Teesdale flushes. Credit Iain Diack.
UK Carbon Price Index
For the first time, IUCN UK Peatland Programme in collaboration with Scottish Forestry are able to publish the price of voluntary carbon units in the UK purchased from Peatland Code or Woodland Carbon Code projects.
Peatland Code Unit Prices - Volume and Value
The average price of a Peatland Pending Issuance Unit (PIU) is currently estimated at £39.57. The sample size was small and this average is influenced by three large-scale transactions which were at a significantly higher price than the typical reported transaction price.
At least 99% of Peatland Code Units transacted were Pending Issuance Units. We don’t have enough data to provide the average price of a Peatland Carbon Unit yet.
This table shows the reported volume and price of Peatland Code unit sales due to insufficient data reported in 2020 and 2021 prices for those years cannot be published.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
| Volume | 11,416 | 9,053 | 187,291 | 28,679 |
| Volume weighted average price per Pending Issuance Unit - nominal terms | £23.95 | £26.00 | £25.04 | £39.57 |
| Difference between highest and lowest price (spread price) | £25.00 | £12.25 | £7.50 | £75 |
- 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.
Woodland Carbon Code Unit Prices - Volume and Value
The average reported price of a woodland Pending Issuance Unit is currently estimated to be £28.32.
Over 99% of units transacted are Pending Issuance Units. We don’t have enough data to provide the average price of a Woodland Carbon Unit yet.
This table shows the reported volume and price of Woodland Carbon Code unit sales.
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
| Volume | 51,594 | 246,148 | 213,936 | 345,725 | 277,815 | 173,722 |
| Volume weighted average price per Pending Issuance Unit - nominal terms | £11.01 | £15.41 | £19.27 | £24.24 | £26.85 | £28.32 |
| Difference between highest and lowest price (spread price) | £130.59 | £27.76 | £40.00 | £37.50 | £62.00 | £112.50 |
- 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.
Share your carbon prices
Information about the price of carbon units helps to give buyers and sellers an idea of what to expect when they are making transactions in the voluntary carbon market.
If you’ve bought or sold UK woodland or peatland carbon units, please report your prices through the Global Carbon Markets Hub or email hub@ecosystemmarketplace.com to get set up.
We will continue engagement with UK Voluntary Carbon Market project developers, resellers and buyers to improve the frequency and volume of carbon sales reported. This will mean we can provide more detailed analysis to market participants, such as prices by:
- Type of woodland creation or peatland restoration project
- Location within the UK
- Co-benefits of projects (either contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goals or for Woodlands using the Woodland Benefits Tool scores)
- First sale vs onward sale
- Pending Issuance Unit vs verified credit (Woodland Carbon Unit or Peatland Carbon Unit)
For any questions you can contact us via the email addresses below:
- Woodland Carbon Code: info@woodlandcarboncode.org.uk
- Peatland Code: peatlandcode@iucn.org.uk
How we calculate price information
Our pricing information is calculated by data collected through Ecosystem Marketplace's Global Carbon Markets Hub.
Project developers and resellers use this platform to disclose information about sales of Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code units. Disclosure is voluntary, so the results are not a market-wide estimate of UK voluntary carbon market pricing.
Ecosystem Marketplace aggregates the sales data to provide average prices and protect the confidentiality of project developers and resellers.
This table shows how many responses were received each year for woodland projects.
| Year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Number of respondents | 3 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 3 |
| Number of projects | 43 | 41 | 32 | 29 | 38 | 43 |
This table shows how many responses were received each year for peatland projects.
| Year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Number of respondents | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Number of projects | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Most users did not specify whether the transactions were for Pending Issuance Units or verified Woodland Carbon or Peatland Carbon Units. However, we assume that at least 99% unit transactions were for Pending Issuance Units. This is because of the very small number of verified Woodland Carbon Units and Peatland Carbon Units that have been issued so far.
Compare with the latest global carbon prices
Ecosystem Marketplace shares global carbon prices through its State of the Voluntary Carbon Market reports.
Further research on company emissions reduction strategies and use of carbon credits
Ecosystem Marketplace's All in on Climate: The Role of Carbon Credits in Corporate Climate Strategies (October 2023) demonstrates actions that companies are taking to address their emissions. Buyers of voluntary carbon credits are more likely than those who do not purchase such credits to:
- Decarbonise year-on-year and invest in emissions reduction efforts within their value chain
- Have supplier engagement strategies
- Have a science-based climate target
- Have board oversight of their climate transition plans
- Include Scope 3 emissions in their climate target
Trove Research's Corporate Emission Performance and the Use of Carbon Credits (June 2023) shows that companies that are material users of carbon credits decarbonise twice as fast (6% pa from 2017 to 2022) as those that do not use carbon credits (3% pa from 2017-2022).
Since 2024 this pricing work has been funded by Scottish Forestry. In 2023 it 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.
