UK carbon prices
- Woodland Carbon Code Unit prices
- Peatland Code Unit prices
- Methodology
- Further work
- Compare with the latest global carbon prices
- Company emission reduction strategies and use of carbon credits
Woodland Carbon Code Unit prices - volume and value
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 ** Part Year | |
| Volume | 233,022 | 212,275 | 60,355 |
| Spread price (difference between highest and lowest reported price) | £27.76 | £33.20 | £37.50 |
| Volume weighted average price per PIU - nominal terms (i.e. reported each year) | £14.93 | £19.13 | £25.36 |
| Volume weighted average price per PIU - real terms (i.e. adjusted by inflation to 2022 prices) | £15.74 | £19.13 | £24.15 |
** Over 99% of units transacted were Pending Issuance Units. Spread price is maximum minus minimum price. Volume weighted average is the ratio of the value of credits traded to the total volume traded during a given timeframe ([price x volume summed over all transactions] / total volume). Assumed 5% inflation from 2022 to 2023 based on Bank of England Base Rate in June 2023.
Peatland Code Unit prices - volume and value
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 ** Part Year | |
| Volume | -- | 11,416 | -- |
| Spread price (difference between highest and lowest reported price) | -- | £25.00 | -- |
| Volume weighted average price per PIU - nominal terms (i.e. reported each year) | -- | £23.95 | -- |
| Volume weighted average price per PIU - real terms (i.e. adjusted by inflation to 2022 prices) | -- | £23.95 | -- |
** 100% of Peatland Units transacted were Pending Issuance Units. Spread price is maximum minus minimum price. Volume weighted average is the ratio of the value of credits traded to the total volume traded during a given timeframe ([price x volume summed over all transactions] / total volume). Insufficient data reported in 2021 and 2023 to date.
Methodology
Stakeholder consultation and data collection:
Ecosystem Marketplace collected trade data from UK Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code market participants who are project developers and resellers through the Ecosystem Marketplace Global Carbon Markets Hub. Ecosystem Marketplace worked with the project steering group (Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code secretariats) to identify priority stakeholders - those who have completed trades, those who have already reported to Ecosystem Marketplace and those who have expressed an interest in or willingness to engage with the development of a market wide price index. Engagement included stakeholder consultation sessions, follow up emails/calls and invitations to create accounts within the hub. Stakeholder engagement took place from March to May 2023.
Data received:
Ecosystem Marketplace received 684 recent (2020 to 2023) UK Voluntary Carbon Market transactions by 14 June 2023, 575 Woodland Carbon Code and 109 Peatland Code. Ecosystem Marketplace understands these are individual transactions and checks against project name/ID/unit vintage to check this. To maintain anonymity, Ecosystem Marketplace requires at least three unique respondents contributing to any aggregated data point (the 'rule of three'). The data received represented the sale of over 525,000 carbon units. While the majority of respondents did not specify whether units were sold as Pending Issuance Units or verified Woodland Carbon Units/Peatland Carbon Units, we estimate the responses include 100% and 99% Pending Issuance Units for Peatland Code and Woodland Carbon Code respectively. This is because no peatland units have been converted to verified units yet and a maximum of 3,000 woodland credits have been sold as verified units.
Further work
We will continue engagement with UK Voluntary Carbon Market project developers, resellers and buyers to improve the frequency and volume of carbon sales reported through the Ecosystem Marketplace Global Carbon Markets Hub. This will mean we can provide more detailed analysis to market participants, such as prices by:
- Type of woodland creation or peatland restoration project
- Location within the UK
- Co-benefits of projects (either contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goals or, for woodlands, using the Woodland Benefits Tool scores)
- First sale versus onward sale
- Pending Issuance Unit versus verified credit (Woodland Carbon Unit or Peatland Carbon Unit)
If you are a Woodland Carbon Code or Peatland Code project developer, reseller or buyer please create an account report any sales to the Ecosystem Marketplace Global Carbon Markets Hub or contact us if you would like to discuss:
- Woodland Carbon Code: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Peatland Code: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Compare with the latest global carbon prices
Ecosystem Marketplace produces the latest global carbon prices in The state of the Voluntary Carbon Market reports.
Company emissions reduction strategies and use of carbon credits
Ecosystem Marketplace's All in on Climate: The Role of Carbon Credits in Corporate Climate Strategies (October 2023) demonstrates actions that companies are taking to address their emissions. Buyers of voluntary carbon credits are more likely than those who do not purchase such credits to:
- Decarbonise year-on-year and invest in emissions reduction efforts within their value chain
- Have supplier engagement strategies
- Have a science-based climate target
- Have board oversight of their climate transition plans
- Include Scope 3 emissions in their climate target
Trove Research's Corporate Emission Performance and the Use of Carbon Credits (June 2023) shows that companies that are material users of carbon credits decarbonise twice as fast (6% pa from 2017 to 2022) as those that do not use carbon credits (3% pa from 2017 to 2022).
Part of the Nature Returns Programme led by Natural England in close partnership with the Environment Agency, Forestry Commission and RBG Kew, Wakehurst. This Shared Outcomes Funded Programme is sponsored by Defra and DESNZ
