On 28 April 2026, the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) and the World Bank jointly released the “State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2026” report. The report’s most striking finding: with Japan, India and Vietnam launching new national carbon trading systems in the first half of 2026, the share of global GDP covered by carbon pricing instruments has reached 63%, up from 55% in 2025 and just 20% a decade ago.

Japan: Its national mandatory Emissions Trading Scheme (J ETS) went live on 1 April 2026, covering approximately 800 large emitters in the power, industry (steel, cement, chemicals) and building sectors. The initial allowance price was set at JPY 2,800 (about USD 18.5) per tonne of CO₂, with a cap that will decline 5% annually until 2030. Japan also introduced a carbon offset mechanism allowing companies to use up to 15% of compliance obligations through credits from forestry and methane reduction projects in Southeast Asia.

India: The “Carbon Credit Trading Scheme” (CCTS) commenced on 5 June 2026, following a two year pilot. It is a compliance market linked to India’s Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme for energy intensity reduction. Initially covering 500 large industrial units in aluminium, cement, steel, fertiliser and thermal power, the CCTS sets a carbon intensity target (tCO₂/tonne of product) rather than an absolute cap. Obligated entities can earn or purchase carbon credit certificates (CCC) on the Indian Energy Exchange. The first auction in June 2026 saw CCC prices settle at INR 620 (approx USD 7.4) per certificate.

Vietnam: The country launched a voluntary carbon market in April 2026 as a precursor to a mandatory ETS planned for 2027. The voluntary market focuses on forestry and rice cultivation offset projects. The government has already issued 12.5 million carbon credits from its Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, and the first international buyers (from South Korea and Switzerland) purchased 2 million credits at an average price of USD 9.80 per tonne.

Globally, carbon pricing revenues hit a record USD 95 billion in 2025, with the EU ETS alone accounting for USD 42 billion. The report notes that carbon prices remain highly diverse, from as low as USD 2.5/tonne in Mexico’s pilot programme to over USD 85/tonne in the EU. ICAP’s secretary general commented: “2026 is the year carbon pricing went mainstream in Asia. With China’s national ETS also expanding, more than half of the world’s emissions are now covered by some form of explicit carbon price – a momentous shift.”

The report also warns that carbon prices in most markets are still far below the USD 60 100/tonne range estimated to be consistent with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal. It calls for strengthening international cooperation on carbon credit mutual recognition to avoid market fragmentation.