CBAM accreditation rules published

An important milestone in the implementation of CBAM

The European Commission has published a long-awaited delegated regulation. The new legal act specifies the conditions for the accreditation, supervision and recognition of CBAM verifiers and thus complements the existing rules of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. The aim is to ensure a uniform, robust and EU-wide harmonised system for the verification of emissions for imported CBAM goods. This is intended to prevent misaligned incentives, distortions of competition and carbon leakage. These requirements are of central importance, as accredited verification will be mandatory from 2026 for all producers that wish to report actual emission values under CBAM.

Legal framework for the accreditation of verifiers

At the core of the new legal act is the definition of clear competence, quality and procedural requirements for accredited verifiers. They must demonstrate that they have the technical expertise to assess monitoring plans, emission data and control systems, that they maintain a high degree of independence and that they operate a permanently functioning quality and competence management system. The requirements are largely aligned with the EU ETS regime in order to create synergies and avoid duplicate structures.

Accreditation procedure

At the same time, the regulation defines a structured accreditation procedure, including application documents, on-site assessments, witness audits and clear criteria for granting, suspending or withdrawing accreditation. National accreditation bodies must carry out annual supervision of all accredited verifiers and intervene consistently in the event of serious or repeated breaches. A complaints system with deadlines and clearly defined processes is also provided for. Another focus is the exchange of relevant information via the CBAM registry: accreditations, changes, supervision reports and the results of the review of emission and verification reports must be shared between accreditation bodies, national authorities and the Commission. This creates a closely coordinated European supervisory network. Finally, the regulation lays down conditions for the mutual recognition of accreditations. National accreditation bodies must undergo regular peer evaluations. Only bodies with a positive evaluation result are permitted to accredit verifiers, which ensures the reliability and comparability of verification across the EU.

Significance for companies

With this regulation, the EU is implementing an important missing piece of the CBAM system. From 2026 onwards, importing companies will need reliable emission data that has been checked in a uniformly supervised manner across the EU. The new rules professionalise and standardise this control system. It is similarly stringent to what is already known from the EU ETS. For companies, this means more clarity, but also higher requirements for data quality, documentation and cooperation with accredited verifiers. For verification bodies and service providers, a growing market is opening up, but one that is tied to high standards of quality and independence. European companies and their suppliers or producers in third countries need to consider who will bear the cost of verifying the emission data. Overall, however, the regulation strengthens the credibility of CBAM and underlines the EU’s objective of integrating climate protection more firmly into global trade flows.

Support in preparing for the operational phase

Further legal acts are expected before the end of the year. Those who act now can avoid risks and actively manage CBAM costs through strategic action. If you would like to prepare your company for CBAM, feel free to write to me directly at helge@kolum.earth. We are happy to support you!