For EUA transactions carried out on the futures market, so-called future or forward contracts, agreement is reached today on a future delivery date and a future price to be paid. Payment is usually made on the day of delivery. The most frequently traded futures contract on the CO2 market is the December contract, which is delivered and paid around mid-December.

A special feature is the possibility of circumventing a physical settlement of the transaction by closing a position early, i.e. a corresponding offsetting transaction is made and a financial difference is paid out.