TURKÇİMENTO has warned that the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) could turn into a de facto non-tariff trade barrier for Türkiye’s cement sector due to the use of high default emission values. According to the association, the current methodology may place Turkish exporters at a competitive disadvantage by applying emission factors that do not reflect actual production performance.
Major Gap Between Actual and Default Emission Values
TURKÇİMENTO CEO Volkan Bozay emphasized that Türkiye’s cement sector has operated under a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system aligned with EU standards since 2015.
All production facilities in the country use low-emission dry kiln technology, resulting in emission performance significantly below the default values applied by the EU.
However, because no country-specific default value has been defined for Türkiye, exporters are subject to the highest emission coefficients listed under the “other countries” category, which the association says creates an unfair competitive disadvantage.
In the first 11 months of 2025, TÜRKÇİMENTO members, representing roughly 94% of the sector, produced 75 million tons of clinker. Türkiye is also a key supplier of clinker and cement imports to the EU market.
Carbon Costs Could Rise from €20 to €80 per Ton
Bozay warned that delays in verifying actual emission data could significantly increase carbon costs for exporters.
Current figures indicate:
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Actual emissions: 0.88 tCO₂ per ton of clinker
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EU default value: 1.551 tCO₂ per ton
When calculated using current EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) prices, this difference could increase carbon costs from around €20 per ton to approximately €80 per ton.
Such a cost increase could even exceed the average unit price of exported products, posing a serious risk to the economic sustainability of exports.
“EU Consumers Could Also Be Affected”
According to Bozay, if CBAM is implemented in its current form, the additional costs will not only affect producers but could also impact consumers within the EU.
Higher carbon costs are likely to be reflected in final product prices, potentially increasing construction-related costs in European markets.
The sector therefore emphasizes the importance of rapidly activating verification capacity and revising default emission values to reflect real production data.
Technical Barriers for Renewable Energy Investments
Bozay also highlighted that the cement industry is increasingly focusing on expanding the use of renewable electricity in production.
However, a medium-sized cement plant would require approximately 50–70 MW of solar power capacity to meet its entire electricity demand from renewable sources.
Due to technical constraints, installing such capacity directly within factory premises is often not feasible, forcing companies to invest in renewable energy projects at separate locations.
Industry representatives say clear CBAM rules are needed to ensure that such investments and actual production data are recognized in indirect emission calculations.
Industry Calls for Fair Implementation of CBAM
TURKÇİMENTO has proposed several measures to ensure fair competition while maintaining CBAM’s environmental objectives:
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Establish Türkiye-specific national emission benchmarks
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Use MRV system data aligned with EU standards
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Allow actual emission data to be used until verification infrastructure is fully operational
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Clarify procedures for accredited verification bodies
According to TURKÇİMENTO, implementing CBAM in a way that accurately reflects real emission performance is critical for supporting low-carbon production and maintaining fair competition in international trade. Industry stakeholders continue to closely monitor upcoming technical clarifications and secondary regulations related to the mechanism.
