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.
UN reminds leaders GHG plans need to be 1.5°C-aligned
UN reminds leaders GHG plans need to be 1.5°C-aligned
London, 23 April (Argus) — Leaders, including from major emitters China and the EU, committing today to put forward "ambitious and robust [climate] plans as soon as possible" is a message of hope, but they should align with the Paris Agreement's goals and "speed up a just transition away from fossil fuels," UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned. China today reiterated that it will submit a new national climate plan which covers "all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases", according to Guterres. "This is extremely important for climate action", Guterres said. China is the world's highest-emitting country, with plans to reach net zero emissions by 2060 — behind the mid-century target that climate science suggests to avoid the worst impacts of a heating world. Guterres spoke immediately after a meeting that he and Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva convened, in which 17 world leaders participated, including China's president Xi Jinping. Brazil is hosting the UN Cop 30 climate summit in November. The meeting was arranged so that world leaders could hear from one another that addressing climate change remains a priority, a senior UN official said. "Leaders need reassurance that they're not acting alone", the UN official said. "Dissenters and fossil fuel interests may try to stand in the way," Guterres said, but "no group or government can stop the clean energy revolution". The EU's and China's NDCs — not yet submitted — will act as useful references, Brazil's official noted. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa also participated in the meeting today. Participants were limited to heads of state or government and included chairs of the African Union, the Caribbean Community, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Alliance of Small Island States. The EU still has yet to officially propose a 2040 climate target . It plans to derive its 2035 goal, which will form the basis of its NDC, from this. Senior officials from Brazil and the UN expect most country submissions by September. Cop 30, which will be held in the Amazonian city of Belem, will mark ten years since the landmark Paris accord was negotiated. It requires countries to review and revise climate plans — known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — every five years, increasing ambition. NDCs for the period up to 2035 are due to be submitted this year, to UN climate body the UNFCCC. NDCs are a crucial element in keeping to the temperature boundaries sought by the Paris agreement — limiting a rise in temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels and preferably to 1.5°C. Brazil's official acknowledged that this current round of NDCs may not go far enough to hit those goals, noting that "closing the gap" will be a key issue. The majority of countries missed a 10 February deadline to submit their NDCs for the period to 2035, while ambition varied among those completed. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UK mulls GB Energy forced labour PV panels plan
UK mulls GB Energy forced labour PV panels plan
London, 23 April (Argus) — The UK government is mulling steps to position the state-owned GB Energy investment vehicle as a "sector leader" in preventing solar panels produced by forced labour from entering the supply chain. The department for energy security and net zero (Desnz) is "considering" how the government can "go further" to ensure forced labour is removed from the solar supply chain. The ministry states that "no industry in the UK should rely on forced labour", a Desnz spokesperson told Argus . The government previously voted down a Lords amendment introduced by David Alton on 11 February that would have prevented the Secretary of State from disbursing GB Energy funds "if there exists credible evidence of modern slavery". The government defended rejecting the amendment on 25 March, arguing that the existing "debarment list" mechanism — introduced by the Procurement Act 2023 — was adequate "to ensure that suppliers with unethical supply chains cannot participate in [GB Energy] procurement", according to energy minister Michael Shanks. He added that the amendment would "force the government to cease all [GB Energy's] activities". The ministry has now revised that view "having listened carefully to the views of MPs and peers", and expects to "provide an update shortly" on revised guidance. Domestic industry body Solar Energy UK "welcomed" the government's move to push on with a plan to strip modern slavery from industry supply chains and added that it "look[s] forward to seeing the [amendment] text and responding in more detail." The body also stated its confidence that removing forced labour solar panels from the supply chain would produce "no slowdown in solar deployment". By Daniel Craig Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
India consults industries on emission intensity targets
India consults industries on emission intensity targets
London, 23 April (Argus) — The Indian government has launched a consultation on greenhouse gas emission intensity (GEI) targets for obligated entities under its forthcoming Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). The GEI targets, also labelled as "Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity Target Rules, 2025" by the Indian government, are set to contribute to the country's nationally determined contribution (NDC) through emissions reduction, removal or avoidance, according to the official draft notification from the ministry of environment. The government has given liable companies until mid-June, or 60 days since publication on the official gazette on 16 April, to comment on the drafted GEI targets. These cover emissions from a total of 282 companies from four different sectors. The cement sector comprises more than 65pc of the list, with 186 companies, followed by the pulp and paper, chlor-alkali and aluminium sectors with respective 53, 30 and 13 companies each. The GEI targets comprise two compliance periods, 2025-26 and 2026-27, and can be achieved by either reducing emissions or by "purchasing carbon credits certificates from the Indian carbon market" according to the draft. Companies keeping emissions below the targets will be issued carbon credits. These can be either banked until the next compliance cycle, or sold to underperforming firms. Obligated entities that underperform and fail to submit carbon credits equivalent to the shortfall for compliance will be charged twice the average traded carbon price for the related compliance cycle. The price will be calculated by the bureau of energy efficiency, which sits within India's power ministry. The GEI targets are the latest instrument introduced by the Indian government to shape up its domestic carbon market. It first introduced the idea of a carbon market with the Energy Conservation bill in 2022. This was then followed by the Carbon Credits Trading Scheme in 2023 and the Detailed Procedure for Compliance Mechanism under CCTS in July 2024. By Nicola De Sanctis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
New Zealand could raise ETS auction volumes by 2028-30
New Zealand could raise ETS auction volumes by 2028-30
Sydney, 23 April (Argus) — New Zealand's government should consider increasing auction volumes under the local Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), as the existing surplus of carbon units has fallen faster than expected, the country's Climate Change Commission (CCC) said today. The CCC estimates 30.5mn New Zealand Units (NZUs) could be available for auctions over 2026-30, 13.6mn more than previously forecast, it disclosed on 23 April in its annual advice report to the climate change minister. The difference is mainly because the 2024 auctions did not sell all units available , and to lower industrial allocation forecasts because of plant closures, lower production and updated baselines, as well as other factors, the CCC said. This has prompted the commission to recalculate its central estimate to a surplus of 50.2mn units as of the end of 2024, down from the previous estimate of 68mn as of September 2023 . The government could readjust auction volumes over 2026-30, but the commission recommends the excess units to be "backloaded" over 2028-30, with a preferred option to auction 7mn in each of those three years, compared with the current schedule of 3.3mn for 2028, 2.4mn for 2029 and 1.7mn for 2030. Volumes are scheduled at 5.2mn for 2026 and 4.3mn for 2027 (see table) . Total private unit holdings in the New Zealand ETS registry, also known as the stockpile, fell to 150.4mn at the end of 2024 from 160.8mn the year before. This reflects that more NZUs have been surrendered for emissions liabilities over the past year than have been allocated into the market through auctions, industrial free allocation and forestry activities, the CCC noted. Price settings should not change The commission has also recommended that price control settings — the auction reserve price, or floor, and the cost containment reserve, or ceiling — remain as they are, only adjusting for inflation. The auction price floor is currently set at NZ$68 ($40.75) in 2025, NZ$71 in 2026, NZ$75 in 2027, NZ$78 in 2028 and NZ$82 in 2029, while the ceiling price — which triggers additional reserve volumes under the auctions — ranges between NZ$193-235 over that same period. NZU spot prices in the secondary market have been hovering just above NZ$50 in recent days, far below the 2025 auction price floor. Two of the four quarterly auctions of 2024 failed to clear as prices in the secondary market were lower than the NZ$64 floor last year . Prices around or above the current NZ$68 auction floor are needed to support gross emissions reductions in New Zealand, the CCC said, noting "a range of evidence" indicating that. The government will now need to consider the advice and conduct public consultation before making decisions in time for the regulations to be updated by 30 September this year and come into force on 1 January 2026. The government last year decided to more than halve auction volumes over 2025-29 , mostly following the CCC's advice. By Juan Weik NZU auction volumes and proposed updates mn units 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Current auction volumes 5.2 4.3 3.3 2.4 1.7 Proposed updates 5.2 4.3 7 7 7 Source: Climate Change Commission Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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