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TOP STORY

RGGI programme review discussion may not begin in earnest until 2022 -sources

RGGI’s upcoming programme review may not delve into modelling and analysis until early next year as the 11-state carbon scheme awaits Pennsylvania’s entrance in 2022, while officials are also working to bolster its outreach to environmental justice groups.

VOLUNTARY

Oxfam urges tougher line on ‘implausible rates’ of nature offsetting

Governments and companies are relying too heavily on nature offsets, distracting from urgent emissions reductions and risking global food security, according to a report published Tuesday by development charity Oxfam.

Toronto-based ESG fund inks offtake with large Indonesian REDD project

Investment vehicle Carbon Streaming Corporation on Tuesday announced it has entered into a long-term offtake agreement with the Rimba Raya REDD project in Indonesia, paying at the high end for carbon credits from reduced deforestation as the fund seeks to add hundreds of millions of offsets to its portfolio in the coming years.

ASIA PACIFIC

Sichuan govt backs massive scale-up of voluntary forest carbon projects

China’s Sichuan province aims to increase its forest and grassland coverage to 2 million hectares by 2025 by generating carbon offsets for voluntary buyers at home and abroad, according to an action plan published this week.

NZ Market: NZUs climb to new record high as available supply remain strained

New Zealand carbon allowances carved out a new record high in Tuesday trade, as limited available supply and healthy demand look set to fuel a new push towards the NZ$50 cost containment reserve trigger.

NGO readies early Australian blue carbon offset scheme

The Nature Conservancy is working on a coastal wetlands restoration project in South Australia that could be among the first in the country to earn offsets once the government finalises a method for blue carbon projects.

Australian developer hires energy market veteran to drive DAC project

Offset developer Corporate Carbon has hired an Australian energy market veteran to drive the development of a pilot direct air capture (DAC) project.

EMEA

German Greens pledge to grant veto rights to environment ministry, raise national carbon price

Germany’s Green Party has pledged to grant veto rights to the environment ministry and increase the country’s national carbon price for vehicles and buildings, according to a party manifesto released Tuesday ahead of a federal election in late September.

Euro Markets: Carbon eases after early strength as energy markets pull back

Carbon failed to hold onto early gains on Tuesday as energy prices slipped back, amid a decline in trading activity as the holiday season reached its peak.

EEX opens registration for German buildings and transport ETS buyers

German exchange EEX has begun the process of registering participants in the country’s domestic emissions trading system for transport and buildings (nEHS), the Leipzig-based bourse said on Tuesday.

AVIATION/SHIPPING

ICAO signs up non-profit to provide CORSIA market analysis

UN aviation body ICAO has struck a deal with a non-profit carbon markets data service to provide regular analysis on the CORSIA offsetting market in an effort to support its airline members.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Carbon Pulse has teamed up with CME Group to provide its clients with regular updates on the global carbon markets. Check out these briefs for the latest insights on pressing trends and events impacting markets, published every other week. Registration required

INTERNATIONAL

Better half – New data shows that combined global investment in renewable energy companies and projects just had its best first half of any year, with investments of $174 bln amid record amounts of public market financing, venture capital and private equity, per the research firm BloombergNEF. Companies raised over $28 bln in public markets and nearly $6 bln in VC and private equity commitments in the first half of this year. Investment in solar power projects was almost $79 bln, up 9% compared to the same period last year, but wind project finance was around $27 bln lower. (Axios)

Better late than never – Congo became party number 113 to the Paris Agreement to submit a revised NDC on Tuesday, just missing July’s deadline for countries to submit new pledges so the plans could be included in a synthesis report coming out ahead of the November COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow. Reworking its goals, the African nation set an unconditional cut of 17.09% below BAU levels for 2025, conditional 39.88%. For 2030, it set an unconditional BAU cut target of 21.46%, conditional 32.19%. Using a revised projection, that was substantially different from its original NDC of a cut of 48% below BAU levels by 2025, 55% by 2030.

ASIA PACIFIC

Coal trade-offs – The Asian Development Bank is driving a plan with several private lenders to speed the closure of Asia’s coal-fired power plants, Reuters reported, citing multiple anonymous sources.  The idea involves a creating public-private carbon reduction facility to buy out the plants and wind them down within 15 years at a lower cost of capital than is available to commercial plants. Details still to be finalised include what role, if any, carbon credits may play. ADB has allocated around $1.7 mln for feasibility studies – covering Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam – and aims to have the first acquisition in 2022.

AMERICAS

Board is back – The US EPA unveiled its new lineup of 47 scientific advisors Monday, replacing the panel purged by Administrator Michael Regan in his quest to scour out political influence left over from President Donald Trump’s administration. The new lineup for the Scientific Advisory Board includes a number of returning names, including Alison Cullen, a University of Washington environmental policy professor, whom Regan chose to chair the panel. It’s the most diverse panel in history, according to EPA, with 22 women, 25 men and 16 people of colour. (Politico)

NewFrontier – US oil company HollyFrontier and its pipeline partner will buy almost all of Sinclair Oil’s assets in two deals totalling around $2.6 billion, the companies said on Tuesday, adding new refining, pipeline, and storage assets to their portfolio. As part of the deal, HollyFrontier will buy Sinclair’s branded marketing unit, renewable diesel unit, and two Rocky Mountain-based refineries. Holly Energy Partners. HollyFrontier’s transportation business, will buy Sinclair’s 1,900 km of pipeline assets and storage terminals with around 4.5 mln barrels of capacity. (Reuters)

Scotia status quo – Previous targets for GHG reductions and a new promise to protect more land in Nova Scotia were the highlights of the Liberal party’s environmental platform released Tuesday. Liberal Leader Iain Rankin used the backdrop of a provincial park in Halifax to announce his party’s plan, saying its centrepiece is the commitment made before the election to reduce emissions to 53% below 2005 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050. Rankin said key to that goal is a promise to get the province off coal-fired electrical generation by 2030 and to have 80% of the province’s energy come from renewable sources by that time. (Canadian Press)

EMEA

Myth making – UK PM Boris Johnson’s climate spokesperson Allegra Stratton has been accused of perpetuating myths about electric cars after defending her decision to drive her third-hand diesel vehicle rather than an electric vehicle. Stratton said she needs a vehicle to visit relatives without having to stop to recharge the battery. Automobile Association boss Edmund King pointed out that the average EV has a range of more than 200 miles without the need for recharging and for longer journeys drivers should stop to take a break anyway for road safety reasons. (Guardian)

VOLUNTARY

DSM doubling – Dutch health and materials company Royal DSM announced Tuesday that it will halve its 2016 emissions by 2030, up from a 30% cut previously. It also doubled its internal carbon price to €100/tonne from €50, and signed an additional power purchase agreement in July which means all its North American electricity needs will be 100% renewable starting from the end of this year.

SCIENCE & TECH

Methane bomb – The Siberian heatwave of 2020 led to new methane emissions from the permafrost, according to research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Analysis of satellite data indicated that fossil methane gas leaked from rock formations known to be large hydrocarbon reservoirs after the heatwave, which peaked at 6C above normal temperatures. Previous observations of leaks have been from permafrost soil or under shallow seas. (Guardian)

AND FINALLY…

Sprout clout – Delegates attending November’s COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow will not be dining on Peruvian asparagus or Chilean blueberries after venue catering partner Levy UK + I announced a ban on the supply of all air-freighted produce as part of the firm’s plans to go carbon neutral. Instead, menus at COP26 will place a “greater emphasis” on seasonal British produce rather than imported delicacies such as fine beans and berries. In November, artichokes, beetroot, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts are all in season in the UK. (I news)

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