According to the World Bank, carbon market trading reached a record value of $176bn in 2011, rising 11% spurred by secondary trading volumes which offset lower prices and slowing economies. A record number of emissions products were traded in 2011, even though prices of EU carbon permits and international offsets plumbed new depths well below $10/t late in the year.
Worldwide emissions trading volume rose by 17% in 2011 to 10.3 GtCO2-eq, with permits in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) accounting for more than three quarters of the total. The rise in volume lifted the value of the EU market to $148bn from a revised $134bn in 2010, despite average EU carbon prices falling 4% year on year to $18.8/t. Other national and regional carbon schemes showed mixed results. New Zealand’s carbon market value grew threefold to $351m, while the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in North America was nearly halved to $249m. Average offset prices, which trade at a discount to EU carbon prices, fell 21% year on year to $12.8/t, as a record number of credits were issued in 2011.