Argus launches nature-based removal prices for the voluntary carbon market

LONDON, Jan. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched a new suite of price assessments for the nature-based removals segment of the global voluntary carbon market (VCM), increasing price transparency at a time when demand and liquidity are growing.

Argus publishes prices for three distinct project types: Improved Forest Management (IFM); Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation (ARR) and Blue Carbon, each with detailed breakdowns by geography and vintage.

The majority of the VCM volume traded in the market today comprises credits issued by projects engaged in emissions avoidance, as reflected in Argus' existing reporting on project types such as Avoided Deforestation, Clean Cookstoves and Renewable Energy. But recent market developments have created a need for insight on increasingly liquid nature-based emission removal projects.

Argus' reporting on the VCM is focused on addressing the need for detailed and specific price assessments, aiming to avoid the market standardisation produced by broad baskets of non-fungible and diverse project types, conflating key value parameters such as geography or vintage, and over-reliance on automation and exchange-traded data. Argus' assessment approach involves price reporters sense-checking and corroborating bids, offers and transactions, in order to provide granularity, reliability and transparency.

As such, Argus' carbon credit prices are stratified by project type, vintage and geography to produce assessments more closely aligned with market liquidity. By focusing on the core, most frequently-traded credits, Argus maintains the flexibility to adapt when new areas of liquidity start to develop.

Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: "After extensive engagement with market participants, we are pleased to bring greater transparency to the global voluntary carbon market with an important expansion of our price reporting and insight, which will play a crucial role in the market's attempt to achieve scale. Our new nature-based removal prices are underpinned by our robust and transparent assessment methodology and reflect input from physical buyers and sellers from the voluntary carbon market."

Argus' new nature-based removal prices will comprise weekly outright price assessments for ARR (Colombia, China and Uruguay), IFM (US and China) and Blue Carbon (Delta Blue Carbon, Pakistan) and will cover vintages relating to each of the six years before the date of assessment and reflecting current market liquidity. Argus' assessments are based on transactions, bids and offers in the spot market to ensure that they are accurate and robust representations of fair market value.

Argus already publishes prices for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)+ (Latin America, southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa); Clean Cookstoves (Africa, Asia and Latin America), Renewable Energy (China, India, Turkey and Brazil – each split by wind, solar and hydro) and Project Specific Prices (Envira, Kariba, Rimba Raya, Katingan and Southern Cardamom).

Argus contact information 

London: Seana Lanigan
+44 20 7780 4200
Email Seana

Houston: Matt Oatway
+1 713 968 0000
Email Matt

Singapore: Tomoko Hashimoto
+65 6496 9960
Email Tomoko

About Argus Media

Argus is the leading independent provider of market intelligence to the global energy and commodity markets. We offer essential price assessments, news, analytics, consulting services, data science tools and industry conferences to illuminate complex and opaque commodity markets.

Headquartered in London with over 1,300 staff, Argus is an independent media organisation with 29 offices in the world's principal commodity trading hubs.

Companies, trading firms and governments in 160 countries around the world trust Argus data to make decisions, analyse situations, manage risk, facilitate trading and for long-term planning. Argus prices are used as trusted benchmarks around the world for pricing transportation, commodities and energy.

Founded in 1970, Argus remains a privately held UK-registered company owned by employee shareholders, global growth equity firm General Atlantic and Hg, the specialist software and technology services investor.

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SOURCE Argus Media