Global Carbon Market Up Massive 83% on Previous Year
Double 2007’s figures: 4.9Gt CO2e traded in 2008—Valued at $125bn
WASHINGTON & OSLO, Norway--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The global carbon market in 2008 grew faster both in terms of volume and value than estimated, dramatically bucking the current downturn which has depressed most global commodity trading.
“Even Point Carbon did not fully predict the extent of the dramatic expansion in global carbon trading. This overshoot of our original forecast is largely due to brisk EU allowance (EUA) trading in the fourth quarter and to high activity in the secondary CER market”
Overall, 2008 saw 4.9 billion tonnes (gigatonnes or Gt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) change hands, up 83% on 2007, according to a recent report—Carbon Market Monitor —released by Point Carbon. Point Carbon is a world-leading provider of market intelligence, analysis, forecasting and advisory services for the energy and environmental markets.
“Even Point Carbon did not fully predict the extent of the dramatic expansion in global carbon trading. This overshoot of our original forecast is largely due to brisk EU allowance (EUA) trading in the fourth quarter and to high activity in the secondary CER market,” said Endre Tvinnereim, Senior Analyst and author of the report.
The carbon market’s total value for 2008 was estimated at €92bn (US$125bn), more than double the €40bn it was worth in 2007. This results in a present weighted average, global carbon price of $26 (€19) per ton of CO2e.
Taking each market segment separately, within the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), a total of 3.1bn EUAs were bought and sold in 2008, double the 2007 figures and with a total value of €67bn ($90bn). Over 350m EUAs changed hands in October alone, taking the 2008 total to over 3.1 billion, according to Point Carbon figures. These figures illustrate that the EU ETS accounts for two-thirds of the total carbon market volume and three-quarters of its value.
Veronique Bugnion, Managing Director of Trading Analytics and Research at Point Carbon noted that, “This is all the more remarkable since the prices of EUAs have in fact dropped significantly in the past months. Lower allowance prices also highlight the flexibility of a cap-and-trade scheme in automatically adjusting the price of carbon in the face of lower emissions.”
The largest trading platform was still the over-the-counter (OTC) market, which traded 49 percent of the volume, with the share of carbon deals traded by exchanges, such as Bluenext and the European Climate Exchange (ECX), up to 37 percent. In the final month of 2008, Paris-based Bluenext saw the majority of carbon deals, enabling it to overtake the European Climate Exchange (ECX) as the world’s largest carbon exchange.
Meanwhile, within the Clean Development Market (CDM) segment of the global carbon market, some 1.6 Gt CO2e changed hands last year, worth €24bn ($32bn). The secondary market in Certified Emissions Reductions (CER) totaled 1 Gt in 2008, corresponding to two-thirds of the total CER market volume. In all, the CER market is up 70 percent from 2007 and has doubled in value.
Other markets saw 123 Mt CO2e change hands, valued at €481m ($640m). The largest segment in this category was the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the first mandatory, market-based effort in the US, where 70 Mt CO2e changed hands last year with a value of €180m ($240m). These figures show that when it comes online later this year, the RGGI will become the world’s third largest carbon market. Added Bugnion, “the addition of RGGI only furthers the potential growth of this market.”
About Point Carbon
Point Carbon is a world-leading provider of independent news, analysis and consulting services for European and global power, gas and carbon markets. Point Carbon’s comprehensive services provide professionals with market-moving information through monitoring fundamental information, key market players and business and policy developments. For more information please visit: www.pointcarbon.com.
Note to editors
- The Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, which entered into force in February 2005, resulted in the launch of the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The EU ETS is the world’s first international emissions trading scheme. It works on a cap - and - trade basis, where the total allocation is set at the start of a trading period. EU Allowances (EUAs) are the tradable unit under the EU ETS. Up to a certain limit, it is also allowed to import carbon permits from third countries (CERs and ERUs).
- Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) are project credits generated from emission reduction countries in developing countries.
- Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) are project credits generated from emission reduction countries in industrialized countries.
- Primary CERs have a delivery risk while secondary CERs are already generated and issued by the CDM Executive Board and are hence risk free
- The second period of the EU ETS runs from 2008-2012 and coincides with the compliance period
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Delicious
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Digg
MySpace
Newsvine
Google Bookmark
Yahoo! Bookmark
