Carbon markets
Overview
Carbon markets are developing as a crucial economic lever in the challenge of reversing the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, while CO2 remains a key factor in a range of industrial sectors.
National governments are embracing carbon markets, with a proliferation of carbon pricing policies worldwide. The private sector is channelling finance into projects that generate carbon emissions reductions and removals to mitigate their hard-to-abate emissions.
And the United Nations is making progress in building a global marketplace for carbon emissions reductions that will facilitate nations’ attempts to meet their obligations under the Paris Agreement.
Industrial sectors remain a key source of CO2 emissions and consumption, with innovation looking towards sustainable methods of production and utilisation.
Argus is setting the stage for an extended period of growth, evolution and interconnection of carbon market participants and initiatives.
Latest carbon markets news
Browse the latest market moving news on carbon markets.
EU plans one-year delay to methane law for oil, gas
EU plans one-year delay to methane law for oil, gas
Brussels, 28 September (Argus) — The European Commission is assessing legal options to delay by one year key monitoring provisions in its 2024 methane emissions regulation (MER) for oil, gas and coal imports due to enter into force in 2027, according to an official source. EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen is expected to present the proposal before an EU leaders' meeting on 15 October. A Commission official said Brussels is examining whether to postpone "some" parts of the MER. "That is now ongoing at technical level," the official said today. The moves comes after French president Emmanuel Macron last week called for a one-year postponement . The Commission at the time said it would examine Macron's proposal. But energy spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen had said that Brussels would consider additional measures only if it identified risks to energy security or supply. Under the MER, oil, gas and coal importers must show that the fossil fuels coming to the EU were produced in a jurisdiction with monitoring, reporting and verification requirements equivalent to those applied in the bloc. The rule was due to apply to all contracts signed or renewed after 4 August 2024. The Commission in July had already put forward formal recommendations that member states refrain from imposing penalties for non-compliance with the MER between 2027 and 2029. But the oil and gas industry continued to ask for a three-year delay to the regulation. The Commission official today said that, in the absence of an energy supply emergency, the Commission is unlikely to use emergency legislative powers. The EU last used such powers in 2022 to cap power market revenues at €180/MWh and impose a temporary solidarity contribution on excess profits in the oil, gas, coal and refining sectors. The official said a delay would have the greatest short-term political impact compared to energy demand saving and other measures because the regulation's reporting obligations are due to take effect on 1 January 2027. EU energy ministers are expected to discuss the methane regulation and energy security issues at an informal meeting in Dublin on 29 September. But no decisions are expected. More than 10 member states earlier this year said they were considering backing an initiative led by the Czech Republic government calling on the Commission to review the regulation and delay its implementation. The regulation has also been a major point of contention between the EU and the US in recent months. And both European LNG buyers and US exporters have repeatedly complained that uncertainty over how to comply with this regulation is holding back the signing of long-term LNG deals. In a letter to ministers, Jorgensen said EU gas storage is exceptionally low but there are "currently no immediate risks to security of supply". He also urged EU states to make use of flexibility in the gas storage regulation by reducing the filling target to 80pc to alleviate immediate pressure on refilling costs. But he also noted governments should consider taking or continuing to take measures that can sustain injections or reduce gas and electricity demand. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EEA includes EU CBAM in agreement
EEA includes EU CBAM in agreement
London, 28 September (Argus) — The European Economic Area (EEA) committee has now included the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) in the EEA agreement, enabling the scheme to apply in Norway and Iceland, the Norwegian government said. "CBAM is one step closer to coming into force in Norway," climate and environment minister Sigrun Aasland said. The country's parliament in June adopted legislation to introduce CBAM. Norway aims to apply CBAM "in full" from 2027, it said, which would require importers to submit their first declarations in 2028 for goods imported in 2027. The Icelandic parliament must still approve the incorporation before CBAM can take effect there. The measure is being taken as "quickly as possible", the government said, adding that it is in close contact with Iceland's authorities. The EU fully launched CBAM at the start of this year. The mechanism imposes a carbon price on certain goods imported to the bloc in the cement, aluminium, fertiliser, iron and steel, hydrogen and electricity sectors. It aims to tackle carbon leakage, whereby firms relocate to avoid carbon costs or more carbon-intensive imports displace EU products. Norway, along with fellow EEA countries Iceland and Liechtenstein, is subject to carbon costs in CBAM sectors under the EU emissions trading system. By Kiara Campagne Nieva Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazilian producers call for bunker biofuel mandate
Brazilian producers call for bunker biofuel mandate
Sao Paulo, 25 September (Argus) — Brazilian bioenergy companies have demanded that hydrocarbons regulator ANP introduce mandatory biodiesel blending in conventional marine fuels from 2027. The ANP is developing new rules to bring the domestic bunker market closer in line with International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements. Biodiesel producers' association Ubrabio presented the proposal at an ANP public hearing this week. It called for a 15pc biodiesel mandate in marine gasoil (MGO) from July 2027, rising to 20pc in January 2028 and 24pc in July 2028. Brazilian bioenergy producer Binatural estimates that a B15 mandate would create around 230mn liters/yr of biodiesel demand, increasing to about 368mn liters/yr under B24. ANP said it will consider the industry's proposals before issuing the final regulation, expected by the end of this year. ANP's original draft does not include mandatory blending. It would establish national specifications and storage requirements for marine biodiesel, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), ethanol and gas-to-liquids fuels. The proposal would also allow suppliers to sell blends of up to B100 to shipowners without obtaining special authorization. Petrobras and Raízen are currently the only companies authorized to market marine biodiesel blends in Brazil, with blending capped at 24pc. The proposal also regulates ethanol bunkering in Brazil . By Gabriel Tassi Lara Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
SAF needs nuanced crop feedstocks policy: Panel
SAF needs nuanced crop feedstocks policy: Panel
London, 25 September (Argus) — Fuel producers and crop suppliers increasingly support the careful use of intermediate crops for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), aiming to ease feedstock shortage concerns, attendees heard at the SAF Global Summit in London this week. Policymakers are wary of increasing use of crops in biofuels because of food scarcity and previous deforestation scandals. But delegates said Europe urgently needs more feedstocks to curb costs, and that nuanced policy can address these concerns. Farmers grow intermediates crops between rotations to regenerate soil. German life sciences firm Bayer said they could grow oilseeds like camelina, winter canola or pennycress. Farmers already monitor vast field-level data that could enable certification, Bayer's biofuels lead Peter Muller said. Current policy oversimplifies the issue, favouring binary choices of "crop bad, used cooking oil (UCO) good, electricity good", said BP's vice president of regulatory affairs, bioenergy, Eirik Pitkethly. "There's a whole layer of nuance we need to get into," he said. Using a fraction of intermediate crops that EU farmers already grow and do not harvest could yield 2.5mn t of SAF, enough to meet the EU's 2030 SAF mandate, Pitkethly said. "The scale is massive," he said. "It's too good to ignore. But it's difficult and there are challenges in getting the rules right." Lax regulations in the early days of the biofuels industry led to "deforestation in carbon-sensitive environments" and created "more emissions than using fossil fuels," which still makes policymakers hesitant, Pitkethly said. Pragmatic policy would find a "sweet spot", avoiding overburdening farmers while setting enough protections, such as requiring multi-year data to prove no land use change. Policymakers could block carbon-sensitive geographies from supplying feedstock if necessary, he said. The EU appears closer than the UK to opening the door to intermediate crops, Pitkethly said. Cover crops are allowed under EU rules, but details are lacking on which crops qualify and what evidence producers must provide on sustainability. Pitkethly said none of the European Commission's several drafts have provided the clarity needed. Other panellists said companies should be allowed to grow crops for SAF in desert regions, where there would be no competition with food. Egypt could make SAF with its non-edible desert crop jojoba, said grower Saraya's chief operations officer, Middle East, Omar El Mougy. Keeping costs down Narrowing the feedstock pool for hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA), the most established and cheapest route for making SAF, forces aviation to rely on larger amounts of more expensive SAF types instead, Pitkethly said. Replacing fossil jet fuel with SAF may need in the region of 400mn t/yr of SAF, but using only waste oils may reach a ceiling of 40mn t/yr because of global constraints on the main UCO feedstock, he said. The shortfall could be filled with novel SAF types like alcohol-to-jet or synthetic SAF from electrolytic hydrogen and carbon (e-SAF). These are more costly than HEFA, and it would be far more economical to maximise the HEFA feedstock pool as far as possible first, Pitkethly said. By Aidan Lea Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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