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.
Rising freight rates support prices of PKS to Europe
Rising freight rates support prices of PKS to Europe
Singapore, 6 March (Argus) — Fuel prices and freight rates have surged since the US and Israeli forces began airstrikes on Iran last week, and this could drive up the cost of producing Asian palm kernel shells (PKS) and delivering them to Europe, market participants told Argus . Dry bulk freight rates for Supramax or Ultramax vessels used to transport PKS from east coast Sumatra to Europe have risen to $60-75/t since 28 February, when the strikes on Iran began, from $45-55/t previously, one Asian trading firm said. The trading firm has offered PKS cargoes to European buyers on a cfr basis and is confident their fleet will be able to transit the Suez canal, it said. The company reported an unconfirmed PKS cargo trade this week at $165/t cfr to a European country. Argus could not immediately confirm the deal, but that price would likely net back to around $90-105/t fob east coast Sumatra, depending on the freight rate. Asian biomass market participants were hopeful of European demand, but said they had received few enquiries. And no PKS-loaded vessels were headed to Europe as of 5 March, according to preliminary data from shiptracking platform Kpler. Freight costs to Japan have also increased, but less than for larger vessels bound for Europe, market sources said. Freight rates to Japan for a 10,000-20,000t PKS cargo from Indonesia have risen to $29-39/t this week from $26-33/t previously, a trader said. That cost increase might limit profit margins for Japanese buyers and traders and prompt sellers to ask for lower fob prices. An extended US-Israel-Iran war could continue interrupting Qatari gas and Saudi oil production as well as ship movements through the strait of Hormuz, which has already reduced global energy supply and supported fuel prices worldwide. Rising diesel prices means higher operating costs for Malaysian and Indonesian PKS suppliers that use trucks to collect PKS from palm oil mills and move it to stockpiles. And PKS suppliers already face supply-side challenges. Indonesia this month increased its PKS export levy to $5/t from $3/t previously and its PKS export taxes linked to crude palm oil prices to $8/t from $7/t, effectively boosting combined taxes and levies on PKS shipments to $13/t from $10/t. PKS suppliers in eastern Indonesia's Riau province have also had to move stockpiles to other export points because the Tanjung Buton industrial port in Sumatra remains closed for repairs, though some firms carried out limited barging and transshipments there last month. By Nadhir Mokhtar Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US sorghum turns to ethanol as exports slows
US sorghum turns to ethanol as exports slows
St Louis, 5 March (Argus) — Slowing global trade activity, and growing biofuels opportunities have pushed US sorghum growers to pivot towards ethanol as a future driver of demand. Slowing international trade, with some partners "on the sideline" this year combined with a large harvest has created "piles" across the sorghum belt, said John Duff, with the US National Sorghum Producers (NSP) said during the Commodity Classic in San Antonio, Texas, last week. China was the largest purchaser of US sorghum, importing nearly 60pc of US sorghum production from 2020 through 2024, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data. Another 5pc of US sorghum production has historically been shipped to African countries, often supported by food aid programs like US Agency for International Development (USAID). These export opportunities took a hit in 2025 following the US-China trade dispute , and the cancellation of USAID by US president Donald Trump. During 2025, combined sorghum exports to China and Africa fell 88pc from the previous year, pulling US sorghum exports to their lowest level in over a decade. At the same time, the US sorghum harvest reached 11.1mn metric tonnes (t) in 2025 – its highest level in 9 years — boosting US stocks to 6.8mn t as of 1 December 2025, up 26pc from the previous year, according to USDA data. This supply glut occurred along with growing demand from US ethanol producers for sorghum , which saw usage increase 273pc to 3.1mn t in 2025 on the year, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. To continue increasing sorghum's role in the US fuel ethanol sector, the NSP is looking to US biofuels policy for support. The future looks domestic Ethanol producers have only opportunistically used sorghum as a feedstock in the past due to technological and logistic limitations. Sorghum inclusion rates have been historically limited by the need for finer screens compared with corn for grinding the grain, and the inclusion of protease enzymes for fermentation. But these practices are now widely adopted across the ethanol industry, with some producers storing the grain in the same bins alongside corn, Duff said. But sorghum historically "isn't in the right place at the right time" due to a narrow harvest window and lack of on-farm storage. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) lists 17 facilities in its directory that can use sorghum as a feedstock for ethanol, with a combined production capacity of 1.34bn USG/yr. Ethanol yields from sorghum are typically lower on a per bushel (bu) basis than corn by 0.1-0.2 USG/bu, said Tad Hepner, vice president for strategy and innovation at the RFA. Typically, one bushel of corn produces 2.9 USG of ethanol, meaning current ethanol plants could consume as much as 12.6mn t/yr of sorghum. Full utilization by these plants would still be a fraction of the more than 130mn t of corn that ethanol production consumes annually. And the location of these plants reflects the crop's limitations. Last year, Texas, Kansas and South Dakota accounted for more than 80pc of both US sorghum acres and ethanol plants capable of using the crop. But last year did see sorghum displace a significant amount of corn. In 2025, US fuel ethanol production increased by 6.41mn bl from the prior year, according EIA data. At the same time, ethanol producers reduced corn use by 2.1mn t and increased sorghum use by 2.27mn t, according to EIA data. Overcoming the logistics hurdle could prove a win-win for US ethanol and sorghum markets, particularly as biofuel polices appear set to align with the crop. Over 80pc of US sorghum production occurs in states which use agricultural production practices including reduced or no tillage, and split nitrogen application by necessity, Duff said. These practices can make the crop eligible for the 45Z clean fuels tax credit scheme. Data is king A major limitation in expanding sorghum's appeal to ethanol producers is the collection and verification of production data. Because the practices that make sorghum eligible for 45Z credits were adopted as a necessity years ago, farmers often do not track and report them, making it difficult to claim the credits' value, Duff said. But the NSP is working to address this issues through a $70mn USDA Advancing Markets for Producers grant focused on improving farmer data collection. This, along with the USDA's recently announced One Farm, One File initiative could reduce this barrier. US sorghum producers are also looking to other markets as pathways towards expanding ethanol's interest in the feedstock. The NPS is working to present a case to the US Environmental Protection Agency that would make the ethanol produced from sorghum eligible for the advanced biofuel D5 RIN credit under the Renewable Fuels Standard, Duff said, which would enhance the crop's appeal to ethanol producers. By Ryan Koory Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Hong Kong conducts first green methanol bunkering
Hong Kong conducts first green methanol bunkering
Shanghai, 5 March (Argus) — Hong Kong completed its first green methanol bunkering today, supplying 500t of biomethanol and 1,000t of fossil methanol to China Merchants' CM Hong Kong . Sinopec Hong Kong, China Merchants RoRo and Sinobunker jointly carried out the operation. Sinopec Hong Kong conducted the bunkering using a 7,500dwt methanol dual-fuel barge , Daqing 268 , chartered from Sinobunker. The barge was delivered in early January and completed its first 200t bunkering at Shenzhen port later in the month. CIMC Enric supplied the 500t International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) EU-certified biomethanol from its 50,000 t/yr biomethanol plant in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, with greenhouse gas reduction of over 80pc against a 94g CO2/MJ comparator. CM Hong Kong is China Merchants' first 9,300 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) methanol dual-fuel roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ship. It refuelled with 300t of biomethanol at China's Tianjin port in September 2025, with materials from Towngas' 50,000 t/yr plant in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Hong Kong has scheduled for another 200t biomethanol bunkering on 10 March for Cosco's 20,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel containership Cosco Gemini , also using Sinobunker's methanol barge. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
No tankers crossed Hormuz on 3 March: JMIC
No tankers crossed Hormuz on 3 March: JMIC
New York, 4 March (Argus) — There was no tanker traffic through the strait of Hormuz on 3 March, the fourth day of fighting between the US, Israel and Iran, due to threats of attacks from Iran and satellite jamming, according to global maritime security partnership Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC). That total on Tuesday compares to 50 tankers on 28 February, the first day of fighting, and three tankers each on 1 and 2 March, according to the JMIC in a notice shared by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. Cargo ship traffic dropped to only a single vessel on 3 March from 98 on 28 February, 18 on 1 March and seven on 2 March. The historical daily average for all vessels through the strait is about 138 ships, JMIC said. The notice, which was published by JMIC at about 12:27pm ET on 4 March, included four vessels in a list of confirmed vessel incidents from the "approximately past 24 hours". The containership Safeen Prestige was the only vessel with damage the JMIC did not describe as "minimal" and the only vessel that was located within the strait of Hormuz at the time of its incident. The Gold Oak dry bulker, anchored near Fujairah, sustained minimal damage. The tanker Libra Trade r also sustained minimal damage 10 nautical miles off the coast of UAE. "US and Israeli-affiliated or flagged vessels are advised to minimize time spent pier-side or at anchor within high-risk zones to reduce vulnerability of targeting," JMIC said. "Maintaining movement and avoiding predictable patterns remains critical for mitigating the risk of targeting strikes or collateral damage." Vessel tracking data and navigational tools within the region will likely become increasingly unreliable in the days to come with significant Global Navigation Satellite System jamming underway throughout the strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf, according to JMIC. "Observed impacts include positional offsets, Automatic Identification System anomalies and intermittent signal degradation," JMIC 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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