Here’s Carbon Pulse’s summary of stories from the last Sunday at COP28 in Dubai. Our tireless team of journalists have now published around 170 articles from this year’s UN climate summit, providing our readers with unrivalled coverage. Subscribe to CP Daily here or email admin@carbon-pulse to inquire about a subscription.
Also, help us celebrate the unsung heroes of these talks, our feline friends – the Cats of COP28.
COP28
Nations cite irreconcilable differences on int’l carbon trade rules after “lead balloon” draft UN text
Country negotiators on international carbon trade rules under Article 6 have run into trouble amid what they say is a toxic atmosphere at COP28, with a “bare bones” draft text published late on Saturday angering several parties, and time reportedly being wasted on theoretical issues rather than ensuring key safeguards and important technicalities are defined.
ANALYSIS – Egypt launches integrated voluntary carbon market, as observers flag potential conflict of interest
Egypt’s “pan-African” voluntary carbon marketplace was formally launched at COP28, though ‘conflict of interest’ concerns have been raised as one wealthy family has apparent links to virtually every organisation involved in the country’s nascent market.
UN launches roadmap for Paris-compliant food production
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) launched on Sunday a new roadmap for feeding a growing population in a way that is aligned with meeting Paris Agreement temperature goals.
ASEAN carbon industry alliance launches to scale region’s voluntary and compliance schemes
An Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) carbon market alliance was launched at a side event of COP28 in Dubai Sunday with the goal of scaling voluntary and compliance schemes in the region.
Japan to include blue carbon in UN GHG accounting, raising offset concerns
From next year Japan will become the first country to include full seabed carbon sequestration data in its UNFCCC greenhouse gas inventory, raising concerns among some observers this will open the door to offset more fossil fuel use.
Researchers outline huge gap between potential fossil and carbon revenues from DRC rainforest
The difference between potential revenues from selling off rainforest areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fossil fuel exploration or generating revenues from carbon sales is in the billions, according to a research paper seen by Carbon Pulse during COP28, underscoring the financial pressures forest-rich countries face when looking to protect natural assets.
UK, Shell announce agritech project in Kenya as carbon credits enter development finance
Carbon assets are emerging as a potential lever for international aid and development finance at COP28, suggest recent announcements and remarks by civil society actors at COP28.
Carbon market establishment in Pakistan delayed due to low awareness
A document establishing a framework for Pakistan’s involvement in the international carbon markets and laying the foundation for domestic activities is being held up in Cabinet due to a low level of awareness of the issues at the federal level, a representative from Pakistan has told Carbon Pulse.
NZ NGOs launch indigenous reforestation initiative
Two New Zealand NGOs launched a nature-based solution to restore and enhance 2.1 million hectares of diverse indigenous forest across the country, they announced on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai.
Country group launches food and land use alliance, with public sector support
An initiative aiming to transform food and land use systems to be more climate resilient through mechanisms such as climate-smart agriculture, production intensification, and smallholder support was launched Sunday, with country commitments set to be included in national climate plans.
FEATURE – Forest-owners seek to capture added value for timberland by selling carbon credits
Owners of timberland, from public companies to family businesses, are looking to sell credits on the voluntary carbon market as a complementary activity to their existing timberland practices.
INTERVIEW – Carbon storage company eyes opportunity in mining waste to sell credits
A carbon storage company plans to partner with biogenic emitters in order to help valorise their CO2 streams by burying emissions in nearby mine pits and generate revenues from the resulting carbon credits sales.
Canada to legislate nature accountability
Canada plans to next year introduce legislation that would hold the government accountable for making progress towards and meeting its commitments on nature and biodiversity, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced Saturday.
Fossil fuel companies spent millions of dollars on CCS campaigns -report
Fossil fuel companies are spending millions of dollars on social media campaigns promoting carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a ‘silver bullet’ solution to climate change, despite the technology’s limitations and its potential to prolong fossil fuel use, according to a report.
Malawi inks forest restoration carbon offset deal covering 3% of land
The Malawi government has inked a deal to offer almost 3% of the African nation’s land for the development of forest restoration carbon offset projects.
High-emitting Bulgarian coal plant to run until 2030 despite EU ruling -minister
Bulgaria’s environment minister expects one of the biggest coal power plants in the EU ETS to operate until 2030, despite the EU ruling that the plant exceeds pollution limits and therefore should be shuttered, he told Carbon Pulse on the sidelines of COP28.
Multilateral development banks release common nature-positive finance principles
The world’s major multilateral development banks on Saturday launched a first common set of principles to track nature-finance positive as part of a move to scale up and mainstream activities that protect and restore nature and biodiversity.
Canada launches federal offset protocol for beef cattle
The Canadian environment ministry on Sunday released a draft protocol to generate offsets through reducing methane emissions from the digestive processes of beef cattle.
Roundup for Day 11 – Dec. 10
It is Day 11 at COP28 and all eyes are on the next 48 hours of negotiations as a cautious optimism hangs in the air. The presidency has organised small ministerial gatherings – dubbed ‘majlis’ (think ‘indabas’ from 2011’s COP17) – to find areas of agreement across key texts, including on the Global Stocktake (GST) and Article 6. A clean version has been demanded by organisers for delivery by Monday afternoon, ahead of the summit’s formal close on Tuesday. Nonetheless, as the tens of thousands of delegates start to leave Expo City, flocking back to homelands, Carbon Pulse’s team of correspondents continue to chase after news on the ground.
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