Key takeaway
What This Development Means
Germany's cabinet has approved a draft BEHG amendment that would retain a €55 to €65 per tonne carbon-price corridor in 2027. The proposal is not yet law and must complete the parliamentary process.
Is Germany's €55 To €65 Carbon-Price Corridor Final?
No. The federal cabinet has adopted a government draft, but the Bundestag must still consider it. The current BEHG framework remains applicable until the legislation and associated ordinance amendments are formally adopted and enter into force.
Which Businesses Should Model The Proposed 2027 Price Range?
BEHG-liable fuel suppliers have the most direct exposure. Manufacturers, logistics operators, building owners and other major fuel users should also model the range where energy contracts, freight rates or supplier agreements pass carbon costs through.
Source basis: German Federal Government, cabinet meeting decisions on the third BEHG amendment (12 August 2026)
Germany's cabinet adopted a draft third amendment to the Fuel Emissions Trading Act, or Brennstoffemissionshandelsgesetz, on 12 August 2026. The proposal would keep the 2027 fuel carbon price within a €55 to €65 per tonne corridor, bridging to the expected 2028 start of the European Union Emissions Trading System 2.
Germany Proposes A 2027 Carbon-Price Corridor
The draft would extend the 2026 auction corridor into 2027 instead of linking the national price to the average auction price under the existing European Union Emissions Trading System. Certificates would be auctioned between €55 and €65 per tonne of carbon dioxide.
Associated draft ordinance changes would update annual caps and auction quantities. After the full 2027 auction quantity was exhausted, additional certificates could be sold at €73.
Until 31 August 2028, liable entities could buy further 2027 certificates at €75, capped at 10% of certificates acquired in the preceding year. This is not a government repurchase.
Certificates issued for 2027 could cover only 2027 or earlier obligations, not 2028 or later emissions. National double-counting compensation would be limited to settlement years through 2027, with special rules for 2021 to 2026 fuel stocks.
From 2028, BEHG duties would cease only for fuels entering EU ETS 2 under Germany's Emissions Trading Act. Residual BEHG rules would continue where a national quantity remains.
What Changes From The Previous Position
Under the earlier framework, the 2027 national carbon price was expected to move away from the fixed corridor and reflect an EU ETS 1 auction benchmark. The cabinet proposal would replace that approach with another year of bounded national auctions.
The immediate legal position has not changed. Cabinet approval starts the parliamentary process but does not enact the new price range. Bundestag approval and any associated ordinance changes are still required.
Fuel suppliers must continue applying the current BEHG rules and should not treat the proposed 2027 corridor as final.
Who Could Be Affected
BEHG liability falls directly on businesses placing covered heating and transport fuels on the German market. The commercial effect travels further through energy and freight prices, affecting manufacturers, warehouses, building operators, vehicle fleets and suppliers whose contracts permit carbon-cost pass-through.
A €10 spread between the corridor floor and ceiling can become material where companies consume large volumes of gas, heating oil or road fuel. Procurement and finance teams therefore need scenario ranges rather than a single assumed price.
Energy-intensive businesses should also distinguish national fuel costs from EU ETS 1 costs attached to industrial installations. The proposed bridge concerns the national fuel system and does not merge those obligations.
Certainty Improves, But Transition Risk Remains
A corridor could reduce immediate budgeting uncertainty without removing policy risk. The proposal creates a one-year bridge, while auction volumes, reserve sales and the 2028 move to EU ETS 2 could still change the effective cost and availability of certificates.
The bridge may also affect contract negotiations. Suppliers with transparent carbon-price adjustment clauses can pass through verified costs more predictably, while vague clauses may create disputes when national and EU systems overlap.
What Organisations Should Do Now
Fuel suppliers should model certificate demand under the proposed auction volumes and test the €55, €65 and reserve-price scenarios. Manufacturers and logistics businesses should identify contracts with carbon surcharges, confirm calculation methods and check whether 2027 budgets use outdated benchmark assumptions.
Businesses should also map the 2028 interaction with EU ETS 2, including data, responsible entities, certificate-year validity and residual BEHG exposure. Parliamentary changes could alter the corridor or transition mechanics, so compliance teams should monitor the Bundestag process rather than implementing the draft as enacted law.
As verified on 14 August, the measure remained a government proposal. No parliamentary adoption, withdrawal or replacement had occurred.
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