Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The updated guidelines on the shadow price of carbon will be published by the end of the year. The Deputy discusses the different ways to measure the price of carbon. He is absolutely right. We could use the emissions trading scheme price, which changes all the time on international markets, or look at what the carbon tax is set at.

One thing to be considered is that it is not just one number. The Deputy said I probably had a number in mind that I would arrive at. In fact, there is a different price of carbon every year going into the future. As time goes on and we manage to decarbonise society, we start with the cheapest ways to do it. In the years ahead, it gets more and more expensive. Avoiding a tonne of carbon in 2030 is worth far more money than it is in 2023. The carbon tax is set to escalate. That is already in law. By 2030, it will be €100 per tonne. That is one price that can be used. The future price of an ETS allowance is another price that can be used.

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