Carbon Pricing around the World

The document outlines the two primary forms of carbon pricing: emissions trading schemes (ETS) and carbon taxes. It details the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme as the world's largest, alongside regional programs like the RGGI in the US and the Tokyo Cap and Trade Program. It also lists numerous national carbon taxes, noting Finland as the first to introduce one in 1990, and describes hybrid systems in Australia and New Zealand.

• The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), launched in 2005, is the largest trading scheme globally and covers 40 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions within the European Union.
• Finland established the first carbon tax in the world in 1990, later shifting its structure in 1995 from taxing the production of fossil fuels to taxing their consumption.
• The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), launched in 2009, aims to reduce power sector CO2 emissions by 10% from 1990 levels by 2018, applying to power plants with generating capacity exceeding 25 MW.
• China is developing pilot cap and trade projects in two provinces (Guangdong and Hubei) and five cities (Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Chongqing) for 2013, with plans for a national scheme by 2015 focused on reducing carbon intensity per unit of GDP rather than overall emissions.
• Australia implemented a hybrid system in July 2012 allowing companies to buy fixed-price permits for AU$23 per tonne of CO2, which is scheduled to transition into a full ETS linked with the EU ETS by 2015 and fully integrated by July 2018.
• New Zealand's emissions trading scheme, started in 2008, currently lacks an emissions cap and sells permits at NZ$25, but is scheduled to transition to a hard cap on emissions in 2015.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2012). Carbon Pricing around the World. https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Carbon_Pricing_101712.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Carbon Pricing around the World. 2012. https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Carbon_Pricing_101712.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Carbon Pricing around the World |date=October 2012 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Carbon_Pricing_101712.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2012carbon, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Carbon Pricing around the World}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2012}, month = oct, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Carbon_Pricing_101712.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }