backward test, applied on the first of each month |
| Who is liable | The EU importer, as an authorised CBAM declarant | The importer of the CBAM goods |
| Carbon price | EU ETS auction average: one price per quarter in 2026, weekly from 2027 | One rate per sector, published by the government at the start of each quarter from 1 January 2027 |
| How you pay | Buy CBAM certificates on the central platform from 1 February 2027; hold at least 50% of the year's embedded emissions at each quarter end | Tax return and payment to HMRC; no certificates |
| First declaration or return | By 30 September 2027, for 2026 imports | Registration opens 1 January 2028 (first-year deadline 31 January 2028); return and payment for 2027 by 31 May 2028 |
| Surplus certificates | Can be repurchased by the Member State, within limits; the rest are cancelled | Not applicable |
| Carbon price paid abroad | Deduction for a carbon price effectively paid in the country of origin | Carbon Price Relief, backed by a verification form; cannot exceed the liability |
| Emissions data | Verified actual emissions, or the Commission's default values | Verified emissions per tonne from the producer, or one default value per CBAM good from 2027; records kept for six years |
| Northern Ireland | Does not apply to goods produced in, or released for free circulation in, NI | Applies across the whole UK, including NI |
| UK–EU link | Negotiations on linking the two emissions trading systems began after the Council mandate of November 2025; a link would allow mutual CBAM exemptions | No jurisdiction is exempt from the UK CBAM at present |
The UK CBAM rate for each sector will be published at the start of each quarter from 1 January 2027, and this page will add it then. The UK and EU are negotiating a link between their emissions trading systems that could exempt each other's goods from their CBAMs; until it is in force, both charges apply as set out here.
Data and sources
Every figure on this page comes from the tables below, which are fixed copies of official releases made on 22 October 2026. Nothing updates by itself. Download any table as CSV to check or reuse it, crediting the original source.
EU CBAM certificate prices
Quarterly price of CBAM certificates for 2026, as published by the European Commission. The Q4 2026 price is due on 4 January 2027. Copied 22 October 2026; 3 rows.
NI goods trade, year to June 2026
All goods, not just CBAM goods: HMRC does not publish NI trade in CBAM goods on its own. 2026 figures are provisional; change is against the year to June 2025. Copied 22 October 2026; 4 rows.
Where an NI business stands
Common situations for NI firms under each regime. A summary, not advice: check the current guidance against your own goods and routes. Copied 22 October 2026; 6 rows.
EU CBAM and UK CBAM rules
Key rules of each regime, from the regulation, the Commission's guidance and the GOV.UK policy summary. Copied 22 October 2026; 12 rows.
Not sure where your business stands?
I help Northern Ireland manufacturers and importers work out their CBAM position under both regimes, gather supplier emissions data and get ready for the first UK return. CBAM and CSRD services · Get in touch · Incoterms Chooser · CBAM and CSRD: what NI manufacturers need to know