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COP28

Turkey to launch first ETS phase in 2025 covering high-emitting sectors -official

The first pilot phase of the Turkish ETS will likely start in 2025 and run for two years, initially applying only to installations with annual emissions of more than 500,000 tonnes of CO2 in high-emitting sectors, a senior Turkish government official told Carbon Pulse on the sidelines of COP28 on Friday.

US, other countries’ carbon market arrangements seen threatening push to strengthen trade rules -leaked EU doc

The US and other countries are implementing emissions trading initiatives that could undermine efforts to introduce more robust and transparent standards for international carbon markets, risking missing the Paris Agreement’s goals by embracing existing but flawed approaches, according to a leaked EU document.

World Bank eyes Q1 auction of REDD credits under FCPF programme, expects 126 mln issued by 2028

The World Bank plans to conduct an initial auction of carbon credits generated via select Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) countries by the end of Q1 next year, as it pursues a scaling up of the programme to a value of $2.5 billion and considers other sectors for future credit generation.

Climate Club launches to speed industrial decarbonisation

On Friday, 35 nations and the EU formally launched the “Climate Club” of ambitious countries at COP28 in Dubai, which will focus on decarbonisation of industrial sectors.

Norway makes $100 mln contribution to Indonesia in recognition of forest protection efforts

Norway on Friday announced a contribution of $100 million to support Indonesia’s continued efforts to reduce deforestation, pointing out that the Asian nation now has the lowest reported levels in 20 years.

Vietnam announces JETP Resource Mobilisation Plan

Vietnam announced its plan to mobilise resources towards implementing a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) on Friday at COP28, advancing the multi-faceted clean energy funding agreement struck over a year ago.

Fiji in talks with Singapore for international carbon trade, wants REDD+ in UN crediting

Pacific Island state Fiji is exploring bilateral carbon trade possibilities with Singapore, a government official told Carbon Pulse on the sidelines of COP28, underlining the country’s push for REDD+ to be included in UN crediting under Article 6.

Gold Standard expands work with governments on aligning carbon markets

Certifier Gold Standard on Friday announced a new work programme to support government efforts to develop carbon market initiatives and deepen alignment between international standards and emerging national frameworks.

EU’s Von der Leyen calls for common standards to unite voluntary carbon market

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on Thursday highlighted the key role the voluntary carbon market can play in accelerating the roll-out of global carbon pricing, while emphasising that the market needs common standards to improve trust in the credibility of projects on the part of investors.

Climate initiative to help India raise $6.5 bln for decarbonisation solutions

An industry-led climate initiative will support India to mobilise $6.5 billion for low-carbon and climate-resilient development, it announced at COP28 on Friday.

Article 6 provides more “transparency” than voluntary carbon, says Zambia

Selling carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides host countries with greater transparency over their climate assets via a more procedural and formal process, Zambia’s environment ministry said on the sidelines of COP28.

Japan to stop building unabated coal power plants, triple renewables capacity

Japan will stop constructing new domestic coal-fired power plants that do not take measures to reduce emissions, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday.

Roundup for Day 2 – Dec. 1

It’s Day 2 of COP28 and world leaders are descending on Expo City in Dubai, UAE. In our daily running blog, Carbon Pulse will report relevant or useful updates throughout the day. Timestamps are in local time (Gulf Standard Time, GMT+4).

EMEA

Court orders Belgian governments to cut emissions by 55% by 2030

In a ruling on Thursday, the Brussels Court of Appeal said the Belgian, Flemish, and Brussels governments must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the end of the decade, in the latest example of a growing trend of climate litigation cases against governments.

Climate measures financed by EU green bonds could lead to 44 million tonnes a year in GHG cuts -report

Climate measures financed by green bonds launched by the EU to stimulate growth following the Covid pandemic are capable of cutting 44 million tonnes of GHG emissions a year, equivalent to 1.2% of the bloc’s total emissions currently, a report published by the European Commission on Friday has revealed.

Euro Markets: EUAs snap four-day losing streak, post bullish technical signal as selling pressure eases

European carbon prices snapped a four-day losing streak as December began on Friday, with the market supported by the first premium in a daily auction for more than two weeks, before posting the final element of a bullish technical chart signal.

AMERICAS

California, Washington release auction reserve prices for 2024

The California-Quebec carbon market and Washington’s cap-and-trade programme on Friday announced similar auction floor prices and allowance price containment reserve (APCR) levels for 2024, as the linked WCI scheme also established next year’s sale volumes.

California offset usage slips further in 2022, DEBs share falls as credit prices soar

California compliance offset retirements continued to decline during the interim cap-and-trade deadline in 2022, dropping to a third of the amount surrendered during the 2018–20 period, while higher premiums and supply constraints drove down the share of credits with direct environmental benefits (DEBs), according to official data published Thursday.

Emitters shorten across markets while speculators pick up CCAs and RGGI

Compliance entities and speculators both shed their V23 California Carbon Allowance (CCA) holdings in favour of V24, favoring the reverse in RGGI, while both groups reduced their Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) positions over the last week, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Friday.

Environmental groups follow PA governor’s lead, appeal RGGI court halt

Four environmental groups have filed an appeal against a Pennsylvania lower court’s decision voiding the state’s participation in the US Northeast carbon market, following a similar appeal launched by the governor a week prior.

US DOE announces funding to advance commercial-scale carbon management

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has launched federal funding for projects to accelerate the commercial deployment of carbon capture, transport, and storage throughout the US to address legacy GHG output, as well as emissions from industrial operations and power plants.

Carbon credit registry readies new version of US IFM methodology

An update to an existing Improved Forest Management (IFM) methodology in the US will be proposed early next year, the certifier announced on Friday.

ASIA PACIFIC

CN Markets: CEAs stable on relatively low volumes, Shanghai pilot completes compliance

Prices in China’s CO2 allowance market over the past week continued to decrease on relatively low volumes, while the Shanghai pilot market has reached full compliance after the latest government auction Thursday.

ACCU demand to peak in 2031, govt predicts

The federal government has laid out its projections for Australian Carbon Credit Units and Safeguard Mechanism Credits (SMCs), expecting demand for ACCUs to peak in 2031.

Government should incentivise renewables investment to lure trillions in pension fund dollars -pension funds

Australia has a truly remarkable amount of private wealth under management thanks to its mandated pension scheme, but more of this money should be invested by the big superannuation funds into renewable and clean energy, a report said Friday.

INTERVIEW: ACCU market must shift to compliance system thinking or risk underwhelming

Discussions around Australia’s carbon market is stuck in the perspective of it being a voluntary, rather than a compliance scheme, according to a fund partner, saying that the market must reorient its thinking if it is to succeed.

Cleaner mining offers emissions benefit for Australia -science body

A wide ranging report on the opportunities for decarbonisation in Australia by its peak scientific body released Friday found the mining sector could be one of the earlier cabs off the rank.

VOLUNTARY

INTERVIEW: Carbon removal buyer eyes market gap for project financing, says registries need to divorce from verifiers

A large tech company with a growing carbon removal portfolio is looking for ways to support early-stage technologies with access to project finance, and calls for better standardisation of registries in order to reduce the risk of over-crediting in the voluntary carbon market.

CIX drops Southern Cardamom carbon credits from nature benchmark amid price slump

Climate Impact X (CIX) has temporarily suspended delivery of carbon credits from the Southern Cardamom REDD project (VCS 1748) for its nature-based benchmark, Nature X, with immediate effect, after a review found the project failed to meet eligibility criteria.

BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)

WEF: Biodiversity credit demand could reach $180 bln by 2050 in radical future

Demand for biodiversity credits could reach $180 billion annually by 2050 if a radical transformation in valuing nature happens, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has said.

Nature target-setting framework for asset managers and owners launched

A framework to help asset managers and asset owners set targets for nature has been launched by the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation (FfB).

Australian govt seeks to finalise Nature Repair Market recommendation report on Monday, Senate documents show

The Australian government is making moves in the Senate to get a report into its Nature Repair Market legislation finalised on Monday, some five months ahead of its official deadline.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Carbon Pulse has teamed up with CME Group to provide the market operator’s 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

Capital counting – The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), a global alliance of banks and asset managers, has endorsed a proposal that paves the way for the first ever industry standard for calculating the carbon footprint of financiers’ capital markets units. Assigning responsibility for so-called facilitated emissions has long been a divisive subject, which is the main reason why climate accounting has so far focused on direct lending. The PCAF guidelines mean banks will be expected to disclose 33% of GHG emissions associated with bond and equity underwriting, which campaigners ShareAction said falls well short of what’s needed to steer capital markets away from carbon-intensive industries. (Bloomberg)

Zayed prize – The winners of the most recent Zayed Sustainability Prize have been announced at an awards ceremony held at COP28 in Dubai, with Namibia-based Kelp Blue clinching the prize for the climate action category, for its work to boost the health of kelp forests and lock away carbon. Carbon Cure and the Foundation for Amazon Based Sustainability were runners up in that category. Pay-as-you-go solar company Ignite Power won the energy category for its work to widen energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, while US-based Husk Power Systems and Koolboks Solar Freezer were finalists. Each of the winners will receive $600,000 in prize money to further advance their green innovations, funded by the UAE, with related categories in health, water, and food. The prize was founded to honour the sustainability legacy of UAE founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and has so far awarded 106 winners, improving the lives of 384 mln people.

EMEA

Terje’s troubles – Norway’s energy minister Terje Aasland on Friday is due to cut the ribbon on the ConocoPhillips-operated Tommeliten A gas development in the southern reaches of Norway’s economic zone. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, gas supplies from Norway are key to safeguarding Europe’s energy security in the coming years. But the development of that field and others in the waters off Norway spotlight the tensions at COP28 in Dubai, as negotiators edge the world toward a potential commitment to phasing out fossil fuels. (Bloomberg)

ASIA PACIFIC

No stay – The Supreme Court of India has refrained from staying the amendments to the Forest Conservation Act that take effect from Dec. 1 after the Union government assured that no “precipitative action” will be taken until guidelines are framed for an exemption from the definition of the forest under the new law. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) of 13 retired public servants challenging the constitutional validity of the amendments claiming they will be a “death knell” for India’s forests. The petitioners moved a stay application claiming that the law restricts the expansive scope of forests the Supreme Court laid down in the ruling in the TN Godavarman case in 1996. (Hindustan Times)

Retiring – Australia’s native forest from managed regrowth methodology is set to expire on Mar. 31, 2024, the Clean Energy Regulator notified the market Friday. It noted that participants intending to register a project under the NFMR method should apply as soon as possible. It recommended applications be submitted by Dec. 22, 2023.

AMERICAS

Canadian carbon carveouts – A group of Indigenous Chiefs representing 133 First Nations in Ontario are asking for a judicial review of Canada’s carbon price in federal court, Global News reported Thursday. The Indigenous leaders said their requests for a price exemption, like one that was given to users of heating oil, went unheard and a judicial complaint would not have been necessary if the Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government had come to the bargaining table. The Chiefs are asking the federal court to come up with a plan that addresses climate change without worsening the human rights crisis faced by Indigenous people in Canada. The carbon price rebate is not sent to Indigenous people living on reserves.

VOLUNTARY

Stripe service – E-commerce firm Stripe has launched a service that lets companies pre-order offtake contracts for carbon removal projects. Its Climate Orders programme is being offered to companies that want to generate certificates to offset their emissions. The contracts can then fund carbon removal projects vetted by Frontier, the $1 bln carbon removal buyers group Stripe co-founded with Alphabet, Shopify, and Meta. The idea behind Stripe’s new service is to get more companies with emissions reduction goals to finance carbon removal solutions at an early stage. (BusinessGreen)

AND FINALLY…

Catholics & climate change – Not a single US diocese has announced it has let go of its fossil fuel assets, despite hundreds of Catholic institutions around the world having announced plans to divest their finances of oil, gas, and coal to help fight climate change since Pope Francis published his encyclical on environmental stewardship in 2015 urging a break with fossil fuels. In contrast to that, US dioceses hold millions of dollars of stock in fossil fuel companies through portfolios planned to fund church operations and pay clergy salaries, while at least a dozen are also leading land to oil and gas drillers. The ongoing investments in the US reflect a longstanding rift between US Catholic bishops and the pope on how to address global warming, Reuters reports. Pope Francis will no longer attend the COP28 climate conference, due to a flu and respiratory tract inflammation, on the advice of his physicians, the Vatican announced on Tuesday. He would have become the first pope to attend the climate conference and inaugurate its first Faith Pavilion.

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