CBAM and maritime ETS answer different questions
CBAM concerns emissions embedded in selected goods imported into the EU. Its definitive regime began on 1 January 2026, according to the European Commission's CBAM guidance. Maritime ETS concerns emissions from shipping. Keeping them separate helps you avoid treating a freight surcharge as the carbon liability for producing your goods.
An emissions estimate is not a CBAM tax calculation
This calculator does not determine CBAM applicability, certificates or tax payable. It uses Panvaya reference factors for planning. The manufacturing data and verification needed for a regulatory declaration remain a separate task.
Start with the goods, not the container number
- Commodity: Select the goods by name or CN code. CN codes have eight digits. A six-digit HS code is accepted only when it matches one catalogue commodity. Confirm classification using your commercial documents.
- Net cargo weight: Enter the weight of the goods in kilograms or tonnes. Do not include the container's tare weight. Check the visible unit before calculating.
- Country of manufacture: Choose where the goods were produced. This can differ from the loading port's country. If it is unknown, use the unspecified option rather than guessing.
- Route ports: Search the origin and destination by name or UN/LOCODE. Ports are optional for product emissions; both are needed for a freight and ETS estimate.
- Carrier surcharge: Optionally enter the invoice's ETS surcharge in EUR. Convert another currency separately before comparing it, since the tool does not perform foreign-exchange conversion.
Read the embedded-emissions result
Product emissions combine direct and indirect reference factors multiplied by net cargo tonnes. For the calculator's hot-rolled coil example, CN 72083900 has general reference factors of 2.15 direct and 0.26 indirect tonnes CO₂e per tonne of product. Entering 20 tonnes produces 43 direct plus 5.2 indirect tonnes, or 48.2 tonnes CO₂e. A country-specific reference factor can change that result.
That figure describes the model's product estimate. It is not measured factory emissions or proof that those values are accepted for your declaration. Confirm the supplier, installation and production information with the responsible reporting team before using it for compliance work.
Compare maritime ETS costs carefully
For a known route, Panvaya estimates freight emissions from cargo weight and an approximate sea distance. Its ETS model applies corridor coverage and an illustrative EUR 70 per tonne allowance price. This price is a planning assumption, not a live market quote or the price of a CBAM certificate.
The Commission describes maritime coverage of 50% for voyages starting or ending outside the EU and 100% between EU ports in its shipping emissions guidance. Panvaya uses a simplified endpoint model for EU/EEA corridors. It does not reconstruct a vessel's verified fuel use, every port call, exemptions or the carrier's pricing agreement.
An invoice above the estimate is a reason to ask how the surcharge was calculated, not evidence of an incorrect charge. Ask about the allowance-price period, cargo allocation, applicable voyage and any pricing terms. Missing ports or coordinates leave freight and ETS values unavailable instead of inventing a voyage.
Calculate publicly, download after login
Open the CBAM calculator, enter your inputs and calculate without logging in. The standalone tool does not create a shipment or look up another organization's records. Sign in to download XML or Excel summaries of the calculation. The reports include your inputs and planning estimates; they are not CBAM Registry submissions.
Link the estimate when you track a shipment
To keep the calculation alongside cargo operations, sign in and track or open your ocean shipment. Open its CBAM tab, check the goods, net weight and manufacturing country, then calculate and save. That attaches the result to the shipment. Running the standalone calculator or calling the developer API does not overwrite a saved shipment calculation.
Developers can use POST /api/v1/carbon/cbam with an API key, commodity code and net weight. Optional route ports enable the freight estimate. A shipment-linked lookup must belong to the API key's organization. Successful requests use the configured carbon-calculator credit cost; API report URLs remain null.
Use the result to prepare your next check
Keep the input documents with the estimate, and recalculate after changing the goods, weight, country or route. Use the product result to prepare a supplier discussion and the maritime result to understand a surcharge. For regulatory decisions, return to the Commission's current guidance and your verified production records.