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CARBON FORWARD 2023
UK to seek ‘simplicity and certainty’ on Article 6 at COP28, outline position on key technical areas
The UK will focus on bringing certainty and simplicity to Article 6 international emissions trade at COP28 UN negotiations, officials said on Wednesday, while reaffirming that the country does not intend to use international credits to meet its 2030 nationally determined contribution (NDC).
UN Article 6 body “confident but apprehensive” on methodology progress at COP28
The head of the body guiding which carbon cutting projects will be credited under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is confident that finalised recommendations would not be rejected by countries during negotiations at COP28, but remains apprehensive on their reaction to the soon-to-be finalised document, she told the Carbon Forward conference on Wednesday.
Corporates in polluting sectors set to reap profits from carbon pricing -analysts
Corporates in some of the hardest to abate and polluting industrial sectors will make money from carbon markets in the next few years by deploying hedging strategies or receiving free allowances, amid the hodge podge of trading schemes around the world, an analyst told the Carbon Forward conference Wednesday.
Pakistan developing Article 6 framework for international carbon trade, planning domestic carbon market
Pakistan is working to build a framework for how it will approach Article 6 international emissions trade and is in talks with several parties around bilateral agreements, according to a government official, while also working on sectoral targets as part of its nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
WTO developing initial framework for global carbon pricing measure
The World Trade Organisation has reiterated it is working on a global carbon pricing framework to avoid a patchwork of different mechanisms popping up around the world, a representative told the Carbon Forward conference on Wednesday.
STX Group dives into asset management with launch of global carbon fund
Amsterdam-headquartered environmental commodities trading firm STX Group on Wednesday announced its first foray into the asset management industry with the launch of a global carbon fund that seeks to “catch the potential upside” of emissions trading schemes outside of Europe.
ASIA PACIFIC
Tokyo Stock Exchange begins carbon trading, sees miniscule volumes on opening day
The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) on Wednesday launched its carbon credit trading platform, though activity remained muted on the opening day as demand and supply are both limited.
SK Market: Monthly KAU auction sees lacklustre demand again, lighter sentiment in spot market
South Korea’s latest monthly CO2 auction for the current ETS compliance cycle again sold only a limited share of the permits on offer, as the market continues to struggle with lukewarm demand despite recent updates on carryover rules.
Australian soil carbon tech developer lays out big ambitions
A soil carbon project developer is bullish on its ability to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), with the ambition of generating some 10 mln units across 1 million hectares of land by the end of the decade.
Malaysia’s parliament passes CO2-cutting energy efficiency legislation
The parliament of Malaysia on Wednesday passed legislation to regulate the country’s biggest energy consumers and ensure energy conservation in the country, according to media reports, a move expected to cut carbon emissions by 200 MtCO2e by mid-century.
Veolia to capture 10 mln tonnes of CO2 from Hong Kong waste project
French waste company Veolia has signed a large waste management contract with the Hong Kong government that will also see it capture 10 million tonnes of CO2 over two decades.
INTERNATIONAL
Cutting methane emissions offers vast climate win at low cost -IEA
Much of the methane emitted today as part of fossil fuel production could be avoided, limiting the warming gases emitted into the environment and helping to keep global temperatures below 1.5C above pre-industrial times, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday.
Renewables projected to outpace fossil fuels, but limiting global warming to 1.5C less likely than ever –report
The energy transition “has not truly started” and is almost certain to result in overshooting the Paris Agreement’s temperature limits, while a suite of geopolitical, technological, and policy forces set the stage for non-fossil energy sources to contribute half of the world’s energy mix in 2050, a new report said Wednesday.
VOLUNTARY
Voluntary UK woodland and peatland carbon credits revealed as among highest priced in market
Credits from UK woodland and peatland carbon projects are some of the most expensive units in the voluntary carbon market, data revealed Wednesday.
Voluntary carbon credit platform nets $2 million in early funding for diversified sales approach
A San Francisco-based voluntary carbon market sales company on Wednesday announced it has secured $2.25 million in pre-seed funding for its plan to offer a diverse portfolio of credits in alignment with academic guidance.
Fintech firm forms data sharing agreement with global exchange operator
An Australia-based fintech firm has formed a partnership with a global exchange operator to offer its carbon credit pricing data to subscribers on its platform, the companies announced Thursday.
AMERICAS
California compliance offset issuance climbs back up, as voluntary retirements increase in Q3
California increased the issuance of compliance offsets over the last two weeks as credits tagged with direct environmental benefits to the state (DEBs) also rose, as more entities retired units for voluntary purposes in recent months, according to data published by the state regulator ARB on Wednesday.
Major Canadian financial, food companies undertake soil carbon project for new net zero agriculture group
A collection of Canadian financial and food firms on Tuesday launched a new alliance to slash emissions from the country’s agri-food sector by 2050, with the group hoping that helping improve soil carbon measurement and reporting will help achieve the goal.
EMEA
Euro Markets: EUAs weaken with energy despite some covering as position data shows boost in shorts
European carbon prices clawed back early losses on Wednesday morning, as initial weakness triggered by falling energy prices was subsequently outweighed by the weekly Commitment of Traders data that showed investment funds had increased their net short position last week.
BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)
Nature remains niche in sustainable finance market but room for growth, report finds
Investments in nature still make up only a minor part of the sustainable finance market, though their share of the ESG bond market is increasing and there is growth potential for carbon credits with nature-based co-benefits as well as in the emerging biocredit market, according to new analysis.
Business group announces campaign for nature-positive strategies
A campaign to encourage businesses and financial institutions worldwide to submit nature-related strategies has been announced by Business for Nature.
Stakeholders dissatisfied with EU taxonomy biodiversity criteria, ex-EU advisor says
People involved with advising the EU’s list of sustainable activities are unhappy with how it has addressed biodiversity so far, the ex-biodiversity lead for influential advisory group Platform on Sustainable Finance (PSF) has said.
Global investor rolls out biodiversity strategy
A London-headquartered global investment firm this week launched a biodiversity strategy, eyeing four themes in particular that offer investment opportunities while addressing nature loss.
Canada, Nova Scotia to launch C$28.5 million nature conservation, protection programme
Canada’s federal government and Nova Scotia have announced a C$28.5 million ($21 mln) programme that will run over three years to conserve and protect biodiversity, habitat, and species at risk across the province.
Scenario modelling can reduce costs of ecosystem resilience activities, says European research initiative
A Europe-wide biodiversity research initiative has called for more integration of scenario planning of ecosystem threats to support transparency and assist with financial cost decisions.
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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 so 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
INTERNATIONAL
Defunding fossil fuels – The World Bank is attempting to persuade governments to stop subsidising fossil fuels and making them artificially affordable, Climate Home reported Wednesday. The international body said repurposing fossil fuel subsidies for environmental benefits would help solve the climate crisis. Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela were the worst offenders, while the US, UK, and Canada were also guilty of the practice, the bank said. The World Bank said it also wants to explore voluntary carbon markets to address climate change and eradicate poverty
Big backing – Chevron has offered public support for a global price on carbon, according to oil industry news site Upstream. Chevron’s New Initiatives President Barbara Harrison told the BloombergNEF Summit a price would offer consistency and clarity over the hows and whys of emissions. “We think the ultimate demand side incentive that you can put in place is to have a price on carbon that is [established] to the point where markets are linked and becomes globally consistent,” she said. Ironically, a tough carbon price could hit its Gorgon LNG plant located in Australia, where its carbon capture and storage facility has been underperforming for years after a late start up. It is intended to sequester 4 MtCO2 a year from the gas fields, but has not yet done so.
Speaking of Chevron – 123Carbon, a blockchain-based carbon insetting for the transport sector, has successfully completed a pilot project with the US oil major. The project focused on tokenising emission reductions linked to biofuel use in a Chevron-owned vessel in Singapore. Carbon insetting allows for the allocation of both emission reduction benefits and their associated costs across the value chain, including to shippers and freight forwarders. 123Carbon’s platform enables the creation of verified and immutable blockchain tokens for CO2-equivalent reductions, simplifying the insetting process for carriers. The company collaborates with AllChiefs and Bureau Veritas to offer implementation services and external assurance. Industry leaders believe this is a significant step towards achieving global net-zero emissions in the transportation sector. The insets for Chevron were generated using the Book & Claim methodology developed by Smart Freight Centre.
EMEA
Green promises – UK opposition leader Keir Starmer has hit back at the government’s recent rolling back of key green policies, as he promised that a Labour government would speed ahead with its plans to build green infrastructure investment across the UK economy, Business Green reports. Delivering his keynote speech to the party’s conference, Starmer placed climate action at the heart of his economic vision for the UK, explaining how a Labour government would aim to remove planning barriers and boost investment in renewable energy, grid infrastructure, EV manufacturing, and green steel plants. He also sought to draw a clear dividing line with the current Conservative government on environmental issues, slamming British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to delay the phase out dates for new fossil fuel car sales and positioning of net zero as a costly exercise for consumers. Labour has a very healthy lead in polling ahead of a general election next year.
State aid – The EU Commission has authorised a measure worth €400 mln to support Bulgaria’s state-owned natural gas supply company, Bulgargaz EAD. The aid is due to Russia’s suspension of a long-term contract with Gazprom Export OOO, which used to cover 90% of the natural gas volumes delivered by Bulgargaz EAD to customers. Commissioner Didier Reynders, responsible for competition policy, said: “Thanks to this measure amounting to €400 mln, Bulgaria is ensuring that Bulgargaz EAD can meet its liquidity needs. In this way, this state-owned natural gas supply company can continue its activities, thereby guaranteeing the energy supply to Bulgarian consumers and businesses.”
ASIA PACIFIC
Case closed – A case launched by an environmental NGO against the Australia federal environment minister’s decision not to consider the impacts of climate change when approving fossil fuel projects has been rejected by the Federal Court, the ABC reports. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek was joined in the case by two coal companies fighting to extend and expand existing mines in New South Wales: Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri underground project and MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant mine. The win in court means the government now can choose to approve or reject the mine proposals. Plibersek argued she could ignore the projects’ emissions, because on their own, they won’t have any significant impact. The submission also argued that if these projects were rejected, other projects would then proceed overseas, cancelling out any net benefit. The court ruled it was legally open to the minister to weigh and assess the applicant’s material and submissions cognisant of the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change on matters of national environmental significance.
Hunt for hydrogen – An Australian junior is about to ‘spud’ the nation’s first hydrogen exploration well in South Australia. Gold Hydrogen, which joined the ASX only last year, is planning to drill on the Yorke Peninsula close to the location of a historic oil well that yielded a hydrogen concentration of 90% in 1930. Then, the gas was seen as useless, but since late last decade, clean sources of hydrogen have been seen as key to decarbonisation. It was long thought — despite the legacy discovery — that the tiny molecule did not naturally occur on the planet and needed to be made at either greater economic or carbon cost.
Capacity building – The South Australian, Victorian, and federal government announced the opening of registrations for energy projects as part of Canberra’s Capacity Investment Scheme, PV Magazine reports. It essentially sees the federal government pay revenue shortfalls based on a pre-agreed floor, guaranteeing baseline income for storage projects. The scheme is open to utility-scale long-duration storage projects, including batteries, hydrogen and pumped hydro, and looks to underwrite 600 MW of storage capacity. Projects must be at least 30 MW in size and capable of storing energy for a minimum of two hours. Earlier this year, the scheme launched in NSW and will eventually expand to other parts of Australia.
New subsidiary – Japan’s SBI Sumishin Net Bank has established a new subsidiary to promote the carbon credit business, with a focus on forest-based offsets, it announced on Wednesday. The unit, named Themix Green, will primarily engage in the trading and brokerage of domestically issued J-Credits, consulting on offset issuance, and forestry-related business, the bank said in a statement.
Joint effort – Bursa Malaysia has signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) with Westports Holdings and Malaysia’s OCBC Bank on Wednesday, to widen the adoption of centralised sustainability intelligence (CSI) among the Southeast Asian nation’s companies, through improved environmental, social and governance (ESG) data transparency and interoperability. The CSI platform, developed by Bursa Malaysia with the London Stock Exchange Group, will serve as a repository for sustainability disclosures by Malaysian listed companies. It will also enable companies to calculate and track their carbon emissions impact, while subsequently facilitating green financing and decarbonisation efforts.
AMERICAS
Pipeline pain – Two carbon capture pipelines seeking to transport GHGs to get sequestered across the US Midwest are facing negative regulatory action, Minnesota’s Star Tribune reported Wednesday. Navigator CO2 Ventures is putting its carbon capture pipeline regulatory applications on hold after its permit was denied by a South Dakota utilities board in September. Summit Carbon Solutions also saw its permit denied in South Dakota, but is vowing to press on in its application in Iowa and with the project generally. Both companies had initially said they would have their projects operational by 2024.
Acquiring monitors – Impact investment company TPG Rise Climate announced the acquisition of emissions monitoring and reporting firm AmSpec Group, in a press release on Wednesday. AmSpec operates over 300 inspection sites and laboratories in 61 countries, testing and certifying the performance and emission qualities of fuels or commodities at each stage along the value chain, monitoring and reporting the level of emissions to regulators and independent certification bodies. AmSpec’s existing majority shareholder, Olympus Partners, will retain a minority interest in the company. Goldman Sachs and Baird served as financial advisors, and Morgan Lewis served as legal counsel to AmSpec, but additional terms of the investment were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Acquiring advice – Environmental advisory Earth Finance announced the acquisition of Seattle-based climate advocacy Molecule, in a press release on Wednesday. Tim Zenk, founder of Molecule, will lead Earth Finance’s fuels and public policy teams. Zenk joins Earth Finance’s three founding partners – institutional investment executive Bryan Weeks, former Washington State Senator Reuven Carlyle, and strategist Garrett Kephart. Zenk’s prior roles have included establishing a World Bank programme to revitalise the fruit industry in the Northern states of India, developing renewable crude oil from algae, working with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Department of Energy (DOE) to build a green crude farm in New Mexico, advising California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), as well as several US federal and state government positions.
VOLUNTARY
Automakers for 1.5C – The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) on Wednesday released a draft 1.5C pathway for automakers to cut Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, kicking off a month-long public consultation on the topic. Stakeholders interested in contributing their views have until Nov. 10 to submit feedback.
Stay classy – Robeco, the asset management firm, has launched carbon offsetting share classes for three of its climate-focused funds. When investors opt for these classes, part of their investment is used to purchase voluntary credits. These funds are designed to finance climate projects that both reduce emissions and contribute to inclusive economic growth. An example given was a project in Bangladesh to repair leaking gas infrastructure. Robeco also plans to offer carbon credits to offset its existing Scope 1 and 2 emissions, contributing to sustainable projects like reforestation. The new share classes aim to reduce and compensate for emissions rather than achieving carbon neutrality. (Investment Week)
SCIENCE & TECH
H2 technology – Banaras Hindu University in India has developed quantum-backed green hydrogen production technology. The state-of-the-art photochemical-reactor design features built-in illumination assembly and external concave reflective panels to maximize the capture of solar energy. The team engineered a continuous electron coupled proton supply system, propelled with an electron injector mechanism utilising industrial metal waste, and after rigorous optimisations, the peak rate of green hydrogen production at lab scale was achieved to be about 1 litre/min per 10 g of quantum photocatalysts. The patent for the technology is pending.
AND FINALLY…
Down in the stumps – A new strategy is emerging among US Republicans to sow doubt about climate change science: trying to stump the experts on a number. Some House Republicans in recent months have used hearings to confront witnesses – often officials from President Joe Biden’s administration – by asking what percentage of the atmosphere is CO2. The witnesses usually struggle, sometimes making embarrassing guesses that are orders of magnitude higher than the true answer: 412 parts per mln, or 0.04%, on a global average scale last year. They’re corrected and perhaps asked how they could regulate CO2 without knowing such a basic fact. The videos have gone viral, sometimes garnering millions of views on social media. And other lawmakers are catching on. Rep. Doug LaMalfa seems to be the tactic’s most frequent user, though Rep. Rich McCormick has tried it out too. Democrats who have witnessed the exchanges have been aghast. In an interview, Rep. Sean Casten, a climate hawk, called the line of questioning “fucking idiocy”. (E&E News)
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