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TOP STORY

Australia to consider allowing international units in Safeguard Mechanism as part of 2026-27 review

Australia will contemplate allowing international carbon credits in the Safeguard Mechanism and limiting the use of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) as part of a planned review of the scheme in 2026-27, according to legislative documents.

EMEA

EU Parliament’s largest party falters on efforts to extend methane curbs to imports

EU lawmakers from the centre-right EPP political group are backing a last-minute amendment that would block the extension of the bloc’s methane regulation to imports, putting in jeopardy one of the bill’s most far-reaching elements ahead of a crucial vote by the entire Parliament on Tuesday.

ASIA PACIFIC

Indonesia to launch carbon exchange next month, forestry ministry says

Indonesia will launch its carbon exchange in June, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry said in a position paper, clarifying the details of a closed-meeting on the country’s emerging carbon market last week.

Major Chinese cement maker to acquire 10 mln forest carbon credits by 2030

One of the world’s largest cement makers has inked a deal with a major forestry group in China to secure millions of carbon credits by the end of this decade to realise its low-carbon transition.

Australian carbon finance platform begins displaying ACCU price, project data

A Sydney-based fintech company’s carbon credit and data information platform has started displaying Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) pricing data in a bid to improve transparency in the market, it announced Monday.

AMERICAS

RGGI Market: RGAs plateau despite shrinking allowance surplus

RGGI Allowances (RGAs) posted modest price declines this week as a continued lack of news from the third programme review starved the market of a catalyst, even as a new report showed the power sector scheme’s permit glut fell last year.

Alberta TIER credit prices tick up in April, as traders debate upcoming election impact

Spot carbon credit prices under Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) regime rose slightly in April, while traders had different opinions on whether the outcome of the provincial election later this month would influence the output-based pricing system (OBPS) market.

US financial services giant to aid carbon market investors with administration, deposit services

A US-based investment manager on Monday announced a new service to help fund owners and other financial institutions integrate compliance and voluntary carbon assets on the physical and futures markets into their portfolios.

INTERNATIONAL

UK joins list of donors to Brazilian fund for Amazon protection

The UK has become the latest government to support Brazil’s Amazon Fund, designed to back REDD+ projects that protect the nation’s forests as a key pillar to global action on climate change and biodiversity protection.

Global coal plant pipeline to shrink by around half due to policies and lack of finance, study finds

Additional coal power plant build will be around 50% lower than what is in the global capacity pipeline as projects will face cancellation due to policy changes and less finance, but new plants must only be allowed to have a limited lifespan if there is to be alignment with a 1.5C pathway, research released on Monday has found.

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CONFERENCES

Carbon Forward Asia – May 2-3, Singapore/Online: Carbon Forward is coming to Asia! Join us in Singapore or watch the conference online, and gain valuable insights into the trends and developments in carbon pricing throughout the Asia Pacific region. We will discuss investment opportunities across compliance and voluntary carbon markets, as well as transport initiatives such as CORSIA and SAF for aviation and shipping sector programmes, the impact of the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), CCS crediting, developments under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, corporate climate goals, and other exciting topics. The confirmed attendee list is approaching 250 people. Purchase your tickets now, before they sell out!

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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

Per capita problems – The top 10 per capita emitter countries have GHG emissions 39 times higher than the bottom 10, according to new research published by non-profit WRI on Monday. But while there is an obvious disparity with regard to emissions per capita between rich developed nations and vulnerable states, there is also significant per-capita variation between major emitters. While India ranks among the top emitters by country, for example, its per capita emissions rank much lower than other top emitters, at just 2.5 tonnes per person compared to nearly 18 tonnes per person in the US or 9 tonnes per person in China. Monday’s report also demonstrated how the pattern of emissions per capita is slowing compared to past trends, where per capita emissions historically increased rapidly as a country industrialised – with this slowdown partly attributable to cleaner sources of energy, given that 90% of new electricity generation that was deployed in 2022 came from renewable sources. This observation, coupled with the declining trend in per capita emissions from most industrialised economies, such as those in North America and Europe, means that global per capita emissions have not increased since 2010. This is an indication that the world is slowly diverging from its previous path of carbon intense development, the authors said.

Scope 3 pass – A new alliance of the oil and gas sector is being marshalled by the COP28 team behind the UN climate summit in the United Arab Emirates, but early outlines of its goals aimed at tackling global warming do not include the bulk of emissions that arise form the use of fossil fuels. Billed as a flagship COP28 initiative, the provisionally named Global Decarbonization Alliance will set a goal of reaching scope 1-2 net zero emissions by 2050, an initiating letter seen by the FT says. However, the framework does not include a target for scope 3, or the indirect emissions that make up by far the biggest proportion of the sector’s pollution.

Methane moves – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Monday announced a new programme to reduce methane emissions from developing countries’ small scale farms. The Global Methane Hub will donate $3 mln, while the US State Department will contribute $1 mln. The new fund was announced at the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate Summit in Washington DC, a join project from the governments of the UAE and US.

EMEA

Slovenia’s lonely coal plant’s demise – Slovenia’s only remaining coal-fired power station, Sostanj, will likely only be used in cases of high electricity demand and high market prices until it is definitely taken offline by 2033 as per the country’s coal phase-out, EurActiv reported. According to the CEO of HSE, the energy group which owns the coal power plant, the electricity generated by the thermal plant is too expensive to remain economically viable. As an alternative, the executive believes modern multi-fuel boiler that can burn biomass and other alternative fuels should be built to replace the coal power plant’s output, which is mainly used for home heating.

Sweden risks 2030 climate goals – Sweden’s ruling coalition decided to lower the minimum fossil fuel emission reduction targets on Sunday, EurActiv reported. The Swedish centre-right coalition agreed to lower its obligation to reduce the number of biofuels blended into petrol and diesel to reduce fossil fuel emissions to a low of 6%. With higher biofuel content, fuel becomes more expensive – an argument which was used by the government to lower biofuel obligation levels. But according to the Swedish Energy Agency, this reduction obligation would have been key in reducing emissions from domestic transport by at least 70%. The opposition strongly criticised the government for its climate policy and for reducing the country’s climate ambitions to please the far-right Sweden Democrats and stay in power.

ASIA PACIFIC

Fossil fuel finance – A new report by Australian investor climate action group Market Forces reveals Australia’s 30 biggest superannuation (pension) funds increased their investment exposure to Australian and international companies most responsible for expanding fossil fuels in 2022 to a total of more than A$34 bln, the group announced in a press release. Australia’s biggest funds have increased their investment exposure to companies developing new or expanded coal, oil, and gas projects by 50% over the past year, in their default investment options. On average, these super fund options have more than 9% of their members’ share investments in these climate-wrecking companies. Applying this average across the whole superannuation industry, Market Forces estimates more than $140 bln of Australians’ retirement savings are invested in companies directly involved in expanding fossil fuels.

Hydrogen talks – The recent working visit of Indonesian state-owned utility PLN to France has opened up opportunities for global cooperation, including the development of green hydrogen in Indonesia, Solar Quarter reports. Director of corporate planning and business development at PLN, Hartanto Wibowo, even met directly with the French Hydrogen Association, France Hydrogene, and the French International Entrepreneurs Association, MEDEF International, to discuss opportunities for support from French energy companies in developing hydrogen technology while reducing dependence on fossil energy. At the meeting initiated by the Energy Academy Indonesia (ECADIN), Hartanto Wibowo explained PLN’s energy transition strategies and initiatives in achieving net zero emissions in 2060, one of which is through the development of green hydrogen in Indonesia.

Sharpening focus – The Australian government’s green bank, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation says it’s sharpening its focus on decarbonisation across Australian mid-market infrastructure assets, investing up to A$80 mln equity into the A$1.4 bln Pacific Equity Partners Secure Assets Fund II. PEP is one of Australasia’s oldest private markets fund managers, with A$8.7 billion in assets under management. The PEP SAF II portfolio will target value-add mid-market infrastructure and infrastructure-like businesses, including assets with secure or contracted base cashflows in areas from healthcare and energy to transport and data centres, the CEFC said. As part of its investment strategy, SAF II will work with investee companies to understand their carbon footprint and identify decarbonisation pathways in line with reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 – and to set targets for net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040. The fund also plans to work with these companies to address Scope 3 emissions, in line with a 1.5C of temperature warming by 2050. 

Nuclear partnership – Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), the body responsible for developing the UAE’s nuclear energy sector, has signed three agreements with Chinese organisations as it aims to boost low-carbon nuclear power, Reuters reports. The three MoUs were signed with China’s Nuclear Power Operations Research Institute, the China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas, and the China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation. The UAE, which aims to get 6% of its energy needs from nuclear as part of its 2050 net-zero strategy, is already building the Arab world’s first multi-unit operating nuclear energy plant.

AMERICAS

Back to the front end – The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) on Friday announced it selected eight integrated Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Studies for award negotiations to support the development of community-informed integrated carbon capture, transport, and storage (CCS) systems.  These eight FEED Studies, representing five different US states and one Tribal Nation, will address the design of integrated CCS projects and support the buildout of CCS capacity towards achieving a clean and equitable energy economy.  The FEED Studies are funded through OCED’s Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program, which seeks to address the urgent need to deploy carbon management technologies.

Overhead storage – The CEO of Canadian travel agency Hopper is launching a carbon capture, sequestration, and utilisation (CCUS) start-up called Deep Sky, the Globe and Mail reported Sunday. Deep Sky founder Fred Lalonde says he wants to make Canada a CCUS capital, after the offsets Hopper sold to its customers resulted in the planting of 25 mln trees. Deep Sky plans on launching in Quebec, Ontario, and potentially Alberta.

Clean power council – Canadian Minister for Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson on Friday launched the Canada Electricity Advisory Council, an independent body of 19 experts who will provide the government with advice on actions needed to achieve the country’s 2035 and 2050 net zero emissions goals as they pertain to electricity. The Electricity Council will provide advice to the Minister of Natural Resources to accelerate investment, and promote sustainable, affordable, and reliable electricity systems.

Zero hero – Florida-based renewable energy firm NextEra Energy Partners announced in a press release on Monday that it plans on reaching “Real Zero” emissions by 2025. The publicly traded subsidiary of NextEra Energy will sell its STX Midstream and Meade natural gas pipeline assets in 2023 and 2025 to achieve their goal. The funds from the sale will help the company complete the transition to Real Zero. NextEra Energy Partners has $2.8 bln in liquidity as of Mar. 31, 2023, the release said.

SCIENCE & TECH

AI for climate – The University of Minnesota Twin Cities announced that it will receive a $20 million grant over five years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to lead a new National Artificial Intelligence Research Institute. Researchers at the AI Institute for Climate-Land Interactions, Mitigation, Adaptation, Tradeoffs and Economy (AI-CLIMATE) aim to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to create more climate-smart practices that will absorb and store carbon while simultaneously boosting the economy in the agriculture and forestry industries. (Feedstuffs)

AND FINALLY…

What a Croc – Footwear brand Crocs has pushed back its net zero target to 2040 after recording a 45.5% increase in absolute emissions year-on-year, it said in its latest ESG report released last week. The report states that Crocs’ initial commitment to net zero by 2030, made in 2021, was “neither fast nor vast enough”. Nonetheless, it has amended the commitment to net zero across all emissions scopes by 2040. When the initial 2030 goal was announced, Crocs had not completed its acquisition of fellow show company Heydude, nor had it completed a comprehensive baseline of its GHG emissions. The acquisition pushed Crocs’ baseline emissions up and the baselining activity revealed a higher-than-expected starting level of emissions. Crocs estimated its value chain emissions in 2021 at 538,037 tCO2e, while the estimate for 2022 is much higher at 782,774 tonnes, with at least 193,000 t of that attributable to the acquisition. Crocs’ said its new 2040 goal is “still ambitious” but “more credible and realistic”. (edie)

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