The European Commission published ten guidance documents on 14 August 2026 to support non-EU operators with Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) implementation during its definitive period, covering emissions monitoring, reporting, and financial obligations for importers of carbon-intensive goods into the EU.
The European Commission has 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 on 14 August 2026.
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
Guidance 1 provides an overview of the main changes to the CBAM methodology between the definitive period and the concluded transitional period. It also introduces the CBAM and an overview of the compliance cycle, roles and responsibilities, as well as milestones and deadlines for operators of installations outside the EU during the definitive period and explains the general exemptions from the CBAM.
Guidance No. 2: Quick guide for non-EU operators
Guidance 2 provides a quick guidance for the intended reader of this document, the operator of an installation producing CBAM goods. It provides a roadmap of the most important concepts of CBAM emissions monitoring and where to find more information in this series of documents. •
Guidance No. 3: Calculation of embedded emissions
Guidance 3 sets out the monitoring and reporting obligations and recommendations which are potentially applicable to any affected producer of CBAM goods.
Guidance No. 4: Calculation of the free allocation adjustment
Guidance 4 provides an overview of how the adjustment for free allocation is to be determined and what information is needed.
Guidance documents 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e and 5f present an overview per sector of the production processes and value chains for goods that are included in the scope of the CBAM, as well as sector-specific monitoring and reporting considerations for each CBAM good where this is relevant. These sections are supplemented by examples for each sector. These are:
- 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 should ensure they are prepared for the verification of emissions data and have robust processes in place to report actual emissions. The resources will help businesses:
- Familiarise themselves with CBAM requirements and identify key areas to focus on when using actual values for 2026 imports.
- Learn best practices for developing a Monitoring Plan and establishing robust emissions monitoring processes.
- Understand changes to the calculation of embedded emissions compared with the transitional period.
- Learn how to use the default values provided by the European Commission.
- Understand how to apply the free allocation adjustment, including through practical examples.
More information on CBAM can be found here.
