PRICES for Australian Carbon Credit Units have hit their highest point in almost three years, with the industry’s main indicator going over $40 in the past week.

According to Jarden, the market opened this week at $40.65/ACCU – the first time it has risen above $40 since March 2022 when the market skyrocketed to more than $50.

ACCU prices have been remarkably stable and steadily increasing for most of this year, opening the year around $33.50 and gradually increasing the current market. A stark contrast to the past two years where the market has been remarkably unstable.

Many are forecasting the carbon market to keep increasing in the coming years as big emitting companies work out their strategies to comply with the safeguard mechanism – which requires them to offset emissions when they exceed a certain baseline. That baseline lowers every year until 2030.

One of the factors dominating the market this year has been the increasing difficulty in generating ACCUs.

A lot of the companies who fall under the Safeguard Mechanism have been in the market for agricultural land that can generate offsets. However, that strategy has been controversial in some areas like the Western Australian wheat belt where concerns have been raised about land being taken out of agricultural production.

Trader and director of Clima Guy Dickinson recently told AgCarbon Central that a lot of the land that can produce large numbers of ACCUs for cheap was already tied up.

He said it was pushing companies to the spot market because where it was cheaper and less hassle.

Starting new projects has also been slow with a methodology called Integrated Farm and Land Management, which is tipped to be the most scalable methodology, not expected for delivery until next year.

• Keep an eye on Australian Carbon Credit prices through the industry dashboard on Beef Central’s home page