C&F’s timely virtual summit on ‘The Future of Carbon Pricing: Meeting the ESG Needs of Corporates’ (27th April) will bring together government, industry, investor and advisory communities to discuss the practical implications of developments in carbon pricing for companies in the round.

Having an effective pricing mechanism for carbon is fundamental to achieving the 1.5°C goal outlined by the Paris Agreement, which requires net GHG emissions to fall by 23 Gt worldwide per year by 2030. Businesses are scrambling to rework their business models in the midst of these developments.

While there has been considerable debate about the relative merits of a carbon tax versus an emissions trading system, it is the latter which has made most progress in recent years. 

The European Commission’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which has been running for fifteen years, has set a precedent for others worldwide. While it has faced some criticism, it has been effective in many respects. A member since the inception of the EU ETS, the UK government announced in its 2020 Energy White Paper that a UK ETS will start operating from the end of the transition period, i.e. 1 January 2021.

January 2021 set a landmark for emissions trading schemes: the UK ETS was unofficially launched, the first ever comprehensive blueprint for voluntary carbon markets was published (by the Taskforce for Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets) and the EU ETS entered Stage 4 of its long-term plan.

March 2021 has had important implications too, with the Chancellor announcing a new group to establish the UK as the global hub for voluntary carbon markets, a mechanism set to soar over the next few years as companies work towards their climate targets, and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announcing the official, May 18th launch date for UK ETS. Increasing the prominence of voluntary carbon markets is one key step in determining the future of carbon pricing, along with ironing out teething problems of the UK ETS, legitimising viable carbon credits and deciding the role of carbon border adjustments or taxes.

Topics will include:

- "Setting the scene”: International plans for emissions pricing
- The UK ETS - Its strategy and enhanced executive panel discussions
- Proposed expansion of the EU ETS to reflect the 2030 climate goals
- Compliance and voluntary carbon pricing mechanisms: to internationalise or not?
- Legitimising carbon credits and establishing ‘Core Carbon Principles’
- Infrastructure for providing voluntary carbon markets
- Using carbon markets to meet ESG targets
- Next steps for emissions pricing