Ukraine will ask the EU to review carbon payments for exporters
Ukraine is preparing an appeal to the European Commission proposing to review the default emission values used for calculating payments under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). For certain Ukrainian goods, these indicators may significantly exceed the actual emissions of enterprises.
The Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine reported this on September 25. Together with business, the ministry is preparing arguments for the European Commission regarding the possible revision of some indicators.
The problem concerns situations where an importer to the EU does not have properly verified data on actual emissions during the production of goods. In such cases, default values set by the European Commission are used for CBAM calculation.
According to Ukrainian industry enterprises, for a number of important export goods, these values are significantly higher than the actual carbon footprint of production. The Ministry of Economy separately names cement, flat and long rolled products, and seamless pipes.
As a result, importers of Ukrainian products to the EU may need more CBAM certificates than if the calculation were made using verified actual indicators of the enterprise. This increases import costs and may worsen the competitiveness of Ukrainian products on the European market.
In parallel, Ukraine is working to ensure that enterprises have access to full verification of actual emissions. According to EU rules, an importer can use either established default values or actual data in the declaration, but the latter must be confirmed by an accredited independent verifier.
In May 2026, the National Accreditation Agency of Ukraine signed a memorandum with Swedish SWEDAC. The Ministry of Economy considers the development of such cooperation as one of the ways to provide Ukrainian companies with access to verification under CBAM rules.
The European Commission notes that accredited verifiers can already register in the CBAM system and start auditing enterprises. The first full verification reports for 2026 emissions will be able to be used from the beginning of 2027.
The CBAM mechanism entered its permanent phase from the beginning of 2026. It applies, in particular, to imports to the EU of steel and iron, cement, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity, and hydrogen. European importers must account for carbon emissions associated with the production of such goods and fulfill corresponding financial obligations.
To coordinate work, the Ministry of Economy has created a separate working group with the participation of business, industry associations, verifiers, and experts. In addition to reviewing default values and launching the verification system, Ukraine continues negotiations with the EU on special conditions for the application of CBAM in wartime.
Based on materials from: Ministry of Economy and Environment of Ukraine, European Commission
