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.
US mandates record-high biofuel use: Update
US mandates record-high biofuel use: Update
Updates throughout with details on announcement New York, 27 March (Argus) — The US will require record-high biofuel use over the next two years, boosting soybean farmers and alternative diesel producers at the expense of oil refiners that warned of higher pump prices. Oil refiners will have to bring billions more gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel to market in 2026 and 2027, according to high-level targets previewed by President Donald Trump's administration. More details will come in final regulatory text that could be published late on Friday. The requirements come as Trump and Republicans in Congress see more support for biofuels as one way to help farmers hurt by trade wars and rising input costs. They also come at the same time as war in the Middle East has pushed up the cost of oil products, raising interest in alternatives like biofuels. Requiring "the highest volumes of renewable fuels in history" will create rural jobs and "massively increase our nation's energy supply", Trump said at a White House event. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires oil refiners and importers to annually blend different types of biofuels or buy Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits from those that do. Traders expecting high quotas had already boosted the price of RINs — and key renewable diesel inputs like soybean oil — to multiyear highs this week. Friday's final rule includes a record-high mandate of 26.81bn RINs from total renewable fuel blending this year and 27.02bn RINs next year. EPA sets total blend requirements and requires that a portion come from lower-carbon "advanced" biofuel types including biomass-based diesel. A gallon of corn ethanol generates one RIN, while more energy-dense fuels like renewable diesel earn more. Other updates show the Trump administration siding clearly with farmers over refiners. Larger oil companies, for instance, will have to blend more biofuels to offset the demand hit from recently generous program exemptions for some small refining rivals. Spread over the next two years, the added mandate equals around 70pc of biofuel volumes expected to be exempted from 2023-2025 blend quotas, higher than other options EPA considered. The administration did punt an earlier plan to penalize imports, which would have been one of the most substantial and legally contested reforms in program history. But EPA expects to implement that provision — which would mean foreign biofuels and feedstocks receive half the RINs as domestic product — starting in 2028. Farm groups have pushed regulators to do more to restrict inputs that compete with US crops, including recycled cooking oil that major renewable diesel plants bring in from countries like China. Refiners had lobbied the administration this month to shift course, warning that higher mandates would spill into retail fuel prices already rising because of war in the Middle East. With affordability concerns top of mind for voters ahead of this year's midterm elections, the possibility of higher food and fuel prices presents political risk for Republicans. "It's baffling, with fuel prices already rising due to the conflict in Iran, that EPA is finalizing a rule that will make things far worse for consumers", said Chet Thompson, president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, a group usually on board with Trump's energy policy. The mandates are certain to draw legal challenges, potentially from refiners or environmental groups. But as courts debate the details, the quotas are likely to support continued growth in not just US biofuel production but feedstock processing as well. Crop trading giants like Bunge and Cargill have invested heavily in new soybean and canola crush facilities, hoping to supply more vegetable oils to biofuel plants. Renewable diesel wins more than other fuels While the mandates will also support production margins for other biofuels, domestic demand for corn ethanol — the most widely used biofuel in the US — depends more on Congress. Lawmakers have struggled for months to reach a compromise on legislation that would permanently exempt a higher-ethanol gasoline blend from smog rules that currently limit summertime sales. Trump said Friday he was trusting legislative leaders to soon reach a deal. Gasoline stations can continue supplying fuel with up to 15pc ethanol this summer, more than the typical 10pc blend, because of temporary emergency regulations that the Trump administration started issuing this week. But so-called "E15" is still not sold at most US retail outlets. Renewable diesel production capacity in the US, already at record highs and growing, has boomed in part because the biofuel has fewer blend limits. By Cole Martin Final renewable volume obligations bn RINs 2025 2026 2027 Cellulosic biofuel 1.21 1.36 1.43 Biomass-based diesel 5.36* 9.07 9.20 Advanced biofuel 7.33 11.10 11.32 Total renewable fuel 22.33 26.81 27.02 *2025 biomass-based diesel mandate set in gallons, converted here to RINs Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US biofuel mandates exit White House review
US biofuel mandates exit White House review
New York, 27 March (Argus) — The White House has completed its review of new biofuel blend mandates, signaling it could release the long-awaited rule important for crop demand and retail fuel prices. The rule emerged from the White House review process on Thursday, which is the last significant step before major regulations can be released, according to a government database updated on Friday. President Donald Trump's administration has already made clear that it expects to finalize new biofuel quotas, which were proposed at record-high levels for 2026 and 2027, sometime this month. The final blend requirements come as Trump and Republicans in Congress see more support for biofuels as one way to help farmers hurt by trade wars and rising input costs. The new quotas also come at the same time as war in the Middle East has spiked the cost of oil products, raising interest in alternatives. More details about the updates to the biofuel program, whether released in full Friday or not, could come at a White House event to celebrate agriculture. Trump said earlier in the week that his administration would announce on Friday "a variety of actions that we're taking to support American farmers". Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, the Environmental Protection Agency requires oil refiners and importers to annually blend different types of biofuels or buy credits from those that do. Traders expecting high quotas have already boosted the price of program credits — and key renewable diesel inputs like soybean oil — to multiyear highs this week. But oil refiners have lobbied the administration to shift course, warning that higher mandates would spill into retail fuel prices that are already spiking. While an earlier Trump proposal to slash program credits for imported biofuels and feedstocks is unlikely to be finalized, oil majors have bristled at a separate plan that would require them to blend more biofuels to offset recently generous program exemptions for smaller rivals. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Tidewater expects higher biofuel output this year
Tidewater expects higher biofuel output this year
New York, 26 March (Argus) — Canadian refiner Tidewater Renewables expects to make more biofuel in 2026 after policy shifts and unplanned outages last year affected output. Tidewater expects to produce between 2,600-2,900 b/d of renewable diesel this year, the company said Thursday. Its biorefinery, one of just three in Canada that can produce renewable diesel, has averaged "near nameplate capacity" of 3,000 b/d so far this year, chief executive Jeremy Baines said. The company's biofuel plant in Prince George, British Columbia averaged fewer than 2,000 b/d of production in 2025, and fewer than 1,500 b/d in the fourth quarter. A planned turnaround that began in September lasted two weeks longer than expected before more outages in October and December because of an equipment issue. Hurt by imports of US renewable diesel, Tidewater has lobbied Canadian policymakers for more support. After Canada brushed aside Tidewater's calls for tariffs, British Columbia took matters into its own hands last year, adding requirements to low-carbon fuel standard incentives that domestically-produced diesel alternatives replace 8pc of the province's demand. The federal government has since looked for other ways to support the country's nascent renewable diesel industry, which also includes larger producers Imperial Oil and Braya. Canada has floated changes to a federal clean fuel standard to prioritize Canadian-made fuels, and Tidewater expects for all of its renewable diesel this year to qualify for a separate federal production incentive . By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iran’s Hormuz transit fee illegal: GCC
Iran’s Hormuz transit fee illegal: GCC
New York, 26 March (Argus) — Iran charging vessels to transit the strait of Hormuz is illegal and a violation of a UN convention, Gulf Cooperation Council secretary general Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi said today. Iran effectively closed the strait by attacking commercial vessels shortly after the start of military strikes by the US and Israel at the end of February, and is now imposing fees on those wanting to transit the strait, Al-Budaiwi said. "This is a violation of the UN convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," Al-Budaiwi said. Passage via the strait of Hormuz is dissimilar from Suez Canal and Panama Canal transits, through which Egypt and Panama legally charge fees, because it is a natural international strait rather than a manmade waterway. UNCLOS allows "strait states" such as Iran to designate safe shipping lanes, but stipulates that these states "must not discriminate among foreign ships or, in their application, have the practical effect of denying, hampering or impairing the right of transit passage". Despite this, Tehran is showing signs of plowing forward and formalizing a system to officially collect fees to ensure safe passage via the strait. The GCC — made up of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the UAE — will likely remain vocal in the near term about the imposition of fees by Iran because it threatens to continue to hamper shipments from the Mideast Gulf even after the end of the war. The payment of fees will also boost freight costs from the region and create new arbitrage opportunities for buyers sourcing outside of the Mideast Gulf. 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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