Carbon credit surrenders under Australia's Safeguard Mechanism (SGM) rose sharply in the 2024–2025 financial year, with the volume of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) used increasing by 52% year-on-year.
According to data from the Clean Energy Regulator (CER), 106 facilities surrendered 10.8 million ACCUs over the period, compared to 7.1 million in 2023–2024. An additional 48 facilities used 2.5 million Safeguard Mechanism Credits (SMCs)—units generated by facilities that achieve emissions reductions below their assigned baseline—bringing the combined total to 13.4 million surrenders.
Brokers Core Markets noted that the figures 'came in at the top end of market expectations, albeit with a greater composition of ACCUs than were anticipated.' Among individual facilities, energy company Woodside and coal producer BM Alliance recorded the largest surrender volumes at 703,000 tCO₂e and 612,000 tCO₂e respectively.
The surge in credit use is a direct consequence of declining facility baselines. The aggregate baseline across covered facilities dropped from 136.1 million tCO₂e to 126.2 million tCO₂e in 2024–2025 alone, a single-year reduction of approximately 9.9 million tCO₂e. Over two consecutive years, cumulative baseline reductions now stand at 45.4 million tCO₂e. Total covered emissions followed a downward path as well, falling from 136 million tCO₂e to 132.8 million tCO₂e.
The CER indicated that further tightening lies ahead. 'As baselines continue to decline each year, downward pressure on net emissions will continue, thereby requiring greater use of ACCUs and SMCs, incentivising further decarbonisation,' the regulator stated.
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Overall compliance with the SGM remains strong. As of the 1 April deadline, 205 out of 208 covered facilities—98.6%—had fulfilled their obligations for the year ending 30 June 2025.
The results reinforce a broader trend: as regulatory requirements become more stringent, structured compliance frameworks are generating consistent and growing demand for verified carbon credits.