Platts proposes to launch Australian Safeguard Mechanism Credits price assessment

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, is proposing to launch an Australian Safeguard Mechanism Credit (SMC) price assessment, effective May 5, 2025.

SMCs are tradeable emission reduction credits that are generated when a Safeguard facility reduces emissions beyond its baseline. A safeguard facility is mandated by the Australian government to mitigate its emissions either via introducing operational changes or by purchasing SMCs Australia Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).

Safeguard facilities that earn SMCs can trade them by selling them to other facilities or surrendering them to stay within their baseline. SMCs aren't offsets - they allow facilities with lower emissions reduction costs to sell their SMCs to facilities with higher reduction costs.

An SMC represents one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2-e) emissions below a facility's baseline.

The proposed assessment would reflect SMCs in the spot market, following issuances from Australia's Clean Energy Regulator (CER), providing more transparency to market participants.

The specifications for the proposed assessment are as follows:

• Volume: 5,000 mt/CO2e - 100,000 mt/CO2e
• Currency: Australian Dollars
• Unit of Measurement: Australian dollars per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (A$/mtCO2e)
• Delivery: Spot market
• Frequency: Daily
• Time stamp: 16:30 Melbourne/Sydney/Canberra time
• Platts Publishing Calendar: APAC Carbon Calendar

Please send all comments, feedback, and questions to platts_carbon@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com by April 6 .

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing.

Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.