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TOP STORY

ANALYSIS: “Trepidation” as SMEs get to grips with EU’s CBAM reporting rules that run deep

Small and medium-sized companies are finding implementing the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) challenging, say consultants and business groups, as the new system’s reporting requirements come into force this month and impact hundreds of products.

VOLUNTARY

INTERVIEW: Science-based approach for regenerative farming seen meeting integrity needs for voluntary carbon markets

A US-based agricultural products company has said its microbiological additives could tackle two of the biggest challenges for agricultural carbon removal projects, permanence and additionality.

Carbon credit issuances tumble in September, ahead of first CCP labels

Carbon credit issuance from the big four registries tumbled in September to their lowest in at least a year, amid single digit prices for avoidance credits coupled with the limbo created by the ICVCM’s launch of its assessment framework for Core Carbon Principle eligibility.

Commercial forestry investor starts to factor carbon into its returns where there is market certainty -conference

The forestry division of a UK-based alternative asset manager is starting to factor carbon credit revenue into the returns of its commercial forestry assets where there is some degree of market certainty, a conference heard on Thursday.

Pair of insurance partnerships announced to provide security to carbon credit buyers

Two partnerships for providing insurance on carbon credits were announced Thursday, with both intended to help provide financial and reputational security on transactions and scale investment in the voluntary carbon market (VCM).

ICVCM names new CCO as McDonnell joins Australian insurance giant

The private sector-led Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market has named a new interim COO to succeed William McDonnell, who will join Insurance Australia Group as its new CFO.

INTERNATIONAL

Latest Green Climate Fund raise surpasses $9 bln as multiple donors announce summit pledges

The UN’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) has secured $9.3 billion in pledges across 25 countries with a large proportion announcing cash at a high-level event in Germany on Thursday, though the total remains below each of the previous two fundraises.

Emissions barely rose in first half of year despite tightly balanced clean energy sector -think tank

Global emissions rose 0.2% in the first half of the year despite higher solar and wind penetration thanks to drought conditions hampering hydropower generation and pushing more fossil fuel-generated power into the grid.

EMEA

UK government publishes 2024 carbon allowance auction calendar

The British government on Thursday released the auction calendar for UK Allowances for next year, with 69 million permits to be offered up on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Ukraine minister underlines need to introduce ETS as soon as possible in light of EU CBAM -media

Ukraine’s environment minister has told domestic media sources that the country must adopt a law on a national ETS as early as next year, with an aim of introducing it in 2025, to avoid any negative impact on Ukrainian exports linked to the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism.

EU ETS will need 200 Mt of carbon removals by 2050 to neutralise emissions -analysts

The EU’s compliance carbon market will need an estimated 200 million tonnes of carbon removals by mid-century to cancel out residual emissions in the mechanism, analysts said Thursday, based on a modelling of the ‘least cost’ way to meet the bloc’s 2050 net zero target.

EU Parliament backs new commissioners for climate, Green Deal

The full European Parliament approved on Thursday the designation of Wopke Hoekstra as commissioner for climate action and Maros Sefcovic’s new role as executive vice-president in charge of the Green Deal.

Euro Markets: Weak energy complex weighs on Dec-23s as analysts point to lack of market direction

EUAs shed as much as 1.7% on Thursday, retracing some of the strong gains made during the previous session, as energy prices dipped despite reports that further LNG strikes at key Australian export terminals may lie ahead, and as analysts suggested carbon stills lack a clear direction for the remainder of October.

EU to phase out F-gases by 2050, pushing standards worldwide to follow

European co-legislators reached a provisional political agreement on Thursday to phase out by 2050 fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases), in a bid to set higher environmental standards for the rest of the world.

AMERICAS

California considers reductions in utility allocations, cap-and-trade allowance removals from general auction pool

California regulator ARB on Thursday revealed its considerations in selecting an allowance pool for removal of cap-and-trade permits over the rest of the decade, discussed reductions in free permits for electrical distribution utilities (EDUs), and received feedback on electricity imports from unlinked carbon pricing jurisdictions, the California Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) adjustment, and biogenic emissions.

WCI Markets: CCAs await outcome of California cap-and-trade public workshop

California Carbon Allowances (CCA) receded slightly through the week with traders awaiting details from state regulator ARB’s Thursday cap-and-trade public pre-rulemaking workshop, while Washington Carbon Allowances (WCA) remained fairly flat with slim transaction activity.

Paraguayan Congress approves carbon credit regulation bill by wide majority

Paraguay’s lower house of Congress on Wednesday voted to pass the country’s first national legislation regulating the voluntary carbon market with almost no opposition, sending the bill to President Santiago Pena for final approval.

ASIA PACIFIC

Taiwan revises rules to expand emissions verification capacity

Taiwan has eased a set of management rules for greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories to expand its of third-party emissions accreditation and verification capacity, amid growing domestic concerns over the impact of EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM).

International pension funds acquire Tasmanian forestry plantation

A group of pension funds announced Thursday an acquisition of a 170,000-hectare plantation forestry estate in Tasmania, Australia from a global forestry group.

Singaporean bank teams up with software company to offer customers carbon footprint measurement

A Singapore-based bank has partnered with a tech firm to develop a platform to aid smaller companies in more easily being able to measure their carbon footprints.

Rating agencies downgrade India’s biggest carbon developer

Two ratings agencies in India have downgraded the country’s biggest carbon developer’s ratings after it recently filed losses for a second consecutive quarter.

BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)

Plan Vivo developing biodiversity credit pricing guidance

Plan Vivo aims to launch guidance on the pricing of biodiversity credits within a year, Carbon Pulse has learned.

EU co-legislators forced to go back to basics on nature restoration law

EU legislators failed to advance past initial exchanges in their first attempt to finalise the bloc’s divisive nature restoration bill on Thursday, instead asking officials to craft compromises in an effort to break an impasse.

Investor outlines much-needed changes in rapidly evolving biodiversity market

Investor and advisory firm Pollination has identified a series of areas where the fledgling, but fast-evolving biodiversity credit market needs or is likely to see significant developments in coming years.

GreenCollar issues first NaturePlus credits, releases details on standard

Almost a year after the scheme was officially launched, Australian carbon project developer GreenCollar has announced the very first issuance of its NaturePlus Credits, which it hopes to establish as a leading global biodiversity credit type.

US outfit launches sheep grazing credits for vineyard systems

Regen Network has established an environmental stewardship credit class for sheep grazing on vineyards, with a first batch of units issued to an estate in California.

Biodiversity Pulse: Thursday October 5, 2023

A twice-weekly summary of our biodiversity news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. All articles in this edition are free to read (no subscription required).

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Premium job listings

• Business Development Manager, Abatable – London (Hybrid)
• Carbon Standards Specialist, Space Intelligence – Edinburgh
• GHG Management, Environmental Specialist, First Environment – Sacramento
• Project Administration Specialist, Climate Change, First Environment – Sacramento
• EMEA Policy Editor, Carbon Pulse – Brussels/London/Remote (in Europe)

Or click here to see all job listings

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CONFERENCES

Carbon Forward 2023 – Oct. 11-13, London: Join us for Europe’s pre-eminent carbon markets conference, covering the EU and UK ETS as well as international voluntary markets and compliance schemes elsewhere in the world. The event brings together attendees from all related sectors, including traders and intermediaries, big emitters, financiers, project developers, analysts, consultants, NGOs, and government representatives. Topics to be covered include carbon pricing regimes globally, investment opportunities, Article 6 cooperation, CBAM, net zero strategies, and de-risking the voluntary carbon markets. Passes are going fast to secure yours today!

Private Land Conservation Conference | Unite for Nature – Oct. 16-18, Canberra: Nature has been elevated to the world stage and the Australian Land Conservation Alliance’s Private Land Conservation plays a crucial role in exploring the challenges and solutions as we navigate the transition to a nature positive future. Featuring Australian and international conservation practitioners, policy experts, business, finance and industry leaders, landholders, and First Nations groups on the frontlines of conservation, the conference explores pathways to reversing nature loss. To register: www.alcaconference.org.au/registration

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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

VOLUNTARY

Offset oversight – Carbon offset projects in Cambodia and Brazil on territory where deforestation continues to occur are being sold to companies like Uber and Bank of Santander despite evidence of the environmental damage, Climate Home News reported Thursday. Satellite imagery shows the Tumring project in Cambodia has lost 22% of the forested area it’s supposed to protect, and the Cambodian government has no record off the tree loss. The Tumring project was verified by standards body Verra and sold credits to Uber, Marathon, and ArcelorMittal. The Rio Preto-Jacunda REDD+ project in Brazil lost over 5,800 ha of forest land over 2012-20, more than 33% over what owner Biofílica Ambipar said the project would lose. Credits from that project were verified by Verra and sold to German utility Entega, Bank of Santander’s Brazilian arm, and Brazilian financial services giant Banco Bradesco. Another Biofilica project, Maisa, was cancelled after the land owner began harvesting the trees on the land the project was taking place. The credits from that project are still being sold, and the project was shut down in accordance with Verra rules.

Voluntary name change – Offset standards body American Carbon Registry is changing its name to its acronym, ACR, to emphasise its efforts in geographic regions outside of the US and in activities other than its registry, the company said Thursday. ACR is also responsible for methodologies and overseeing carbon reduction projects. The move follows the International Emissions Trading Association changing their name to simpmly IETA last month.

INTERNATIONAL

Gas guzzler – Shell’s gas, and in particular LNG, push puts its energy transition plans in the spotlight, the FT reports, while the UK producer insists it is sticking to net zero goals even as it ramps up output in its most lucrative business. Gas has become Shell’s biggest money-spinner, the article continues, outlining that the firm’s integrated gas division, which is dominated by LNG activities, was the largest contributor to group profits in four of the past five years and accounted for just over half the company’s $14.7 bln in earnings in the first half of 2023. The question is now whether the fuel remains the right focus for a company with a new boss, Wael Sawan. He insists Shell is sticking to a strategy launched by his predecessor Ben van Beurden to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 through a ramp-up in clean energy investment.

Dishing diversity – The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies has published a paper providing a “taxonomy” explainer on global carbon markets under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6 authored by Hannah Hauman, global head of carbon at trading house Trafigura, along with Andrea Bonzanni of business group IETA, and Owain Johnson of exchange provider CME Group. Countering multiple efforts to standardise carbon pricing, the paper embraces the complexity of carbon markets and contends that a diverse asset class is needed if carbon markets are to be successful.

EMEA

Let’s consult – The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has launched a consultation on a new emissions reduction plan aimed at the oil and gas industry. The agency said that although production emissions have reduced over the years, they still account for about 3% of the UK’s total GHG emissions. The NSTA warns that without further action, the industry may miss the 2030 emissions reduction targets set in the North Sea Transition Deal. The new plan outlines requirements in four key areas: investment and efficiency, platform electrification, inventory, and flaring and venting. Platform electrification is a crucial point, as power generation accounts for 79% of platform emissions. The NSTA says its proposals could lead to carbon savings equivalent to taking a million cars off the road by 2030. The plan serves as a tool to meet net zero obligations and aims to offer the industry clearer long-term planning pathways for emissions reduction.

Not good enough – The German government recently agreed upon the final version of its comprehensive climate action programme 2023, which NGOs criticised as insufficient to reach GHG reduction targets. The programme of policies and measures is wholly inadequate, said Environmental Action Germany (DUH) and criticised the planned reform of the country’s climate legislation, with which the government aims to shift away from the current focus on annual emissions reduction targets for each economic sector. Umbrella organisation Climate Alliance Germany said the government had to urgently adjust its policymaking to address the projected gap to reaching emissions reduction targets in the years until 2030. (Clean Energy Wire)

Wind power – The EU Commission approved on Thursday a €193 mln Lithuanian state aid scheme to support offshore wind farms. The measure will be open to companies operating both in Lithuania and in other member states, which will be able to participate in a call for tenders for authorisation to develop and operate a new plant. The selected project will be in a specific area of the Baltic Sea and will have a capacity of 700 MW. Under this measure, the aid will take the form of a variable premium under a two-way compensatory gap contract with a duration of 15 years, calculated on the basis of a comparison between a price reference, determined in the beneficiary’s offer, and the price of electricity on the market.

ASIA PACIFIC

CCS collaboration – South Korea’s Samsung Engineering and Canada-headquartered Svante Technologies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop and deliver commercial carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects in Asia and the Middle East, the two companies said in a statement released Thursday. They will target hard-to-abate heavy industries including cement and steel in the two regions, using Svante’s solid sorbent-based carbon capture filter technology, the statement said.

Resource fight – Japan is looking to Canada and Australia for critical materials used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries amid growing pressure to shift away from China, though Japanese companies are facing a stiff battle for resources, even with government support, according to Nikkei. The US Inflation Reduction Act offers tax credits only to EVs that meet certain domestic production criteria, while Canada has changed its investment guidelines to make it more difficult for Chinese state-owned companies to invest in mining or refining projects. In addition, nations with rich nickel or lithium reserves, such as Indonesia and Chile, have moved to limit the exports of unprocessed essential minerals, which means “the list of potential partner countries for Japan Inc. is narrowing,” the report said.

South China Sea spat – Vietnam’s domestic gas supply remains troubled. Reuters reports its two major gas projects are no closer to development. US giant ExxonMobil and Russia’s Gazprom both have offshore gas projects in the South China Sea and both are quietly facing challenges getting gas to shore and into the domestic market. Exxon is still quietly disagreeing with the government over gas sales agreements. Gazprom’s project overlaps areas claimed by China.  “In May, the (Vietnamese) government listed the project, which Gazprom began working on in 2000, as among those slated to be ready before the end of the decade,” Reuters said of the project. “The new government draft document said, however, that the plant is unlikely to come online before 2030 as Gazprom “is assessing gas reserves”.

Handbook of knowledge – Bursa Malaysia launched Malaysia’s voluntary carbon market (VCM) handbook at the Bursa Malaysia Carbon Market Forum held in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. VCM Handbook will serve as a guide to assist entities keen on participating in carbon market project development and Malaysia’s voluntary carbon market, Bursa Malaysia said in a statement. The handbook will guide professionals and stakeholders in generating carbon credits that adhere to international standards recognised by the Bursa Carbon Exchange.

AMERICAS

Climate non-believer for speaker – Candidates to replace the speaker in the US House of Representatives are pro-oil and anti-climate according to environmental groups, but green Republicans say they’re not all the same, E&E News reported. The Republican-controlled House ejected Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) on Tuesday by a vote of 216-210 and will vote on a replacement next week. The now-former speaker attempted to move his party away from climate denialism and saw the climate as an important issue among young voters. House Majority Leader Representative Steve Scalise (R) announced his candidacy for the speaker’s chair on Wednesday, and would be a powerful oil industry ally in Congress, E&E news was told. Another candidate is House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R), who has decried the “over regulation” of the Paris Accord, but not overtly involve himself in climate politics. One Republican cited Representative Garrett Graves (R) as a candidate for speaker that could be an advocate for the climate.

Rising rebate – British Columbia is increasing its carbon price rebate to by up to C$250 to single people and C$390 to families of four, the government said Thursday. Two mln residents will qualify for the rebate and about 70% are eligible for the maximum amount, the province’s announcement said. A single person’s maximum carbon price rebate in British Columbia is now C$477 per year and a family of four’s maximum return is C$893.50 annually. The rebates are sent out quarterly.

Washington clean fuels – Washington Department of Ecology (ECY) released updated documents pertaining to its Clean Fuel Standard programme on Thursday. The programme saw an average credit price of $96.26 within a range of $66 to $105 per credit in its September monthly credit trading activity report, and also updated its Quarter 1 data summary to reflect a total amount of 275,442 credits generated.

AND FINALLY…

The last of us? – Pakistan’s health officials have warned that the country’s health system is on the verge of collapse as the South Asian nation is witnessing an escalation in waterborne diseases due to extreme weather events resulting from climate change. In the first eight months of this year, over 10 mln cases of waterborne diseases have been reported. Pakistan has witnessed a 10 times surge in malaria cases in the last two years and the nation has lost about 50,000 people in 2022 due to diarrhoea by consuming contaminated water and food. Citing the data from National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad, the health ministry officials said that acute watery diarrhoea cases were constantly on the rise from different parts of the country and cases of extensively drug resistant typhoid, which were extremely hard to treat with most of the antibiotic drugs, were also being reported. As reported by The News, most of the health resources are currently being spent on the management of such diseases across the country. Floods, rains and droughts have increasingly battered the nation forcing millions of Pakistanis to consume contaminated water.

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