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.
Fossil fuel reliance to keep EU in crises: UN Stiell
Fossil fuel reliance to keep EU in crises: UN Stiell
Edinburgh, 16 March (Argus) — Europe's "meek" dependence on fossil fuel imports will leave the bloc "forever lurching from crisis to crisis", UN climate body UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell told European climate and environment ministers today, as the conflict in the Middle East continues to push oil and gas prices higher. He said households and industries in Europe are left to pay the price, and that fossil fuel dependency is "ripping away national security and sovereignty and replacing it with subservience and rising costs". The disruption of global energy supplies is being felt worldwide, echoing the "market turmoil" stemming from the war in Ukraine in 2022, Stiell said. French president Emmanuel Macron also said last week that higher energy prices in France were the cost of "dependence". "You heard me talking for years about more [energy] autonomy and decarbonisation because France doesn't produce oil and gas," Macron said, adding the country's actions towards the energy transition will reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and its exposure to geopolitical risks. Stiell said today the EU is more reliant on fossil fuel imports than any other major economy, citing costs of €420bn ($482bn) in 2024. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the EU should act to reduce the impact of natural gas costs on power prices and noted the bloc is "far less" exposed to fossil fuel imports thanks to its diversification efforts. But she said the EU will remain "vulnerable and dependent" for as long as it imports "a significant share of fossil fuels from unstable regions". "Renewables turn the table," Stiell said today. "Sunlight doesn't depend on narrow and vulnerable shipping straits." He was referring to the de-facto closure of the strait of Hormuz following Iranian attacks on commercial ships and Tehran's renewed threats on shipping in the waterway last week . Around 25pc of global seaborne oil exports and 20pc of global LNG exports transit through the chokepoint. "Renewables and resilience keep bills down and create far more jobs," Stiell said. He pictured the EU as a "leader in climate action and ambition", highlighting its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). But the EU ETS has come under renewed scrutiny since the US-Iran war broke out, with some countries in the bloc voicing concerns that the scheme is adding costs for industries and households already grappling with higher energy prices. Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni has called for an immediate suspension of the ETS for fossil fuel-fired power producers, to help curb high energy prices until global fossil fuel prices return to pre-war levels. "Some responses to the fossil fuel crisis, incredibly, argue for doubling down on the cause of the problem and slowing the shift to renewable energy even though it is clearly cheaper, safer, and faster to market," Stiell said. He said this was "completely delusional" as history shows that fossil fuel crises will happen again. Without the EU ETS, the bloc would consume 100bn m³ more gas, "making us more vulnerable and more dependent," von der Leyen said last week. "Last century, when a continent reeling from war came together to build the foundations of integration, energy was top of the list because countries understood that secure and affordable supplies, achieved through cooperation, were the basis of peace and prosperity," Stiell said. By Caroline Varin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
German government under pressure on climate target
German government under pressure on climate target
Berlin, 16 March (Argus) — Germany's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were almost unchanged last year, according to data released by federal environment office UBA on 14 March, putting pressure on the government ahead of its new climate action programme expected next week. GHG emissions fell by less than 1mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), or 0.1pc, on the year in 2025 to 649mn t CO2e. Only the country's battered industry sector achieved meaningful cuts, as energy-intensive production declined further. Although this allowed Germany to meet its 2025 target under the country's climate action law — a 48pc cut in emissions against 1990 levels — the chances of the country reaching its 2030 climate target are lower than a year ago, UBA projections show. UBA expects Germany to post a 63pc emissions reduction in 2030, compared with 1990 levels, a 30mn t CO2e gap against the country's 65pc target. UBA also projects a gap of 100mn t CO2e in 2040, with reductions of 80pc against an 88pc target, assuming no change to emissions-cutting measures. The challenge to meet the 2030 target has become "bigger but not impossible", environment and climate minister Carsten Schneider said at the presentation of the data. Germany will need to reduce GHG emissions by an average of 42mn t CO2e/yr in 2026-30, Schneider said. Expected increases in heat pump and electric vehicle sales, and onshore wind power turbine deployment, are "beacons of hope", Schneider said. Germany's energy sector emissions fell by only 0.3pc last year, mainly owing to lower wind speeds, which reduced wind power and in turn increased gas-fired generation. Industrial emissions fell by 3.8pc, with UBA noting "slow progress" in the rollout of technologies such as electrification and green hydrogen. The country's transport sector posted an emissions rise of 1.5pc, on increasing traffic volume. The buildings sector was the worst performer, recording a 3.5pc rise in emissions as lower temperatures pushed up fossil fuel consumption for heating. Schneider underlined the urgency of investments to decarbonise buildings and transport, not the least to avoid "as far as possible" the purchase of carbon allowances from other EU member states under the bloc's Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR). UBA puts Germany's likely cumulative total gap under the ESR in 2021-30 at 255mn t CO2e. Emissions in the land use, land use change and forestry sector more than halved to 27mn t CO2e, mainly thanks to Germany's forests reverting to an emissions sink, absorbing 19mn t CO2e last year. Emissions in the agricultural sector were flat. The UBA projections were finalised in November and therefore do not reflect the latest developments in the oil and gas markets, or recent legislative proposals expected to curtail growth in renewable power and ease the continued use of oil and gas-based heating installations. Energy think-tank Agora Energiewende called for these legislative proposals to be revisited, as well as suggesting investments in "future-proof" infrastructure, additional tenders for onshore wind power and "clear" CO2 limits for car fleets. And environmental group DUH announced it will take further legal action — following its successful court case against the government in January — if next week's climate action programme "obviously" fails to close the gaps identified in UBA's projections. Germany's government-appointed council of experts on climate change has until mid-May to verify UBA's projection data. By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Carbon - In focus: US-Iran war heightens EU ETS split
Carbon - In focus: US-Iran war heightens EU ETS split
London, 13 March (Argus) — The debate around the role of the EU emissions trading system (ETS) has intensified this month, as focus shifts towards concerns that the carbon price is increasing already high energy prices triggered by the onset of the US-Iran war. EU ETS prices have been treading a fine line in recent sessions, as support from a sharp increase in natural gas prices — which has encouraged a switch to more carbon-intensive coal-fired generation, thereby boosting compliance demand for allowances — is counterbalanced by broader macroeconomic risk-off sentiment, which has prompted some speculative participants to close out long positions in the market. This led to the benchmark front-year EU ETS contract initially holding relatively stable following the first strike on Iran on 27 February, closing within a range of €70-75/t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) in Argus assessments until 11 March. But the rally in the European wider energy complex following the start of the conflict has reignited calls from politicians for measures to ease carbon prices, already seen last month in the context of preserving industrial competitiveness. Italy has been particularly vocal, with prime minister Giorgia Meloni urging an immediate suspension of the EU ETS for fossil fuel-fired power producers, to help curb high energy prices until global fossil fuel prices return to pre-war levels. The EU ETS front-year contract came under firmer downward pressure on 12 March, falling to its lowest close in 10 months after unconfirmed reports that the European Commission is considering changes to the system that could loosen the market's supply-demand balance. Support remains But the commission has generally maintained a firm stance on the ETS. Commission executive vice-president Teresa Ribera warned that its suspension would not send any positive signals, and would ultimately harm the bloc's competitiveness. And a number of EU member states, along with some industry and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), have reiterated their support for the scheme in the face of criticism. Dismantling the ETS would be the "wrong answer" to rising energy prices, and a rushed reform risks distorting price signals without improving competitiveness, said Spain in an informal letter to EU institutions. The country later joined Portugal, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Denmark, Finland and Sweden in a non-paper that termed the ETS the "cornerstone" of the EU's climate policy, and an essential tool to strengthen EU industry. "Making fundamental changes to the ETS, calling into question the ETS instrument itself, or suspending it, would constitute a very worrying step backwards," the non-paper said. Several joint letters, cumulatively signed by around 200 companies, investors and organisations — including Eurelectric, WWF, IKEA and Volvo — argued that the ETS is not the source of Europe's competitiveness challenges. Industrial installations received extensive free allowances between 2008-24, which at times exceeded their verified emissions, another joint letter from 35 NGOs highlighted, and claims that carbon pricing is destroying industry overlook deeper structural dynamics in the EU. A 50pc fall in emissions covered by the ETS since 2005 alongside a 17pc rise in economic output is evidence that the system works, a separate joint statement by a group of 17 energy and trading firms and associations said. And while concerns about volatile energy prices owing to global geopolitical uncertainties are "legitimate", EU leaders must avoid repeating the "ad hoc" market interventions made during the energy crisis sparked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, they added. Pressure mounts The latest discussions on the ETS have emerged ahead of a meeting of EU ministers on 19-20 March, in which the recent rise in energy prices is likely to feature, and with one eye still on the scheduled ETS revision in July. The commission will likely have to respond to pressure on the ETS in light of the Iran conflict, an EU official said this week , describing the timing for holding ETS review discussions as just about the worst moment possible. But conditions have not yet been met to declare an emergency allowing for fast-track crisis legislation as for energy markets in 2022, he said. The start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine drove intense volatility in EU ETS prices amid similar concerns surrounding fossil fuel supply to the EU. The front-year contract dropped to €87.21/t CO2e on 24 February 2022 — when the conflict began — from €94.74/t CO2e the session before, eventually tumbling to €58.31/t CO2e on 7 March 2022 before rebounding to €81.43/t CO2e towards the end of that month.S The EU is not experiencing an energy crisis as severe as the one seen in 2022, EU commissioners said this week, pushing back against proposals to intervene in the market or adjust price settings. "We don't have a security of supply problem as of yet in Europe. But others in the world are in a different situation," EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said, noting that gas is not as consequential in the bloc's energy price setting today as it was in 2022. By Kiara Campagne Nieva Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
No clear path to pre-war Hormuz return: D’Amico
No clear path to pre-war Hormuz return: D’Amico
New York, 13 March (Argus) — Tanker operator D'Amico sees significant headwinds facing global shipping even if the strait of Hormuz can effectively reopen to commercial traffic given infrastructure damage in the Mideast Gulf and mines possibly lingering in the strait. "There are almost 19mn b/d between crude and refined products which used to transit through Hormuz, so around 18pc of total oil supply and 25pc of seaborne volume," D'Amico chief executive Carlos Balestra di Mottola said. "I expect when the war ends, unfortunately, we will not be able to see all the flows we were seeing from this region," di Mottola said. Reopening the strait of Hormuz would remove the major chokepoint that has starved global markets of typical Mideast Gulf flows of refined oil products and crude oil. But the reality on the ground has shifted in the two weeks since the US and Israel began striking Iranian targets. Expecting a similar level of output from the Mideast Gulf in the near term even with the removal of this chokepoint may be too presumptuous, according to di Mottola. "I believe, unfortunately, [flows of crude oil and refined products] might not be able to come back to full speed immediately," di Mottola said. "It will crucially depend on how severely damaged all this oil infrastructure is. We are reading headlines every day of refineries being attacked, export terminals being attacked, so we really will only be able to assess and understand the extent of this damage when things calm down." Iranian mines suspected to be resting on the seabed of the strait remain the biggest wildcard for shippers and insurers alike. A full reopening of the strait would require assurances of total mine removal from the area, which would likely require significant time to complete. "Before sending our vessels, we want to make sure that there aren't any mines which could be hitting our vessels," di Mottola confirmed. He noted that none of the company's 21 medium range tankers and six long range 1 tankers were stuck within the Mideast Gulf, but that the company did cancel one contract with a charterer because it was not safe to enter the region. Di Mottola also pointed to ongoing Red Sea loadings as providing some relief to the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz in the meantime, but only at a fraction of typical flows. "There is the potential to reroute, through some pipelines [to the Red Sea], part of this production, around 3.54mn b/d, but that leaves still a deficit of around 15mn b/d and lost oil output which cannot be easily replaced," di Mottola said. By Ross Griffith Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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