{
  "slug": "carbon-price-exposure",
  "title": "Carbon Price Exposure Calculator",
  "heading": "Internal & Regulatory Carbon Price Exposure Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/carbon-price-exposure",
  "summary": "Financial exposure if a carbon price were applied to your emissions.",
  "description": "Many companies now run an internal carbon price — a shadow cost applied to emissions in capital allocation decisions — even without a regulatory mandate, because it's a leading practice CDP and TCFD scoring rewards and because regulatory carbon pricing (EU ETS, California cap-and-trade, a possible future US federal carbon fee) keeps expanding in scope. This calculator applies a price per ton to your total emissions to show current dollar exposure, then models exposure at plausible future price levels so finance teams can stress-test capital projects and product costs against a rising carbon price scenario. Companies increasingly use an internal carbon price in the $50-150/ton range for capital project evaluation even in jurisdictions with no mandatory price, specifically to avoid stranding investments in high-carbon assets that could face cost increases within their operating life.",
  "formula": "Exposure = emissions (tCO2e) × carbon price per ton, shown at current and modeled future price levels.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=carbon-price-exposure",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "emissions",
      "label": "Total emissions in scope",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 45000,
      "unit": "tCO2e",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "currentPrice",
      "label": "Current/internal carbon price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 50,
      "unit": "$/ton",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "futurePrice",
      "label": "Modeled future carbon price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 100,
      "unit": "$/ton",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "revenue",
      "label": "Annual revenue (for context)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 80000000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "currentExposure",
      "label": "Current price exposure",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "futureExposure",
      "label": "Modeled future exposure",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "delta",
      "label": "Increase if price rises",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pctRevenue",
      "label": "Current exposure as % of revenue",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Total emissions in scope: 45000 tCO2e",
      "Current/internal carbon price: 50 $/ton",
      "Modeled future carbon price: 100 $/ton",
      "Annual revenue (for context): 80000000 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Current price exposure: $2,250,000",
      "Modeled future exposure: $4,500,000",
      "Increase if price rises: $2,250,000",
      "Current exposure as % of revenue: 2.813%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter total emissions in scope (tCO2e).",
      "Enter current/internal carbon price ($/ton).",
      "Enter modeled future carbon price ($/ton).",
      "Enter annual revenue (for context) ($).",
      "Read your current price exposure on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "emissions": 27000,
        "currentPrice": 30,
        "futurePrice": 60,
        "revenue": 48000000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "emissions": 45000,
        "currentPrice": 50,
        "futurePrice": 100,
        "revenue": 80000000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "emissions": 72000,
        "currentPrice": 80,
        "futurePrice": 160,
        "revenue": 128000000
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What internal carbon price do most companies use?",
      "a": "CDP disclosure data shows most companies using internal carbon pricing set it between $25 and $150 per ton, with a growing share clustering near $50-100 to align with the Network for Greening the Financial System's model scenarios for a well-below-2°C pathway. The specific number matters less than using it consistently across capital decisions."
    },
    {
      "q": "How is this different from buying carbon offsets?",
      "a": "An internal carbon price is a planning and decision-making tool — it doesn't require an actual cash payment unless the company chooses to fund an internal carbon fund with the shadow cost. Offset purchases are actual cash transactions to acquire emissions reduction credits. Companies sometimes use the internal price to size an offset or reduction investment budget."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why should a company without a regulatory carbon price bother with this?",
      "a": "It future-proofs capital decisions against expanding carbon regulation — a facility or product line that looks profitable today can look marginal once a plausible future carbon price is applied. It also increasingly shows up as an expected practice in CDP and TCFD-aligned climate risk disclosures that investors and lenders review."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/carbon-tax-liability",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/net-zero-gap",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/carbon-offset-cost"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Carbon Price Exposure Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/carbon-price-exposure)"
}