UK carbon prices
- Woodland Carbon Code unit prices
- Peatland Code unit prices
- How we calculate price information
- Reporting your carbon prices
- Global carbon prices
Woodland Carbon Code unit prices
The average price of a Pending Issuance Unit is currently estimated to be £25.
We don’t have enough data to provide the average price of a Woodland Carbon Unit yet.
This table shows the number and price of Woodland Carbon Code units. Over 99% of units transacted were Pending Issuance Units.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 part year | |
| Number of Woodland Carbon Code units sold | 233,022 | 212,275 | 60,355 |
| Difference between highest and lowest price (spread price) | £27.76 | £33.20 | £37.50 |
| Volume weighted average price per Pending Issuance Unit - nominal terms | £14.93 | £19.13 | £25.36 |
| Volume weighted average price per Pending Issuance Unit - real terms | £15.74 | £19.13 | £24.15 |
- 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).
- The nominal terms price is the actual cash value reported each year.
- The real terms price means the prices each year have been adjusted for inflation to a given year (in this case 2022), so it’s easier to tell if there’s a real change to the price when taking inflation into account.
Peatland Code unit prices
This table shows the number and price of Peatland Code units. 100% of Peatland Units transacted were Pending Issuance Units. There has been insufficient data reported in 2021 and 2023 to date.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 part year | |
| Number of Peatland Code units sold | -- | 11,416 | -- |
| Difference between highest and lowest price (spread price) | -- | £25.00 | -- |
| Volume weighted average price per Pending Issuance Unit - nominal terms | -- | £23.95 | -- |
| Volume weighted average price per Pending Issuance Unit - real terms | -- | £23.95 | -- |
- 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).
- The nominal terms price is the actual cash value reported each year.
- The real terms price means the prices each year have been adjusted for inflation to a given year (in this case 2022), so it’s easier to tell if there’s a real change to the price when taking inflation into account.
How we calculate price information
Our pricing information is informed by data collected through the Ecosystem Marketplace Global Carbon Markets Hub. Project developers and resellers use this hub to share information about sales of Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code units.
From 1 January 2020 to 14 June 2023, 684 transactions were recorded. There were 575 Woodland Carbon Code transactions and 109 Peatland Code transactions. In total, over 525,000 carbon units were sold in these transactions.
Most users did not specify whether the transactions were for Pending Issuance Units or verified Woodland Carbon or Peatland Carbon Units. However, we estimate that 100% of peatland unit transactions and 99% of woodland unit transactions were for Pending Issuance Units. 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.
This pricing work was completed as part of the Nature Returns Programme led by Natural England in close partnership with the Environment Agency, Forestry Commission and RBG Kew, Wakehurst. The Shared Outcomes Funded Programme is sponsored by Defra and DESNZ.
Reporting your carbon prices
We are working with project developers, resellers and buyers to increase the frequency and volume of sales which are reported through the Global Carbon Markets Hub. This will help us to provide more information about the price different units are sold for.
If you are a project developer, reseller or buyer, please help us by reporting sales through the Ecosystem Marketplace Global Carbon Markets Hub.
Global carbon prices
Ecosystem Marketplace shares global carbon prices through its State of the Voluntary Carbon Market reports.
The average price of carbon from Woodland Carbon Code projects is significantly higher than the global average of £5.12. This is due to the integrity of our projects and units and the wider social and environmental benefits our projects provide.
