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TOP STORY
FEATURE: UAE-based firm chalks up secretive carbon credit development deals, raising integrity concerns
A UAE-based carbon project developer has drawn global focus in signing over a dozen confirmed agreements to source carbon credits from African, Latin American, Caribbean, and Asian countries since the company’s launch a year ago, according to an assortment of sources that raised multiple concerns about overly vague or opaque dealmaking.
VOLUNTARY
Millions of Article 6 carbon credits up for sale in February auction
Up to 10 million forward carbon credits from three host nations that will be authorised for corresponding adjustments, known as ITMOs, could be for sale in February in an auction, it was announced Tuesday.
Crypto asset manager launches bitcoin ETF with carbon credit component -media
A crypto asset management firm targeting ESG investors is launching a new bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) with a 20% carbon credit component in an effort to create a ‘carbon-neutral’ investment offering in the crypto market.
Environmental trading platform seeks views on new watershed carbon credit methodology
A blockchain-based environmental trading platform has opened a public comment window for its newly developed credit class and methodology for watershed carbon, it announced Monday.
Global environmental consultancy bolsters voluntary carbon markets team with four senior hires
A major global environmental consultancy has hired four voluntary carbon market specialists to bolster its growing team.
Argentina carbon exchange announcement is fake news, says market operator reported to be involved
A new carbon trading exchange is allegedly being launched in Argentina, according to multiple media sources, but one of the companies reported to be involved says it’s fake news.
AMERICAS
US government proposes “first of its kind” national old growth forest conservation plan
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Tuesday that it is proposing changes to forest management plans across all national parks and grasslands in an effort to conserve and steward old growth forests, a move hailed by environmental groups as an important first step.
US DOE dishes out $46 million more for CCS, announces semi-finalists for DAC award
The US Department of Energy (DOE) continued its streak of heavy investment in emissions cuts, announcing Tuesday $45.6 million in investments in carbon capture, transport, and storage, as well as semi-finalists for an award of $1 mln in direct air capture (DAC) development.
Canada announces final electric vehicle standards, credit system for emission-free auto sales by 2035
Canadian auto manufacturers and importers must phase out the sale of new gasoline-fuelled cars via annual zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) regulated sales targets from the 2026 model year, while covered entities will have the ability to generate, bank, and sell credits to meet compliance goals, the federal environment ministry announced Tuesday.
Washington conserves mature state forest acres with cap-and-invest revenue
Washington state announced a proposal Monday to safeguard thousands of state forestland acres using millions earmarked from carbon market revenues, although local communities and environmental groups continue to contest the government’s auctions of mature state forests for timber harvest.
ARB lays out increased CI reduction targets in its proposed LCFS amendments
California regulator ARB on Tuesday published a preliminary Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) regulatory proposal with amendments to the carbon intensity reduction benchmarks, exemption for intrastate fossil jet fuel, and phaseout pathways for avoided methane crediting featuring among other measures to tighten the programme.
Massachusetts December GWSA carbon auction prices continue to decline
Massachusetts’ power sector Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) auctions for current and future vintages settled below the September sale on lower volumes, according to a report from Potomac Economics published by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).
ASIA PACIFIC
Singapore publishes list of eligible international carbon credits, limited to PNG only for now
Singapore on Tuesday published its long-awaited list of eligible carbon credit standards for domestic buyers when the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) published the Eligibility List under the International Carbon Credit (ICC) Framework, which currently is limited to projects in Papua New Guinea only.
New Forests raises A$450 mln from Australian, European investors for carbon forestry fund
Australian headquartered New Forests has closed its Australia New Zealand Landscapes and Forestry Fund, after raising some A$450 million ($304 mln) from institutional investors, it announced Wednesday.
AZEC meeting commits to energy transition, plans for gas use along the way
Japan, Australia, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held the second Asian Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Summit over the weekend, just days after the COP28 summit wound up, committing to tackling climate change as a common global challenge while ensuring energy security and mitigating geopolitical risks.
ACX joins Vietnamese real estate heavyweight to explore carbon markets
ACX and Vietnamese player CT Group will explore building a carbon credit trading platform in the nation after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the beginning of the month, which was announced Tuesday.
Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator taps fintech firm to develop unit register, working with ASX on national exchange
Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has contracted a technology solutions firm to develop a unit and certificate register, as it works with the country’s stock exchange to develop a national carbon exchange.
Trading house partners with two Japanese firms for drone-supported forestry offset project
A major Japanese trading house has partnered with two firms to create the first forestry-based J-Credits using drones for the MRV process, the company announced Tuesday.
EMEA
EU awards €65 mln from ETS-financed Innovation Fund to clean tech projects
The European Commission on Tuesday announced the results of the third call for small-scale projects under the bloc’s EU ETS-financed Innovation Fund, with €65 million being disbursed to 17 clean tech activities.
Group of seven European countries agree to decarbonise their power sectors by 2035
A group of seven European countries have agreed to jointly decarbonise their electricity systems by 2035, they announced late on Monday.
Belgium seeks to use time at helm of EU to wrap up Green Deal ahead of 2024 elections
The soon-to-be Belgian EU presidency aims to conclude work on the bloc’s mammoth Fit for 55 climate policy package and set the stage for post-2030 emissions cuts in time for elections that will signal the start of the new five-year political term.
Euro Markets: Dec-24 enjoys steady start on debut as benchmark, market shrugs off energy weakness
The Dec-24 EU Allowance contract began its stint as the benchmark contract with a steady session on Tuesday, trading in its narrowest range in two weeks and slightly below Monday’s settlement, as energy markets gave up their gains from the previous session and traders appeared to decide the rally had been overdone.
AVIATION/SHIPPING
Merchant shipping carrier installs suction sails for reduced CO2 emissions and fuel use
A global crop trader is retrofitting one of its chartered vessels with four wind-powered ‘suction sails’ in a move to reduce fuel consumption and curb CO2 emissions, following a suite of other cargo operators also benefitting from emissions-slashing sails.
BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)
INTERVIEW: Mining companies seen in front of the queue to buy biodiversity credits
Mining companies want biodiversity credits to enable them to go beyond offsetting to make nature positive claims, according to an executive at UK-headquartered The Biodiversity Consultancy (TBC).
UN confirms Colombia as host for 2024 biodiversity COP
Next year’s COP16 will be hosted by Colombia, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has confirmed.
NSW biodiversity market “not performing well”, needs overhaul, report says
An independent government body has outlined five areas where New South Wales’ controversial state biodiversity market scheme could improve in a report published Tuesday.
Biodiversity Pulse: Tuesday December 19, 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).
COMMENT
The Voluntary Carbon Market is Reawakening – Let’s Make 2024 A Year of Action
This year, the American Forest Foundation attended its second Conference of Parties, COP28, held in Dubai. While many things came out of COP28, and perhaps even more hoped-for things did NOT come out of COP28, one incredibly important outcome concerned the voluntary carbon market’s role in the global struggle against climate change.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
Norse power – The Swedish Energy Agency has invited proposals for activities that produce energy-related greenhouse gas emission reductions as part of a drive to generate ‘internationally transferred mitigation outcomes’ (ITMOs) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement until 2030. The call for proposals comes amid fallout from the COP28 climate negotiations in Dubai, which stalled on Article 6, failing to pinpoint technical guidance regarding A6.2 and A6.4. The Swedish initiative eschews a ‘nature-based solutions’ approach, which has proven increasingly controversial in the voluntary market due to concerns about environmental integrity and social safeguarding. In parallel, the agency is in the final stages of establishing a bilateral Article 6 cooperation with Ghana, announced for the first time in 2021.
Stumped by CBAM – Indian exports worth $775 mln to the UK may be impacted due to the UK’s decision to introduce CBAM, according to the think-tank Global Trade Research Institute (GTRI), The Economic Times reported. The UK government on Monday decided to implement its CBAM from 2027 which will initially focus on sectors such as iron, steel, aluminium, fertiliser, hydrogen, ceramics, glass, and cement. The think tank also added that the tax will be calculated based on the estimated carbon emissions involved in the production of these imported goods. As per GTRI, the tax could range from 14-24% of the import value on full phase-out of free allowances under the ETS. UK CBAM will lead to an increase in prices in UK due to the higher costs of imported goods, it added. However, expensive imports may help local production and investment in low-carbon technologies. Countries with carbon pricing schemes equivalent to the UK’s will be exempt from this tax.
EMEA
It’s a no-go – The European Commission has rejected NGO attempts to persuade it to reduce annual emissions allowances for member states, arguing the request was unfounded and that it is not able to revisit the bloc’s 2030 target, Euronews reported. NGO Climate Action Network (CAN) and Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) submitted a formal request for the EU executive to review the level of ambition of annual emissions allowances back in August, as Carbon Pulse reported. The NGOs argued that these were incompatible with the goal of 1.5C. The Commission answered that they found the request “inadmissible”, in a letter dated Dec.14.
50% plus – Renewable energy has generated more than half of Germany’s electricity consumption this year for the very first time, according to initial calculations made by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and utility association BDEW. The 52% share of gross electricity consumption accounted for by renewables such as wind and solar in 2023 has risen from a share of 46% in 2022, moving above 50% for the first time. This was achieved through both a decrease in overall power consumption and an increase in absolute renewables production, which rose 6% to an all-time high of 267 TWh. BDEW is calling for a removal of bureaucratic hurdles that slow down renewables roll-out to enable Germany to reach its goal to have a 80% renewable electricity share by 2030 and a largely decarbonised power supply by 2035. (Clean Energy Wire)
Green Steel – The European Commission approved a €2.6 bln German measure to support steel manufacturer SHS to partly decarbonise its steel production processes in Saarland, in southwest Germany. The aid will take the form of a direct grant and will support the construction of a direct reduction plant and two new electric arc furnaces, which will replace the existing blast furnaces and oxygen converters. Natural gas will be replaced by mainly low-carbon and renewable hydrogen in the new direct reduction plant. SHS will organise a competitive tendering process to select renewable hydrogen suppliers and the successful bidders will install electrolysers near to SHS’ facilities. SHS also hopes to be connected to the German hydrogen network in the future. The new steel production installations are expected to start operating in 2026 and to avoid the release of more than 53Mt of CO2 over the project’s lifetime.
Trial and capture – C-Capture, a carbon capture tech firm, announced the start of Europe’s first carbon capture trial on a mainstream flat glass manufacturing plant, the company said in a press release Tuesday. The UK-based trial forms part of the firm’s national project, ‘XLR8 CCS – Accelerating the Deployment of a Low-Cost Carbon Capture Solution for Hard-to-Abate Industries’, and aims to demonstrate that a low-cost carbon capture solution is scalable across industry. Carbon capture trials will then follow in the cement and energy from waste industries, as part of a project which secured £1.7 mln in funding from the UK government’s s £1 bln ‘Net Zero Innovation Portfolio’ funding round.
This is an emergency – On Tuesday, the Council of EU ministers for energy reached a political agreement on extending the period of application of three emergency measures already adopted last year following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, until Dec. 31, 2024. The emergency measures aim to enhance solidarity between member states, accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, and protect EU citizens from excessively high energy prices.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dirt music — Australia’s National Soil Carbon Innovation Challenge awarded A$9.8 mln ($6.5 mln) to five projects in its second and final round. The government-funded challenge encourages industry and researchers to develop low-cost, accurate technological solutions for soil organic carbon measurements. Soil carbon project developer Carbon Link received nearly A$1.9 mln ($1.2 mln) in funding to add in-field sensors and modelling capability to its Integrated Landscape System platform. Other funding recipients include the CSIRO, the University of Sydney, Curtin University, and Griffith University.
Dump it — More than 50 scientists and activists have called on Australian state and federal governments to refuse Woodside Energy’s plan to extend its North West Shelf LNG project in Western Australia, the Canberra Times reports. The development proposal submitted by Woodside would see the facility’s operating life extended to 2070, emitting a total of 4.3 bln tonnes of CO2e of lifecycle GHG emissions, according to the expert’s letter. The experts have written to federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, and WA’s Climate Minister Reece Whitby, urging them to reject the proposal. Science shows that the use of all fossil fuels, including gas, must decline imminently if warming is to be limited by 1.5C, the letter said.
Sea dump it – Australia’s Woodside Energy signed a non-binding agreement with four Japanese companies on the sidelines of the Asia Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) Summit held in Japan over the weekend for carbon capture and storage (CCS) work. The memorandum of understanding is among high emitters Sumitomo Corporation, JFE Steel Corporation, Sumitomo Osaka Cement, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha. The plan is to look at their emissions in Setouchi and Shikoku and the potential to transport them to Australia, where Woodside holds several CCS permits offshore and may bid on more. Multiple Japanese companies are looking at early-stage Australian CCS projects. The MOU was signed with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito present. Australia is also working on legislation to allow sub-sea injection of CO2, called the ‘sea dumping’ bill.
Go for Gold – Native hydrogen explorationist Gold Hydrogen has told the Australian Securities Exchange its second well Ramsay-2 has encountered high levels of hydrogen of around 86%. Accepted wisdom has been that the very simple molecule does not naturally occur on Earth in any meaningful amounts, but an accidental hydrogen find in Mali in 2014 turned this on its head. Since then, multiple companies have pored over historical data to find deposits of the clean burning fuel. Gold is one of a handful of hopeful Australian companies looking for the gas and is one of even fewer listed on the ASX. It is the second find for Gold, which has also reported associated helium. Helium, as a noble gas, cannot be manufactured and commands a high premium thanks to use in medicine and electronics in addition to party balloons.
E-methane – Japan’s Toho Gas will partner with Australian oil and gas company Santos to work on e-methane, a synthetic version of natural gas made with clean hydrogen and CO2 pulled from the atmosphere, the two said today. The two will work in South Australia’s Cooper Basin, where Santos’ Moomba gas plant sits, and use CO2 from the Adelaide company’s CCS project, due for initial start-up next year. Yesterday the company announced partnerships with other Japanese companies to take their emissions and sequester them as part of its Moomba CCS project.
AMERICAS
After the legal challenge – Washington state legislature saw the prefiling on Monday of House Bill (HB) 1965 that would provide fossil fuel facilities – not already owned or operated by utilities – with free allowances under the state’s cap-and-invest scheme, to cover their emissions from power generated and delivered in the state. These allowances, the bill stipulates, would continue through 2044 “in order to mitigate the cost burden of the programme on electricity customers,” but does not include a requirement to reduce customers’ costs. The bill was sponsored by Representative Mike Chapman (D) and co-sponsored by Representative Joel McEntire (R). It follows a US district judge’s dismissal of power producer Invenergy’s legal challenge in November to the state’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which governs the cap-and-trade programme. Invenergy argued that its natural gas-fired power plant is the only regulated electricity generating station in Washington not eligible for free allowances, relative to other power plants in the state vertically integrated with utilities. Invenergy claimed that the free allowances would reduce the cost of generating power for local utilities, discriminating against its out-of-state business.
Canada collaboration – Montreal-based carbon removal company Deep Sky and Dutch direct air capture (DAC) firm ReCarbn have agreed on a partnership that will see the latter instal a DAC unit at the former’s Alpha Test lab facility with the capacity to remove 50 tCO2 per year, according to a Tuesday press release. ReCarbn technology uses a circulating solid sorbent mechanism in which the sorbent is circulated between reactors to reduce energy consumption and boost productivity compared to conventional fixed bed technologies. Deep Sky said, “These unique features of ReCarbn’s direct air capture product set it apart from others in the market.” The system will be located in Quebec in 2024, and the partners aim to validate the technology for commercial deployment in Canada. The partnership is the latest in a series announced by Deep Sky, including the most recent case, a partnership with UK-based DAC company Airhive.
Penn it down – The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has ordered supplemental briefs on whether the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) appeal to the Supreme Court regarding the temporary block on the cap-and-trade regulation should be dismissed as moot in light of the Nov. 1 declaration that ruled RGGI an illegal tax in the state. Appellants’ briefs are due by Jan.8, and appellees’ briefs are due within 14 days of service of appellants’ briefs.
New hire – Victoria Lockhart will join Portland-headquartered carbon credit project developer and investor The Climate Trust (TCT) as director of reforestation, according to a post by Julius Pasay, executive director of TCT, in the firm’s weekly newsletter. Lockhart has over 15 years of experience working at the intersection of ecosystems and business, and “her proven track record of working with external partners to develop and implement strategic initiatives for conservation opportunities and climate solutions make her an ideal fit for TCT’s vision of scaling nature-based solutions,” Pasay noted. Lockhart is a registered forester, and TCT said it was particularly excited for her to join, as it has identified reforestation/afforestation as a key area to deploy financing and develop projects.
AVIATION
CORSIA list – The EU has listed 82 nations (apart from its own member states, EEA nations, the UK, and Switzerland) that are considered to be applying to the UN’s CORSIA international aviation offsetting mechanism. This was set out in a draft annual implementation regulation used to calculate the CORSIA offsetting required from airlines under the EU’s ETS Directive, which is the reporting infrastructure the EU uses for its airlines to meet their CORSIA obligations.
AND FINALLY…
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