Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 lets a declarant using actual emissions deduct a carbon price effectively paid in a third country. On default values only a Commission default carbon price can be used, and as of 15 October 2026 none has been published. Türkiye’s ETS pilot phase runs 2026 to 2027, covering facilities with an emission capacity above 50,000 tCO2 a year, and allocates allowances free of charge during that phase. Free allocation produces a compliance obligation without a payment.
The Turkish Emissions Trading System was established by the Climate Law of July 2025, and it changes what a Turkish installation must monitor. Whether it changes what a Turkish exporter pays at the EU border is a separate question with a less comfortable answer.
The scheme as it stands
| Element | Position |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Climate Law, July 2025 |
| Pilot phase | 2026 to 2027 |
| Coverage threshold | Facilities with an emission capacity above 50,000 tCO2 a year |
| Sectors | Pilot phase: the CBAM sectors (electricity, cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers). From 2028 the scheme is planned to cover the activities listed in the draft regulation’s Annex 1 |
| Pilot allocation | Free of charge |
| Full implementation | Planned 2028 to 2035 |
| Oversight | Carbon Market Board under the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, with Energy Exchange Istanbul operating the registry |
Why free allocation matters for Article 9
Article 9 permits a reduction in CBAM certificates to be surrendered where a carbon price has been effectively paid in a third country. Free allocation creates a surrender obligation but not a payment. On the face of the provision, an allowance received at no cost and surrendered does not represent a price effectively paid.
The Commission’s Q&A of 15 October 2026 names free allowances as a rebate that stops a price counting as effectively paid. Its May 2026 draft implementing act treats emissions covered by free allowances the same way. No implementing act is adopted yet. An exporter planning on the basis that TR ETS participation will reduce its EU exposure during the pilot is planning on an assumption, and the position should be checked against the Commission instrument on carbon price paid in third countries before it is relied on.
What changes in 2028
From 2028 the full phase begins. Whether allowances are still allocated free in that phase decides whether a price is effectively paid, and the 2028 allocation rules were not confirmed as of 19 October 2026. Until then the practical benefit of TR ETS participation to a Turkish exporter is the monitoring infrastructure it forces into place, which is the same data an EU customer needs.
Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/956, Turkish Emission Trading System factsheet
The monitoring data built for TR ETS is the same asset an EU buyer needs for CBAM. CBAM solutions covers embedded emissions calculation for exporters, and the CBAM guide sets out how a carbon price paid in a third country is treated.