Featured Publications

Emissions Trading Worldwide: 2023 ICAP Status Report
Check out the 2023 ICAP Status Report with the latest developments in emissions trading around the world.
The report includes:
🔹 comprehensive snapshot of the latest ETS developments
🔹 up-to-date factsheets on all systems
🔹 infographics that visualize the systems' characteristics
🔹 in-depth articles from policymakers and carbon market experts

Emissions Trading and Carbon Capture and Storage: Mapping possible interactions, technical considerations, and existing provisions
This report explores how CCS is treated in different ETSs around the world; if and how ETSs could play a role in incentivizing the development and deployment of CCS applications; and the challenges and opportunities in developing the required regulation in this context.

Offset Use Across Emissions Trading Systems
As market-based instruments, emissions trading systems are inherently flexible, as entities can decide to reduce their own emissions or buy emissions allowances from the market. Carbon offsets (or simply ‘offsets’) are a tool to further increase flexibility in reaching climate targets under ETSs, as they offer sectoral and geographical flexibility for jurisdictions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions outside of the scope of their ETS. This report...

Benchmark-based allocation in emissions trading systems: Experiences to date and insights on design
Benchmarking can protect against carbon leakage while setting incentives to reduce emissions, but their design entails complex trade-offs. This paper explores benchmark-based industrial allocation design and experiences, using insights from existing ETSs, and their implications for abatement and low-carbon investment incentives.

ICAP & World Bank Paper: Governance of Emissions Trading Systems
ICAP and the World Bank jointly published a paper on the governance of emissions trading systems.
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
Offset Use Across Emissions Trading Systems
Teaser + metatagsAs market-based instruments, emissions trading systems are inherently flexible, as entities can decide to reduce their own emissions or buy emissions allowances from the market. Carbon offsets (or simply ‘offsets’) are a tool to further increase flexibility in reaching climate targets under ETSs, as they offer sectoral and geographical flexibility for jurisdictions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions outside of the scope of their ETS. This report …
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
Benchmark-based allocation in emissions trading systems: Experiences to date and insights on design
Teaser + metatagsBenchmarking can protect against carbon leakage while setting incentives to reduce emissions, but their design entails complex trade-offs. This paper explores benchmark-based industrial allocation design and experiences, using insights from existing ETSs, and their implications for abatement and low-carbon investment incentives.
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
Carbon Leakage and Competitiveness: California’s Treatment of Imported Electricity and New Zealand’s Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Levy
Teaser + metatagsGiven factors such as constraints in free allocation policy for some ETS jurisdictions, other ways of addressing concerns about carbon leakage and competitiveness are likely to continue attracting interest, and these approaches may increasingly focus on cross-border trade. California and New Zealand offer practical experiences with such policies that may be instructive for other jurisdictions navigating border-related climate measures.
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
Achieving Net Zero under a Cap-and-Trade System
Teaser + metatagsCurrent estimates suggest achieving net-zero emissions will require much higher carbon prices. What challenges could arise? A brief on the possible policy options to address them.
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
Simulating Carbon Markets: Technical Note
Teaser + metatagsA technical note on carbon market simulations as a means to allow stakeholders to participate in a fictitious process of designing or participating in an ETS.
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
Market Stability Mechanisms in Emissions Trading Systems
Teaser + metatagsThis paper explores different market stability mechanisms (MSMs) used in ETSs around the world to balance policy predictability with the need for flexibility to respond to changing circumstances or unexpected shocks.
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
The Use of Auction Revenue from Emissions Trading Systems
Teaser + metatagsThis report examines how different emissions trading systems (ETSs) manage and distribute revenue generated from auctioning allowances. Directing revenue from auctions toward projects that generate tangible benefits is a key way to increase the political and social acceptability of an ETS.
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
Benefits of ETS: Taking Stock of the Impacts of ETS Worldwide
Teaser + metatagsAn accessible resource that summarizes the main conceptual and theoretical arguments for ETS, supported by a consolidated body of up-to-date empirical evidence.
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
Linking Emissions Trading Systems: A Summary of Current Research
Teaser + metatagsA summary of key insights from the literature with a focus on the technical dimensions of linking ETS.
-
DateCategoryPaperCover ImageDateCategoryPaper
Carbon Market Oversight Primer
Teaser + metatagsKey elements for emissions trading market oversight: an overview, including insights on institutional and legal requirements and standards.