EU Carbon Permits Hit €75.97/tonne on May 6 — Up 6.9% Year-on-Year as CBAM Full Phase Drives Market Confidence

EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) carbon permits traded at €75.97 per tonne of CO₂ on May 6, 2026 — up 6.24% over the prior month and 6.91% year-on-year. The sustained price above €75 reflects market confidence in the EU's binding 2040 climate target (–90% by 2040, enacted April 7, 2026) and the full operationalization of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which began its definitive charging phase on January 1, 2026. CBAM's first official carbon price was published at €75.36/tonne in April 2026 — the world's first fully operational border carbon price covering imports of cement, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity, and hydrogen. The EU ETS remains the world's largest carbon market by volume, and the high price is driving significant investment in industrial decarbonization, CCS deployment, and fuel switching in European heavy industry. Japan, India, and Vietnam also launched new national emissions trading systems in 2026, expanding global carbon pricing coverage. Global ETS revenues reached a record approximately $80 billion in 2025.