Global ETS

Carbon markets are based on the purchasing of credits (allowances) that enable an entity to offset its carbon output. These markets are split into two categories: compliance and voluntary markets. Compliance markets aim to establish a carbon price by laws or regulations which control the supply of permits that are then distributed by national, regional, and global regimes. These permits are then traded within a controlled emissions trading scheme (ETS), which economically incentivizes emitting organizations to reduce their carbon footprint.

There are a number of ETS in operation around the world or scheduled for implementation soon. The above map highlights the current global state of play with large circles representing cooperation initiatives between subnational jurisdictions.