Carbon credits, also called carbon offsets, are aimed to monitor and lower the carbon footprint towards a more sustainable world. 1 carbon credit represents 1 ton CO₂e.

As reference, the global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 were 59 GtCO₂e (billion ton CO₂ equivalent (from which approximatively 80% is CO₂). This about 7.4 tCO₂e per person (assuming 8bn people).

There are two main carbon credit markets:

• The compliance market: 12 GtCO₂e trading in 2021
• The voluntary market: 300 MtCO₂e trading in 2021

The compliance market is set by govermental and intergovernmental regulations to meet the targets they impose themselves. The voluntary market is enabling companies to fund projects while compensate their emissions at a different scale.

At the start of 2022 there were 25 operational emissions trading systems around the world. They are in jurisdictions representing 55% of global GDP. These systems cover 17% of global emissions. The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) is the second largest trading system in the world after the Chinese national carbon trading scheme. It covers over 40% of European GHG emissions.California’s cap-and-trade program covers about 85% of statewide GHG emissions.

The compliance carbon credit price varies per jurisdiction.

• Foe ETS-EU it was about 70e/tCO2e in july 2024 [source]
• Other regions have different prices. More information [here]

The evolution of the carbon emissions of the european countries can be seen [here]

More information and sources:

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_offsets_and_credits