¿Cuál es el precio del carbono? Entender el coste de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero

Sustainability is an inherently forward-looking endeavor. Business leaders constantly look to the future to anticipate impending policy changes, technological breakthroughs, and inevitable shifts in social expectations that will affect their organizations. 

Una tendencia a la que no pierden de vista los líderes de la sostenibilidad es la tarificación del carbono.

Many countries already have compliance carbon pricing in the form of carbon taxes or emissions trading systems, with many more expected to follow. But countries aren't the only ones looking to price carbon. Companies are also exploring how the cost of carbon fits within their climate strategy. 

How is carbon priced?

Carbon pricing is a powerful tool for both governments and the private sector to reduce global GHG emissions. For companies looking to make high-integrity climate claims, carbon pricing is a tool to catalyze emissions reductions and define a strategy to invest in climate progress.

Tarificación del carbono en el sector público

There are four primary carbon pricing instruments used at the government level. Each attempts to put a price on carbon for the jurisdiction in which it's enforced.

1. Carbon Tax

A fixed price, or levy, on GHG emissions. For example:

• 10 dólares por tonelada en Sudáfrica
• 2 dólares por tonelada en Japón
• 5 dólares por tonelada en Argentina

2. Emissions Trading System (ETS)

A cap-and trade system of emissions permits that can be traded and auctioned, creating a market-based carbon price. For example:

• 89 dólares por tonelada EU ETS
• 50 dólares por tonelada RCDE de Nueva Zelanda
• 11 $ por tonelada RCCDE Corea del Sur

3. Social cost of carbon

A theoretical price used by governments as an economic measure to reflect the cost of emissions to society. While governments don't charge, the price is applied in cost-benefit analyses and impacts policy decisions rather than as a levy on carbon. For example:

• In US policy, the social cost of carbon assumption used in cost and benefit analyses is USD $120 per tonne
• In 2021, the German Federal Environment Agency recommended using a cost rate of EUR $201 per tonne for 2021 emissions

4. Article 6

A provision within the Paris Agreement establishing two market-based mechanisms. Article 6.2 enables decentralized bilateral trades between countries to achieve emission reduction targets set out in nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

Article 6.4 establishes a centralized market-based mechanism governed by the UNFCCC for issuing carbon credits that can be purchased by both state and non-state actors.

Tarificación del carbono en el sector privado

Companies can participate in the pricing of carbon in three ways. Each of these carbon pricing approaches has unique benefits.

1. Voluntary carbon markets

Pricing is determined through transactions, whether through futures contracts or spot trades within a marketplace or through a bilateral contract, which is an agreement between two parties such as a broker and a corporate buyer. 

Entre los factores clave que influyen en el precio figuran la ubicación del proyecto, la metodología, el año de cosecha, el organismo verificador o el número de créditos adquiridos. Aunque hay muchos factores que influyen en el precio, la calidad no siempre es uno de ellos. Por ejemplo, los precios pueden variar: 

• 2 - 10 dólares para el contrato N-GEO (Compensación Global de Emisiones Basada en la Naturaleza)

• 14,65 y 4 dólares por tonelada, para las cosechas 19/20 y 16/17 respectivamente, de las operaciones realizadas por un banco de inversión mundial para el mismo proyecto REDD+ indonesio. 
• $222 per tonne for credits from an upcoming European biochar project

2. Shadow pricing

A theoretical price defined by the company for a tonne of carbon used as a decision instrument to highlight risks to investments in the event of an externally imposed carbon price, such as a carbon tax or ETS. Companies may arrive at a price based on recommendations from development bodies, such as the World Bank's High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices (HLCCP), or define their own methodology for selecting a price, based on analysis of peer carbon prices, sectoral context and future projections of carbon pricing regulations. The use of shadow pricing is particularly common in heavy-emitting and regulated industries like transport, power, and fossil fuel. For example:

• 24-80 dólares por tonelada para BHP
• 20 dólares por tonelada para JSW Steel 

3. Internal carbon fee

An internally imposed carbon tax that generates funds and can be used to invest in diverse climate actions, including carbon credits. Corporates are using a carbon levy to incentivize investments in emissions reductions and to fund the purchase of carbon credits to neutralize residual emissions. For example:

• $112 for SwissRE's 2022 emissions
• $100 for Microsoft's scope 3 business travel emissions

*Todas las referencias de precios son de un momento dado y reflejan el coste por tonelada.

What does an internal carbon fee achieve? Should you implement an internal carbon fee?

For companies making a climate commitment claim, whether “net zero”, “carbon neutral” or “carbon negative”, the risk of greenwashing accusations is on the rise. 

El uso de créditos de carbono en el marco de un compromiso climático ha sido objeto de escrutinio, a menudo calificado de licencia para contaminar. Hay dos componentes clave que impulsan el riesgo para las empresas que utilizan créditos de carbono: (i) la calidad de los créditos y (ii) las afirmaciones que se hacen sobre la acción climática.

Implantar un programa interno de tasas de carbono es una forma que tienen las empresas de generar financiación para programas de sostenibilidad que incentiven la reducción de emisiones y, al mismo tiempo, compensen las emisiones de carbono históricas y actuales. 

The use of carbon credits is frequently characterized as an action divorced from real behavior change to drive emissions reductions across a company's value chain. Carbon credits and absolute emissions reductions are not mutually exclusive. Using a carbon fee is one way to explicitly link action to emission reductions while also compensating for residual carbon with carbon credits.

Let's take Microsoft's decision to implement a carbon fee of $100 per tonne for scope 3 business travel emissions. Microsoft tracks emissions across all scopes and aggregates emissions data at a group level to determine the carbon fee charge. All Microsoft business units pay for the carbon they emit. Setting this carbon fee places a constraint on, and ultimately disincentivizes, carbon emitting behaviors. 

En el caso de los viajes de negocios de Microsoft, saber que hay un gasto asociado al hecho de coger un vuelo anima a los empleados a viajar sólo cuando es necesario. Y en los casos en que es necesario viajar, Microsoft aprovecha la tasa de carbono para invertir en proyectos de eficiencia energética, energías renovables y créditos de carbono. 

Declaraciones climáticas de las empresas y calidad de los créditos de carbono

En la COP 27 se produjo un notable alejamiento de términos como compensación de emisiones y hacia contribuciones o contribuciones de mitigación. 

Governments are setting up for regulations. The US Federal Trade Commission recently sought public comment on how the agency can regulate the climate claims that corporations make including: “sustainable”, “carbon neutral”, “carbon negative” and “net zero”. 

Moreover, companies are facing litigation over dubious or misleading climate claims and advertising. In the fight against greenwashing, 54% of cases filed in 2022 resulted in an outcome deemed “favorable” to climate action litigation.

Putting a price on carbon and internalizing the cost of emissions could offer a path forward that reduces reputational risk and drives meaningful action for climate and nature. It's not a new strategy. 

Boston Consulting Group and WWF published guidance for this approach in 2020, and one of SBTi's suggested models for beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) is a dollar for tonne approach. 

Defining an internal carbon price is one way to decouple climate commitments from tonne for tonne “offsetting” and moving towards a financial commitment model can have several positive outcomes:

• Alejar a los compradores de créditos de carbono de los créditos baratos y de baja calidad y orientarlos hacia créditos de impacto verificado y de calidad que ofrezcan resultados a largo plazo. 
• Impulsar las inversiones bajas en carbono y acelerar la reducción de emisiones en toda la cadena de valor.
• Invertir en innovación y tecnologías climáticas emergentes.

¿Cómo debe determinar una organización el precio del carbono?

Existen diversos precios de referencia que una organización puede tener en cuenta a la hora de definir un precio interno para el carbono. El IPCC SR15 cita una horquilla de precios del carbono de entre 100 y 400 dólares estadounidenses por tonelada para mantenerse en línea con un escenario de 1,5 °C. 

Está claro que hay que salvar la distancia entre el precio actual de los créditos de carbono y un precio que refleje de forma más realista el coste de las emisiones. BloombergNEF elaboró recientemente un modelo de precios de los créditos de carbono en tres escenarios diferentes que prevé que los precios suban hasta 35 dólares en 2050, e incluso hasta más de 250 dólares en un escenario en el que las empresas sólo pueden utilizar créditos de absorción. 

Las partes interesadas que interactúan con los mecanismos de fijación de precios del carbono, ya sean definidos internamente o impuestos externamente, deben esperar que los precios aumenten. Unos precios del carbono que reflejen razonablemente el coste medioambiental y social de las emisiones son una herramienta crucial para impulsar la reducción de emisiones en línea con una trayectoria de 1,5 °C y prevenir los peores impactos del cambio climático. 

Incluso si una empresa se ha fijado objetivos ambiciosos de reducción neta a cero de 1,5 °C para 2030 o 2050, la realidad es que la empresa sigue emitiendo carbono cada año a lo largo de su recorrido. Fijar un precio interno del carbono genera fondos que permiten invertir en créditos de carbono de alta calidad y que las empresas se aseguren una ventaja competitiva frente a las que llegan tarde. 

Stimulate economic growth and climate change with Sylvera

Your company's approach to carbon pricing will help determine its carbon strategy. As such, it can play an important role in the climate-related success of your organization.

Sylvera was designed to assist corporate buyers, investors, and other sustainability professionals in their quest to turn profits and save the environment. When it comes to carbon pricing, our Market Data will give you the information you need to not only explore the current price of carbon, but identify quality pre-issuance projects and issued credits to invest in—amongst other things.

Sign up for a free demo of Sylvera today to see our industry-leading platform in action!