EU Carbon Permits decreased 2.17 EUR or 2.97% since the beginning of 2025, 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.

The price of emissions allowances (EUA) traded on the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) exceed 100 euros per metric ton of CO₂ for the first time n February 2023. Athough average annual EUA prices have increased significantly since the 2018 reform of the EU-ETS, they fell 19 percent year-on-year in 2023 to 65 euros. What is the EU-ETS? The EU-ETS became the world’s first carbon market in 2005. The scheme was introduced as a way of limiting GHG emissions from polluting installations by putting a price on carbon, thus incentivizing entities to reduce their emissions. A fixed number of emissions allowances are put on the market each year, which can be traded between companies. The number of available allowances is reduced each year. The EU-ETS is now in its fourth phase (2021 to 2030). Volatility of carbon prices EU carbon prices are volatile and change daily. Prices are determined by the supply and demand of allowances. In March 2022, the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war caused EUA prices to crash to less than 60 euros/tCO₂ due to the expected ban on Russian energy imports in Europe.

Prices for EU Carbon Permits including live quotes, historical charts and news. EU Carbon Permits was last updated by Trading Economics this March 27 of 2025.

Carbon prices across multiple emissions trading systems worldwide are expected to increase during the period of 2026 to 2030, compared to 2022 to 2026. The average EU ETS carbon price is expected to be 84.4 euros per metric ton of CO₂ during the period 2022 to 2025, but is projected to rise to almost 100 euros per metric ton of CO₂ during the period of 2026 to 2030, according to a survey of International Emissions Trading Association members. EU ETS carbon pricing broke the 90 euros per metric ton of CO₂ barrier in February 2022, and in February 2023 it surpassed 100 euros per metric ton of CO₂.

As of April 2024, the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) carbon price was above 60 U.S. dollars per metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (USD/tCO₂e). The EU ETS launched in 2005 as a cost-effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and was the world's first major international carbon market. The UK was formerly part of the EU ETS, but replaced this with its own system after withdrawing from the EU. As of April 2024, the price of carbon on the UK ETS was 45 USD/tCO₂e.

The cost of UK ETS carbon permits (UKAs) was around 100 GBP in February 2023, but prices have fallen considerably since then. Prices on January 16, 2025 were just 32.57 GBP, down 11 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 30 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.

Detailed calculations supporting the results in the published paper, Assessing Negative Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Perspective of a National 'Fair Share' of the Remaining Global Carbon Budget, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, DOI: 10.1007/s11027-019-09881-6.

• IE-CO2-Quota-2015.ods: Spreadsheet/workbook in Open Document format. Includes table and charts as presented in the paper. Prepared using LibreOffice (v 5.0+). Should also be accessible also in Microsoft Excel, but some formatting or functionality may be lost.
• IE-CO2-Quota-2015.ipynb: Mathematical background and cross-check of detailed calculations in interactive Jupyter notebook format (coding in python).
• IE-CO2-Quota-2015-ipynb.html: Static HTML version of the IE-CO2-Quota-2015.ipynb suitable for simple viewing/printing.
• IE-CO2-Quota-2015-ipynb.pdf: Static version of the IE-CO2-Quota-2015.ipynb suitable for simple viewing/printing.

China launched its national emissions trading system (ETS) in 2021, becoming the world's largest carbon market by emissions coverage. As of April 2024, carbon prices of China's national ETS hovered around 12.5 USD/tCO₂e. The China national ETS builds on the seven pilot projects that have been implemented in seven cities and provinces across the country. These pilot ETS will continue to operate alongside the national ETS, covering emissions not yet included in the national system.

Uruguay had the highest carbon tax rate worldwide as of April 2024, at 167 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 greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Finland – the world's first country to implement a carbon tax – had a rate of almost 100 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.

The average annual price of European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) allowances fell 22 percent year-on-year in 2024, to 65 euros. Still, EU ETS carbon allowances are forecast to rise to almost 150 euros by the end of the decade. Each EU ETS emissions allowance (EUA) gives the holder the right to emit one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent.