When does ETS2 actually start?
Adopted 2026-06-14 · ≈ 2 min read · 
edited by Dirk Baaijen
ETS2 has been postponed to 2028 (originally 2027). Monitoring and reporting are already running. The system prices road-transport and building fuels upstream at the fuel supplier.
Short answer: Actual pricing under ETS2 starts in 2028, one year later than the originally planned start in 2027. The monitoring and reporting obligations, however, are already running today.
What is ETS2 and how does it work?
ETS2 was established through Directive (EU) 2023/959 and is a separate emissions trading system for fuels used in road transport and the built environment. It operates independently of the existing ETS that covers industry and aviation.
The system applies upstream: it is not the individual carrier or driver who has to purchase allowances, but the fuel supplier. That supplier surrenders the carbon cost and then passes it through into the price. For the transport and logistics sector this means the cost translates indirectly into a higher pump price, without companies themselves participating directly in the trading system.
Why the difference between "start" and "already happening"?
Although actual pricing only begins in 2028, that does not mean nothing is happening today. The monitoring and reporting obligations for fuel suppliers are already running. This build-up phase ensures the emissions data is reliable before the first allowances are actually traded.
The postponement from 2027 to 2028 gives the market and suppliers extra time to prepare, but it does not change the underlying mechanics or the direction of travel.
What does this mean for costs and planning?
From the start, the cap declines by 5.15% per year, steadily reducing the available emissions room. There is a price stabilisation mechanism: once the price rises above roughly 45 euros per tonne, additional allowances can be released onto the market to dampen sharp price spikes.
The goal of ETS2 is a 42% emissions reduction in 2030 compared with 2005. For transport and logistics companies, 2028 is therefore not an abrupt starting point but the moment when a gradually rising cost pressure becomes visible in the fuel price.
Read the main file: ETS2 and carbon pricing in road transport. Or take the Transport & Logistics scan.
Sources
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/959/oj
Directive (EU) 2023/959; ETS2 for road-transport fuel, starts 2028.
Read next
ETS2: carbon pricing is coming to road transport fuel
ETS2 brings carbon pricing to fuels for road transport and buildings — fuel suppliers must surrender allowances. It starts in 2028 (delayed from 2027), with monitoring already under way. This feeds through into the diesel price, and therefore into freight rates.
How much more expensive will diesel become due to ETS2?
From 2028 ETS2 prices road-transport fuel upstream at suppliers, who pass the cost on at the pump. The exact rise per litre is not fixed and depends on the market price per tonne of CO2.
ETS2: what must I arrange in my contracts?
ETS2 prices road-transport fuel upstream at suppliers; costs feed into the pump price. In contracts, arrange a pass-through/indexation clause, fuel-consumption data sharing and renegotiation points ahead of the 2028 start.