Proposed revisions to the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) could reduce the cost faced by electricity exporters in Bosnia and Herzegovina by as much as €13 million annually. The changes are described as potentially improving the competitiveness of regional power sales into the EU.
How EU CBAM would treat electricity emissions
The proposed approach would give greater weight to the actual electricity mix of an exporting country when calculating emissions associated with imported electricity. That mix would include renewable generation.
Electricity supplied through qualifying power-purchase agreements (PPAs), including certain transactions involving intermediaries, could also receive actual-emissions treatment. The changes are set to apply from Jan. 1, 2026.
Grid emission factor work in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is preparing a methodology for calculating the carbon dioxide emission factor of its electricity grid. The calculation is described as particularly important because the country’s generation mix combines substantial coal-fired production with large hydroelectric output.
Using an undifferentiated or conservative emissions assumption could make exported electricity appear significantly more carbon intensive than individual transactions may actually be. A more granular framework could increase the value of renewable electricity and PPAs.
The same framework is also described as encouraging generators and traders to improve metering, contractual traceability, and guarantees-of-origin systems. These elements are linked to how emissions information would be documented for CBAM purposes.
Regional development of electricity-origin accounting systems
The implications extend beyond Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania are also developing electricity-origin and emissions-accounting systems.
The developments are tied to the way CBAM increasingly links physical electricity trading with carbon documentation. As these systems progress, they relate to how emissions associated with imported electricity would be calculated under the proposed approach.