- The value of traded global markets for carbon dioxide (CO2) permits reached a record 881 billion euro.
- The world’s most valuable carbon market, the EU’s ETS, was worth around 770 billion euros last year, up 2 per cent from the previous year
Analysts at London Stock Exchange Group plc has said that the value of traded global markets for carbon dioxide (CO2) permits reached a record 881 billion euros ($948.75 billion) in 2023, marking a 2 per cent increase on the previous year.
Around 12.5 billion metric tons of carbon permits changed hands in the world’s emissions markets, similar to 2022, but record prices in several markets, such as Europe and North America, pushed up the overall value, the LSEG Carbon Market Year in Review 2023 said.
The world’s most valuable carbon market, the EU emissions trading system (EU’s ETS), was worth around 770 billion euros last year, up 2 per cent from the previous year and representing 87 per cent of the global total.
The price of carbon permits in the EU ETS hit a record high of over 100 euros in February last year but fell towards the end of 2023 amid weak demand from industrial buyers and the power sector.
The value of the UK’s ETS fell 22 per cent to 36.4 billion euros, with prices averaging around 65 euros/ton, some 34 per cent lower than the 2022 average, the report said.
In North America, prices hit record highs last year in the main compliance markets, hitting $39/ton in the Western Climate Initiative and over $15/ton in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Prices in China’s national ETS also hit a record high in 2023 of 80.51 yuan ($11.19) in October, the report said. The North American markets were worth a combined 71.4 billion euros, while the Chinese market was worth 2.3 billion.