Guidance

Taking part in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme markets

This guidance explains the operation of the UK ETS markets and how to take part in auctions and in trading on the secondary market.

• From: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
• Published: 17 December 2020
• Last updated: 12 October 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 12 October 2026

     Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  2. 10 September 2026

     Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  3. 10 August 2026

     Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  4. 10 July 2026

     Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  5. 2 July 2026

     'Taking part in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme markets' was updated to reflect that the revised 2026 auction calendar was published by ICE on 1 July 2026.

  6. 12 June 2026

     Updated 'Taking part in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme markets' to communicate the upcoming revision of the 2026 auction calendar to account for the inclusion of maritime emissions in the UK ETS from July.

  7. 10 June 2026

     Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  8. 11 May 2026

     Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  9. 14 April 2026

     Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  10. 8 April 2026

      The Auction Reserve Price (ARP) value has been adjusted to reflect inflation, from £22 to £28.

  11. 10 March 2026

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  12. 5 March 2026

      Auction reserve price legislation has been laid, and the £28.00 value will come into effect for the April 8 2026 auction.

  13. 10 February 2026

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  14. 12 January 2026

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  15. 11 December 2025

      Added link to 2026 auction calendar.

  16. 10 December 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  17. 4 December 2025

      Note added about future update to the 2026 ARP value.

  18. 10 November 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  19. 10 October 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  20. 11 August 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  21. 10 July 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  22. 10 June 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month. 'Taking part in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme markets' has been updated to include further links to existing references, and to remove outdated information on previous auctions. The ICE email contact has been amended.

  23. 12 May 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  24. 10 April 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  25. 10 March 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  26. 10 February 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  27. 10 January 2025

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  28. 10 December 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  29. 11 November 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  30. 25 October 2024

      ICE has published the 2025 auction calendar.

  31. 10 October 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  32. 10 September 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  33. 12 August 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  34. 10 July 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  35. 10 June 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  36. 10 May 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  37. 10 April 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  38. 11 March 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  39. 12 February 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  40. 10 January 2024

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  41. 2 January 2024

      Added link to UK Emissions Trading Scheme: future markets policy consultation.

  42. 11 December 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  43. 10 November 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  44. 10 October 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  45. 5 October 2023

      ICE has published the 2024 auction calendar.

  46. 11 September 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  47. 5 September 2023

      ICE has today published a revised auction calendar which takes account of the updated Aviation operators’ free allocation entitlements figure.

  48. 14 August 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  49. 27 July 2023

      Added link to joint report from the UK ETS Authority: Functioning of the UK carbon market for 2021 and 2022.

  50. 10 July 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  51. 12 June 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  52. 10 May 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  53. 12 April 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  54. 10 March 2023

      CCM figures updated for latest month.

  55. 10 February 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  56. 10 January 2023

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  57. 13 December 2022

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  58. 10 November 2022

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  59. 10 October 2022

      Updated 3-month Cost Containment Mechanism prices; added 6-month monitoring period table.

  60. 20 September 2022

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  61. 10 August 2022

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  62. 11 July 2022

      Cost Containment Mechanism figures updated for latest month.

  63. 10 June 2022

      Published the latest monthly update on the scheme's Cost Containment Mechanism (CCM).

  64. 10 May 2022

      Published the latest monthly update on the scheme's Cost Containment Mechanism (CCM).

  65. 11 April 2022

      Published the latest monthly update on the scheme's Cost Containment Mechanism (CCM).

  66. 10 March 2022

      Published the latest monthly update on the scheme's Cost Containment Mechanism (CCM).

  67. 18 February 2022

      New page created taking content from the Participating in the UK ETS page.

  68. 17 December 2020

      First published.

Documents

Taking part in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme markets

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Cost Containment Mechanism (CCM) trigger prices and average monthly prices: full tables

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Details

This guidance explains the operation of the UK ETS markets and how to take part in auctions and in trading on the secondary market.

For background information on the UK ETS markets, see the UK Emissions Trading Scheme markets policy page.

For general guidance on participating in the scheme as an installation operator or aircraft operator, see Participating in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.