The European Commission (EC) has published its industry guidance for ferrous metallurgy under the Carbon Boundary Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to help non-EU operators by providing detailed rules for calculating and monitoring emissions for a specific period starting in 2026.
According to the guidelines, imports of iron and steel are divided into six main aggregated commodity categories: agglomerated ore, ferroalloys, cast iron, direct reduction cast iron (DRI), crude steel, and cast iron or steel pipe products. The latter category covers a wide range of products, including steel sheet, rods, wire rod, profiles, strapping pipes, structural products, tanks, container containers and fasteners.
Direct emissions, as a rule, relate to steel продукции
For cast iron and steel products, only direct emissions are usually included in the cumulative emissions over a certain period. The main exception is sintered ore classified according to CN 2601 12 00, for which indirect emissions related to electricity must also be calculated. When sintered ore is subsequently used as a raw material for the production of another steel product, these indirect emissions are included in the emissions associated with the production of the subsequent product.
The Commission also clarified that complex steel products should include emissions related to their respective production. raw materials, including sintered ore, cast iron, steel, ferroalloys, and raw steel. The residual emissions of scrap after its processing are zero, as are the corresponding precursors produced in EU countries or in territories not subject to CBAM..
Electricity emissions from electric steelmaking plants are excluded from calculations for the smelting of crude steel.
For electric arc furnaces, emissions from steelmaking and the electric power industry are not included in the emissions for a certain period of raw steel, despite the fact that electricity is the main energy source on the route. However, it is necessary to calculate the direct emissions associated with the use of fuels, electrodes, carbon-containing materials and other relevant sources..
According to the guidelines, operators are allowed, under certain circumstances, to combine several production stages into a single production process, or "bubble". For example, an integrated steel producer can combine agglomerate, pig iron and raw steel production with subsequent processing, when the raw materials of its own production are completely consumed at the enterprise and are not sold or transferred separately.
Weighted averages are applied to various production processes. маршрутам
Where the same goods are produced using different routes on the same installation, their specific emissions to the atmosphere should usually be calculated using a weighted average. A similar principle applies to precursors obtained at different plants or during different periods of production, except in the following cases:, when there is sufficient evidence to attribute specific batches to a specific production process.
The document also establishes additional reporting requirements for steel producers. For cast iron and DRI, the necessary information includes the content of the main reducing agent and some alloying elements. For raw and finished steel products, operators must report information including scrap consumption per ton of product and the proportion of scrap used before consumption.
Actual emissions require monitoring and проверки
Operators seeking to use actual emission values should keep English-language monitoring plans and keep supporting documentation for at least six years.
Actual data on precursor emissions from external sources may be used only if this is confirmed by a verification report from a properly accredited verifier. Otherwise, the appropriate default values must be applied.
Examples of CBAM calculation for steel изделий
In the developed example for a steel mill with an integrated blast furnace and an oxygen furnace, the Commission calculated specific atmospheric emissions of 1.567 million tons of CO₂ per ton of finished steel, including indirect emissions associated with agglomeration of production. With a hypothetical import of 10,000 tons of rails in 2027, this would result in 15,670 tons of embedded emissions and, after adjusting for free allocation accordingly, a commitment to surrender 3,690 CBAM certificates before considering any acceptable carbon price paid in the country of origin.
In another example concerning stainless steel produced using EAF/AOD technology, embedded emissions are calculated for finished products at the rate of 1.783 million tons of co₂ per ton. A hypothetical import of 100 million tons of stainless steel pipes in 2027 will result in a commitment to return 95.9 CBAM certificates after adjusting for free distribution and before deducting any amounts at an acceptable foreign carbon price.
Material losses can lead to an increase in internal выбросов
The manual also covers subsequent products such as screws and nuts. Since material is lost during cutting and machining, if these losses are not transferred to the final product, they can lead to an increase in atmospheric emissions per ton of finished products. In the Commission's example, specific emissions of co₂ into the atmosphere reach 2.039 million tons per ton for carbon steel screws and nuts and 2.371 million tons per ton for stainless steel screws and nuts.
Finally, the EU stressed that the guidance for a particular sector is explanatory rather than legally binding, taking into account the applicable EU legislation.
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