Uruguay had the highest carbon tax rate worldwide as of April 2025, at *** U.S. dollars per metric ton of CO₂ equivalent (USD/tCO₂e). Despite being the most expensive across the globe, Uruguay’s carbon tax covered only about five percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions that year. Finland – the world's first country to implement a carbon tax – had a rate of almost ** USD/tCO₂e. How do carbon taxes work? Carbon taxes are a type of environmental tax, typically levied on fossil fuels and certain high-polluting industrial processes. Governments set a price per unit of carbon emitted, which can vary depending on the jurisdiction and may be set by legislation or through a market-based mechanism. The revenue generated from carbon taxes can be used in various ways, such as investing it in renewable energy projects or climate adaptation initiatives. Altogether, carbon taxes aim to ensure that big polluters bear the costs of their environmental impact while providing an economic incentive to reduce their carbon footprint. Emissions trading systems (ETS) ETS are one of the main carbon pricing instruments worldwide. They work on a cap-and-trade principle, which limits the emissions a participant can produce each year through allowances. These can be allocated through various methods, such as auctions, free allocation based on historical emissions, or a combination of both. In addition to that, entities are also allowed to buy and sell allowances among themselves in a regulated market.

As of April 1, 2025, Sweden had the highest carbon tax rate of the Nordics countries, at over *** U.S. dollars per metric ton of CO₂ equivalent (USD/tCO₂e). Sweden has one of the highest carbon taxes in the world.

EU Carbon Permits rose to 71.93 EUR on July 2, 2025, up 1.91% from the previous day. Over the past month, EU Carbon Permits's price has fallen 0.92%, but it is still 1.44% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for EU Carbon Permits.

This graph shows the results of a survey about the carbon tax on CO2 emitting industries in Italy in October 2018. According to data, 44 percent of respondents stated that they were in favor even if they considered an actual application of the tax unlikely. Only six percent was not against the mentioned tax.

The cost of UK ETS carbon permits (UKAs) was around *** GBP in February 2023, but prices have fallen considerably since then. Prices on January 16, 2025 were just ***** GBP, down ** percent from the same date the previous year. Formerly part of the EU ETS, the UK launched its own cap-and-trade system in 2021 following Brexit. Why has the UK’s carbon price fallen? Several factors have contributed to falling UK carbon prices, including mild winter weather and reduced power demand, as well as a surplus of carbon allowances on the market. While prices have recovered marginally from the record lows, they remain markedly below carbon prices on the EU ETS. The low cost of UK carbon permits has raised concerns that it could deter investment in renewable energy. Future of UK ETS The UK ETS covers emissions from domestic aviation and the industry and power sectors, amounting to some ** percent of the country’s annual GHG emissions. There are plans to expand the system over the coming years to cover CO₂ venting by the upstream oil and gas sector, domestic maritime emissions, and energy from waste and waste incineration. The UK is also looking to introduce a carbon border adjustment mechanism, which would place a carbon price on certain emissions-intensive industrial goods imported to the UK.

The global direct carbon price averaged **** U.S. dollars per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (USD/tCO₂e) in 2023. Around one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions were covered by carbon pricing mechanisms as of April 2024, compared with ** percent in 2020.

The price of carbon under the California Cap-and-Trade program (California CaT) was 29.3 U.S. dollars per metric ton (USD/tCO₂e) on April 1, 2025. By comparison, carbon permits on April 1, 2021 were less than 20 USD/tCO₂e. The California CaT covers the transportation, buildings, industry, and power sectors, and is a key element of California's greenhouse gas emissions reductions strategy.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon prices were ***** U.S. dollars per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (USD/tCO₂e) on April 1, 2025, an increase when compared with the same period the previous year. The RGGI is a cooperative, market-based program among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont, that sets a cap to reduce power sector emissions.