Yemisi Izuora
The World Bank says carbon pricing now covers nearly 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and mobilized over $107 billion for public budgets in 2025.
According to World Bank, State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2026, report all
large middle-income economies have now either implemented or are planning direct carbon pricing instruments.
In carbon crediting markets, overall carbon credit issuances rose 8 per cent from 2024 to 2025.
The report found that carbon credit prices declined slightly across 2025, but certain types of projects continued to have a price premium, including those eligible for use by international airlines, or highly rated forest conservation and reforestation projects.
Nigeria’s carbon pricing market is however in a transitional phase, moving from an unregulated voluntary space to a formalized structure.
The government launched the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Policy (NCMAP) which is designed to unlock up to $3 billion in investments and position the country to trade high-integrity carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement
This report provided an up-to-date overview of existing and emerging carbon pricing instruments around the world, including international, national and subnational initiatives.
It also investigates trends surrounding the development and implementation of carbon pricing instruments.
Specifically, this includes the use of carbon taxes, emissions trading systems and crediting mechanisms.
Carbon pricing can be an important tool to mobilize finance and secure development outcomes.
Today, nearly 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are covered by a direct carbon price across 87 implemented policies.
The 2026 edition of the State and Trends of Carbon Pricing report provides anopportunity to reflect on the past decade.
Viewed over this longer horizon, several trends stand out: carbon pricing has expanded significantly, with more diverse approaches to its design, and steadily increasing carbon prices.
Carbon markets have expanded both in size and the potential uses they serve and now exist in a more elaborate ecosystem to generate, trade, and evaluate credits.
Drawing on compliance instruments (ETSs and carbon taxes) and carbon crediting data, the report offers evidence-based insights into policies and market developments.
Carbon pricing is an environmental strategy that makes polluters pay for the greenhouse gases they emit into the atmosphere. It changes the burden of damage from the public to the responsible producers.
It creates financial reasons for companies to reduce emissions and encourages investment in clean technology and renewable energy as well as lets businesses choose how to lower their own footprint.