BEHG and CO2 price: What rising costs in 2026 mean for companies

Since 2021, the Fuel Emissions Trading Act (BEHG) has been gradually increasing the price of fossil fuels such as natural gas, heating oil, and diesel. The year 2026 marks a structural turning point: instead of a legally fixed price, an auction will determine the costs for the first time. What this means in concrete terms is still underestimated in many companies.

What the BEHG regulates

The BEHG prices CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in the buildings and transport sectors – in particular natural gas, heating oil, petrol, and diesel. Unlike the European Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) for large industrial plants, the BEHG uses the so-called upstream approach: not every individual consumer buys certificates, but rather the companies that put these fuels into circulation or supply them – the costs are passed on to companies and private households via the fuel price.

The 2026 price path: from fixed price to auction

The key difference in 2026: instead of a legally fixed price known in advance, a weekly auction within a price corridor will determine the actual costs starting this year. For corporate planning, this means less predictability than in previous years – even though the federal government is simultaneously planning relief in other energy cost components to cushion the net burden on end customers.

What this means in concrete terms for companies

With a CO2 price of 65 euros per tonne (the maximum value of the 2026 corridor), this results, for example, in a surcharge of around 17 cents per litre of heating oil. For a business with significant gas or heating oil consumption, this adds up to a relevant cost block over the year – which, moreover, will tend to become more volatile from 2027 onwards due to market-based pricing instead of remaining predictable.

The misconception: treating BEHG as a purely climate issue instead of a cost issue

In public discussions, the CO2 price is usually debated under climate policy – for corporate planning, it is first and foremost an additional, growing cost factor on fossil energy sources. Anyone who does not know their fossil energy consumption does not know their own BEHG-related cost increase either – and thus misses a concrete starting point for savings that works independently of any climate debate.

Where the leverage lies

The BEHG cost share cannot be negotiated away, but the underlying consumption can be reduced. Anyone who lowers their own gas and heating oil consumption – for example, through better control or by uncovering faulty control systems with the help of energy management software – automatically reduces the BEHG-related additional costs as well, in addition to the actual energy cost savings.

How strait helps with rising CO2 prices

strait continuously records energy and fuel consumption via IoT sensors and makes visible where unnecessary consumption occurs – the direct lever against rising BEHG costs. The same data simultaneously provides the basis for the CO2 balance and transparently shows how the CO2 price is actually affecting your own operations, instead of remaining an abstract, elusive figure.

How is the CO2 price affecting your business? In a demo, we will work together to identify where your greatest leverage lies.

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