Share of CO₂ emissions covered by a carbon price in Iceland
Iceland: Share of CO₂ emissions covered by a carbon price was 49.2% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Share of CO₂ emissions covered by a carbon price in Iceland, 1989–2025
Source: Dolphin and Merkle (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 49.2% for share of co₂ emissions covered by a carbon price in 2025.
That represents a change of down 10.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of co₂ emissions covered by a carbon price in Iceland peaked at 55.8% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1989.
That places Iceland 30th out of 200 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of CO₂ emissions covered by a carbon price in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 0.0% | — |
| 1990 | 0.0% | — |
| 1991 | 0.0% | — |
| 1992 | 0.0% | — |
| 1993 | 0.0% | — |
| 1994 | 0.0% | — |
| 1995 | 0.0% | — |
| 1996 | 0.0% | — |
| 1997 | 0.0% | — |
| 1998 | 0.0% | — |
| 1999 | 0.0% | — |
| 2000 | 0.0% | — |
| 2001 | 0.0% | — |
| 2002 | 0.0% | — |
| 2003 | 0.0% | — |
| 2004 | 0.0% | — |
| 2005 | 0.0% | — |
| 2006 | 0.0% | — |
| 2007 | 0.0% | — |
| 2008 | 17.8% | — |
| 2009 | 14.9% | -16.4% |
| 2010 | 52.1% | +250.9% |
| 2011 | 52.3% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 52.2% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 53.7% | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 55.8% | +3.9% |
| 2015 | 54.9% | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 50.4% | -8.2% |
| 2017 | 49.3% | -2.3% |
| 2018 | 50.3% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 49.9% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 46.3% | -7.3% |
| 2021 | 48.5% | +4.7% |
| 2022 | 48.4% | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 48.4% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 49.2% | +1.5% |
| 2025 | 49.2% | +0.0% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 49.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 37.8%, 1.3× the median. (67 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 49.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 41.9%, 1.2× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of CO₂ emissions covered by a carbon price in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +250.9% | 14.9% | 52.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.3% | 0.0% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.1% | 49.3% | 55.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.3% | 46.3% | 49.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More climate change data for Iceland
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 16.80 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 462.45 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 110.24 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 352.21 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 0.416 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 12.58 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 92.86 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 92.86 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.3504 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Emissions (CO2eq) 92.72 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of co₂ emissions covered by a carbon price in Iceland?
- Share of co₂ emissions covered by a carbon price in Iceland was 49.2% in 2025, according to Dolphin and Merkle (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of co₂ emissions covered by a carbon price recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 55.8% in 2014.
- What is the lowest share of co₂ emissions covered by a carbon price recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1989.
- How does Iceland rank for share of co₂ emissions covered by a carbon price?
- Iceland ranks 30th out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of co₂ emissions covered by a carbon price rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Dolphin and Merkle (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of CO₂ emissions covered by a carbon price. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 37 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Carbon dioxide emissions are included in this figure if they are covered by a carbon tax or trading system.