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TOP STORY
Rating agency warns CCP labels won’t guarantee each credit is worth a tonne of CO2
A carbon credit rating agency has warned against a headlong rush into commoditising carbon credits as the ICVCM prepares to tag the first categories of unit with its CCP integrity label, which is expected to reassure corporates that each credit is worth a tonne of C02.
AMERICAS
INTERVIEW: Honduras wants $25/t for soon-to-be issued Article 6 forestry credits
Honduras will target international sales of Article 6-compliant REDD+ credits, due to be issued next year, at a price of at least $25/tonne, the country’s environment minister confirmed to Carbon Pulse on Thursday, and is already in discussion with buyers to complete transactions in 2025.
Paraguayan Senate passes carbon credit regulation bill with amendments
Legislation outlining regulation of the voluntary carbon credit market passed Paraguay’s Senate this week by a significant margin following a number of amendments, and now goes to the country’s Chamber of Deputies before it can become law.
LCFS Market: California prices snap back towards $70 after aggressive selling halts
California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit values rebounded on Thursday from a six-month low set earlier in the week after a major electric vehicle manufacturer reportedly stopped selling units.
Speculators discard California carbon and RGGI net length, WCA holdings data becomes available
Financial players pared back their California Carbon Allowance (CCA) and RGGI Allowances (RGGI) net length over the week, as Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) futures and options holdings became available for the first time, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Pipeline company confirms will need ACCUs to meet Safeguard baseline, says emissions reduction pathway will not be linear
Gas infrastructure company Australian Pipeline Association (APA) Group has joined a growing list of companies signalling their reliance on Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to meet their emission liabilities under the reformed Safeguard Mechanism.
CN Markets: China’s carbon price touches all-time high on steady compliance demand
Allowances in the Chinese emissions trading scheme this week rose to their highest level since the market launched two years ago, as the approaching compliance deadline for 2021 and 2022 continued to fuel steady demand.
Australian superannuation fund adopts emissions standards, but may keep oil and gas investments
An Australian superannuation fund has announced emissions targets in line with the government’s plan to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030 over 2005 levels, though it will only decide on a policy towards oil and gas companies late next year.
Gas integral to Indonesian net-zero plans -minister
Gas will remain an important part of Indonesia’s energy mix as it moves to a lower emissions economy and the nation is actively looking to expand gas infrastructure, a minister said Friday.
Research paper claims to refute additionality arguments against Australian landfill gas projects
Carbon revenues can substantially contribute to the additionality of Australian waste management projects by encouraging final investment decisions, a study has found, contradicting conclusions from previous analysis.
EMEA
Malta and Spain urge EU to identify more ports as carbon leakage hotspots for ships amid a jump in activity
Malta and Spain have urged the EU to add further foreign ports to a list found to have experienced a jump in activity, ahead of the bloc’s inclusion of the shipping sector in the ETS from 2024 in a bid to guard against carbon leakage.
EU ministers to discuss power market reform next month
EU energy ministers are due to meet on October 17, aiming to get closer to a deal on a divisive reform of bloc’s electricity market design that has gotten bogged down partly due to a row over whether to extend capacity payments for coal power.
UAE carbon developer explores partnership with bank to accelerate climate investments
An aggressive UAE-based carbon credit developer has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Gulf nation’s biggest bank aimed at advancing green investments as the country gears up to host this year’s UN climate negotiations.
Euro Markets: EUAs follow gas gains to three-week high while UK carbon snaps three-week fall
EU carbon permits posted their biggest weekly increase in two months, as prices gained momentum from the combination of a moderate short squeeze as well as a sharp rise in natural gas prices, while UK Allowance prices ended 14 successive days of declines with a strong bounce-back.
VOLUNTARY
Field testing for ocean-based carbon removal is necessary, but hurdles are steep, experts say
Proving marine CO2 removal in the field is necessary to scale the nascent technology, but further private sector funding and government support are needed for the development of research, expert panel says.
INTERNATIONAL
Far more work needed to drive clean hydrogen uptake despite increase in projects, IEA says
Policy and direct investment need to match interest and rhetoric if hydrogen is to become a genuine source of large-scale clean energy, and project delays are to be expected given “stubborn” cost pressures, the International Energy Agency said Friday.
BRICS expansion will transform bloc into world leader for renewables, net exporter of energy -report
The expansion of the BRICS bloc is going to transform the group into a global leader in renewables, making it a net exporter of primary energy in the coming decades, according to a report released this week.
BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)
TNFD urgently needs to consider metrics beyond MSA, consultant says
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) must “urgently” consider metrics beyond MSA, an executive at environmental consultancy Ramboll has said, while suggesting that Britain’s net gain mechanism offers a more robust approach.
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CONFERENCES
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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
‘Not realistic’ – The complete phasing-out of fossil fuels is not realistic, and these climate-warming fuels must continue to play a vital role in maintaining global energy security, China’s special climate envoy Xie Zhenhua told a forum in Beijing on Thursday, according to Reuters. Xie, who will represent China at COP28 this year, said the intermittent nature of renewable energy and the immaturity of key technologies means the world must continue to rely on fossil fuels to safeguard economic growth. The comment was in line with China’s attitude on coal use during UN climate talks in Glasgow in 2021, where the country led efforts to change the language of the final agreement from “phasing out” to “phasing down” fossil fuels, the report said.
EMEA
Solar boost – Qatar is aiming for solar power to account for 30% of the country’s electricity production by 2030, according to an announcement by a senior official. The nation currently relies heavily on gas generation for its power but is looking to rely more upon its dependable solar resources in alignment with Qatar National Vision 2030. The 800 MW Al Kharsaah Solar PV Power Plant (KSPP) currently supplies 7% of Qatar’s electricity and uses sun-tracking technology to optimize daily energy production. Ongoing projects with partners like QatarEnergy should help to enable the new solar target, while Qatar’s link with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority) grid also helps to provide power stability, particularly when power demand rises in the summer months due to high air conditioning demand.
Energy-saving ambition – The German parliament has passed a legal framework for energy efficiency into law for the first time as the country vies to bring in laws that support the climate and its economy, reports Clean Energy Wire. The Energy Efficiency Act is targeting a reduction in annual energy consumption of about 500 TWh by 2030, which equates to roughly a quarter of total consumption recorded in 2021. The federal government must reduce energy use by at least 45 TWh annually from 2024, while states must curb usage by at least 3 TWh. Meanwhile, companies with a high energy consumption profile must introduce energy management systems and data centres are being called on to recycle waste heat.
Power of words – The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) has launched a consultation to create ‘consistent’ definitions of transition finance strategies and other decarbonisation contribution methodologies to help guide efforts by financial institutions to lower carbon, reports BusinessGreen. The body is seeking feedback on usable definitions that are applicable across markets and sectors, and that will help financial institutions independently identify their climate risk exposure and investment opportunities, while supporting the real economy transition. In 2022, GFANZ created four strategies considered necessary to finance the net zero economic transition. These were defined as financing or enabling: the development and scaling of climate solutions; assets or companies already aligned to a 1.5C pathway; assets or companies committed to transitioning in line with 1.5C-aligned pathways; and the accelerated managed phaseout of high-emitting physical assets.
ASIA PACIFIC
It’s complicated – The lead shareholder of Australian takeover target Origin Energy increased its stake on Thursday, calling the shares undervalued, in a move that may complicate the A$15.3 bln ($9.8 bln) buyout led by Canadian investment management firm Brookfield, Reuters reports. Superannuation fund AustralianSuper increased its stake in Origin by 1% to just under 14%, giving the pension fund a larger say over whether the deal goes ahead. The deal requires support of 75% of votes cast. Without referring to the acquisition, AustralianSuper released a statement saying Origin’s share price was substantially below its estimate of its long-term value.
New service – Accounting advisory firm BDO in Indonesia has formed a commercial partnership with MVGX Tech, a carbon software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, to help clients strengthen their ESG initiatives through the latter’s Carbon Connect Suite, it announced Friday. With the tech solutions, BDO clients will be able to evaluate and benchmark their carbon emissions against industry peers based on eight modules that consider factors such as existing emission reduction measures and investments in carbon reduction projects, according to the company statement.
Date set – The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) will start trading carbon credits on Oct.11, it announced on Friday, following the country’s phased introduction of a carbon pricing scheme from April this year. The number of initially registered participants has reached 188, from a wide range of industries, including finance and local government. The bourse will enable trading of the domestically issued J-Credits, for which the supply remains largely limited for the moment.
AMERICAS
Texas-sized sponsor – Republicans in the US lost their legal challenge of a Labor Department rule which makes it easier for retirement plan sponsors to use ESG investing, following a decision from Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas, E&E news reported Friday. The rule was implemented by US President Joe Biden’s administration, and permits climate-risk abatement by retirement plan sponsors through ESG fund management. Kacsmaryk found the Labor Department rule doesn’t violate the Administrative Procedure Act because the rule is not arbitrary, and is not contrary to retirement investing laws.
Inefficiency in Illinois – Only 10.5% of power in Illinois comes from renewable sources at present, falling significantly short of the state’s 2025 goal to have 25% power generation from renewable sources under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, Inside Climate News reports. Illinois passed the law two years ago with the goal to reduce air pollution and accelerate the transition to renewable energy while also creating equitable green jobs. The state faces challenges as developers remain reluctant to participate due to rigid requirements that carry too much risk. Companies interested in building wind and solar projects also face challenges outside of government control, including long waits and high costs to get connected to multistate electric power grids.
VOLUNTARY
Open call – The Science Based Targets initiative has launched a call for evidence on the effectiveness of the use of Environmental Attribute Certificates in corporate climate targets, with the aim of helping the corporate climate action ecosystem understand whether different instruments can credibly drive decarbonisation. The call is open for nine weeks from Sep. 21 to Nov. 24, and all evidence will be made publicly available on the SBTi website. These certificates could potentially be eligible in Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions abatement targets, such as emission reduction credits and energy attribute certificates.
AND FINALLY…
Fancy paint – A revolutionary paint with ultra-cooling properties is being developed by climate tech firm Pirta and tested at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala, India, as part of an international collaboration. The passive-cooling paint formula is capable of reducing surface temperature by up to 64C compared to a black surface and South Asian field tests showed that the paint achieved a temperature decrease of up to 7C compared to standard cooling paints currently on the market. Global warming is having an increasing impact on human health in India, with reported loss in potential labour hours in addition to a 55% rise in deaths due to extreme heat when comparing the periods 2000-04 with 2017-21. Cooling paints could be used as a way to mitigate the heat crisis in various settings, according to Pirta.
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