EU ETS Compliance Cost Calculator – Understanding Your Carbon Costs

Please note, this calculator is purely for educational purposes, and should not be used for serious financial calculations. Decerna provides these for free to help organisations learn about carbon calculations, and become more aware.

EU ETS Compliance Cost Calculator

Installation Details

Free Allocation Parameters

Auto-populated based on sector
Phase 4 default: 1.00 for sectors on carbon leakage list

Market Parameters

Annual Compliance Position:

Verified Emissions (tCO2):
0
Free Allocation (EUAs):
0
Deficit/Surplus (EUAs):
0
Annual Compliance Cost (€):
0

5-Year Cost Forecast:

Year EUA Price (€) Free Allocation Cost (€)

Understanding EU ETS Compliance Costs

The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is the world’s largest carbon market and a cornerstone of EU climate policy. Understanding your compliance costs is crucial for financial planning and decarbonisation strategy.

Key Components of ETS Costs

  1. Direct Emissions Coverage
    • Verified emissions from regulated activities
    • Free allocation of allowances
    • Requirement to surrender allowances
  2. Price Factors
    • Current ETS allowance price
    • Price forecasts
    • Trading and hedging costs
  3. Free Allocation
    • Based on benchmarks
    • Carbon Leakage Exposure Factor
    • Cross-Sectoral Correction Factor
    • Activity Level adjustments

Mathematical Basis

The compliance cost calculation follows this formula:

Net Compliance Cost = (Verified Emissions × EUA Price) - 
(Free Allocation × EUA Price) +
Transaction Costs

Where:

Free Allocation = Benchmark × Historic Activity Level ×
Carbon Leakage Factor × Cross-Sectoral Correction Factor ×
Activity Level Change Factor

Annual Compliance Cost = Net Allowances Required × Projected Carbon Price +
Administrative Costs

Projected Costs = Baseline Cost × (1 + Annual Reduction Factor)^Year

Data sources:

  • EUA prices: ICE/EEX market data
  • Benchmarks: Commission Implementing Regulation 2021/447
  • Carbon Leakage Factors: Commission Delegated Decision 2019/708
  • Cross-Sectoral Correction: Annually updated Commission values
  • Default emission factors: Commission Regulation 2018/2066

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