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TOP STORY
European Commission to propose a 90% EU emissions cut by 2040 -Bloomberg
The European Commission will propose a goal for the EU to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040, Bloomberg reported citing anonymous sources, in line with scientific recommendations and a previous hint by the EU climate chief.
AMERICAS
US Senate Committee advances bill to study GHG emissions from certain domestic, overseas products
US Senate Commitee on Environment and Public Works approved the PROVE IT Act on Wednesday, which seeks to gather and compare emissions data from the production of a variety of products in the US and a number of other countries.
US govt finalises $1.1 bln award to California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant
The US Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday confirmed signage of the $1.1 billion credit payment to extend the operation of California’s Diablo Canyon power plant in pursuit of a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035.
US regulators probing former NBA sponsor Aspiration over carbon offset business -Bloomberg
The NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers have ended their partnership with carbon offset startup Aspiration, which was previously a sponsor of the professional basketball team and is now under investigation by US regulators for potentially misleading customers, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Industrial powerhouse invests in US university’s innovative membrane CCS technology
A US academic institution that was recently awarded Department of Energy (DOE) funding, will receive assistance from a global building materials manufacturer and a technology research firm to scale its industrial carbon capture initiative.
Environmental non-profit endorses NY legislation to combat emissions from warehouse operations
A US environmental non-profit outlined policy solutions in a report released Thursday to address the expansion of storage facilities and truck hauls in light of rising demand for shorter delivery durations, which has placed unequal health disparities on low-income households and communities of colour in New York.
Vermont lawmakers introduce climate “superfund” legislation
Over 100 Vermont legislators have sponsored two companion bills targeting the fossil fuel industry to compensate for their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the resulting revenues to be used for climate infrastructure developments in the state.
WCI Markets: CCAs surge on thin volumes, WCAs continue to dive
California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices again broke all-time records this week, although on notably smaller volumes, while Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) prices continued to decline with a dearth of market activity.
EMEA
Weak power and gas prices to push EUAs lower in 2024, say analysts
Power and gas prices are unlikely to strengthen in 2024, analysts at a European utility said on Thursday, which will have a dampening effect on EUAs.
Euro Markets: EUAs post tenth loss of the year as traders eye approaching psychological level
EU carbon prices ended the day marginally lower, the tenth day of declines in the first 13 sessions of the year, after moving in a relatively narrow range and briefly plunging to another 17-month low, as traders eyed a looming psychological level and speculated over the market’s next major move.
Largest UK ETS emitter rejects union plans, confirms coal exit
Tata Steel on Thursday rejected a workers’ union plan to keep its Port Talbot blast furnaces running, confirming its intention to reduce its carbon footprint by switching its energy source from coal to electricity.
EU blindly following SBTi after banning climate claims from offset use, warns lawyer
EU parliamentarians have “blindly followed the Science Based Target initiative (SBTI)” after voting to endorse an EU deal to ban misleading carbon neutral claims if they rely on carbon credits, a lawyer warned Thursday.
EU lawmakers call for strategy to tap into full geothermal potential
The vast majority of the European Parliament’s members called on the European Commission to unlock geothermal energy across the bloc, in a vote in Strasbourg on Thursday.
Davos 2024: EU needs to clear the way for Green Deal investments
The European Union needs to remove barriers to investments in clean technologies to ensure that the Green Deal paves the way to new, sustainable economic growth, speakers said in Davos on Thursday.
Leading insurers do not plan to cover controversial East African oil pipeline
Over two dozen insurers and reinsurers have stated that they have no plans to offer insurance to a controversial oil pipeline in East Africa, according to a coalition of environmentalist groups opposing the project.
VOLUNTARY
INTERVIEW: Venture to fertilise ocean with synthesised whale poo eyes gigatonne-scale carbon removal
A venture using synthesised whale poo to increase carbon sequestration in the ocean says the process has gigatonne-scale mitigation potential and could generate ‘deep blue’ credits in future.
DRC environment and civil society groups concerned over govt forest carbon plans
Civil society and environmental groups have released a joint statement expressing concern at an unexpected meeting called by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government to discuss forest plans, including carbon crediting from natural resources.
Russia’s new voluntary carbon registry claims another milestone with first retirements
Russia’s nascent voluntary carbon market has claimed another milestone after a copper producer announced it would retire carbon credits to offset its emissions.
Planning underway for industrial carbon capture and utilisation plant in Austria
A clean tech company and a supplier of high-grade refractory products are advancing plans to build a capture carbon and utilisation facility in Austria to make industrial products.
UK mining giant invests in Chilean blue carbon offset project
A UK-based global mining company is backing a Chilean developer presenting what it claims to be the nation’s first blue carbon offset project, developed alongside a university and aquacultural innovation centre.
Partnership offers pre-insured carbon credits to manage buyer-side risk
A carbon credit insurance startup has teamed up with a digital carbon sales platform to offer pre-insured carbon credits, aiming to promote transparency regarding potential risks to buyers in the voluntary carbon market (VCM).
Carbon exchange confirms staff layoffs
Singapore-based Climate Impact X (CIX) had to let staff go last year but in a statement to Carbon Pulse Thursday said it had to “adjust [its] internal structure to ensure the team is aligned with the roles and skills necessary to support our business priorities.”
ASIA PACIFIC
Australia Market Roundup: First ACCU issuance for 2024 sees 1 mln units released, Tasmania gets cash for Hydrogen Hub
The Clean Energy Regulator has handed out just over 1 million Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) in its first issuance for 2024, as the government announced A$70 mln ($45.8 mln) in federal funding to develop the Bell Bay hydrogen hub in Northern Tasmania.
Major Korean bank to participate in Cambodian REDD+ project
One of the largest commercial banks in South Korea has agreed to participate in a REDD+ forest protection project, the first domestic lender to do so.
Asian CCS work sees another collaboration
Regional collaboration on carbon capture and storage (CCS) got another boost this week as the Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association (ANGEA) and the Global CCS Institute signed an agreement focused on policy development and advocacy for CCS.
Agricultural firm launches ecosystem restoration project in India
A Norwegian-Indian company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a state government forest department in India to develop a 100,000-hectare environmental conservation project, aiming to contribute to the voluntary carbon market.
INTERNATIONAL
Bottom trawling responsible for ~370 Mt of emissions annually -study
Dragging heavy fishing nets across the ocean floor was newly discovered to be a significant source of CO2 pollution in the atmosphere, to the extent that it could more than double the annual CO2 emissions of the entire global fishing fleet, according to a study published Thursday.
Davos 2024: Best outcome of CBAMs would be a global carbon price -Norway’s foreign minister
Carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs) are second best compared with a global carbon price, Norway’s foreign minister Espen Barth Eide told delegates at Davos on Thursday.
BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)
Davos 2024: UN calls for speedy ratification of high seas treaty after Chile makes first move
The UN has called on countries to swiftly ratify the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ) agreement, with 59 more to go after Chile this week became the first country to do so.
China sets course for corporate involvement, expansive investment mechanisms in 2030 biodiversity action plan
China on Thursday published its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), confirming its 30% nature protection target while eyeing far-reaching regulatory reforms and a broad range of funding options for ecosystem conservation and restoration.
Alliance forms to back large-scale marine nature restoration in Norway
Four organisations in Norway have teamed up to form Norwegian Marine Restoration (NoMaRe), a collaborative platform seeking to restore the more than 5,000 square kilometres of kelp forests that have been lost along the coast over the past decades.
Biodiversity Pulse: Thursday January 18, 2024
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).
ICYM
UPDATE – US carbon marketplace startup partners with Brazilian NGO to generate smallholder farm offsets
A California-headquartered startup announced Wednesday a partnership with a Brazilian civil society organisation to bring carbon credits directly from Brazilian smallholder farmers to market.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
More rubbish? – Junk offset sellers are pushing to enter the new UN carbon market, Climate Home reports. The article underlined that renewable energy investments make up four-fifths of all projects seeking a transfer from the old Kyoto-era CDM to the new crediting system under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, reflecting previous Carbon Pulse coverage. According to the piece, experts have long written off the vast majority of credits produced from renewable energy as junk because they often already provide the cheapest sources of power in most of the world and selling offsets to fund them does not have any additional impact on emissions. Some of these projects have also been accused of human rights violations such as forced evictions for the construction of large dams, the article adds. The number of projects that submitted a transition request within the year-end deadline reached just over one-third of the total 3,494 eligible, with hundreds filing their applications in the final weeks of 2023. China-based activities accounted for some 400 of the total applicants, with those in India just behind with 386. CDM transitioning activities are likely to be among the first to be issued with A6.4ERs, units under the Paris Agreement’s crediting mechanism, after UN carbon market talks collapsed at COP28 in Dubai last December.
EMEA
Steel rescue – The Italian government has told trade unions that it will put the steel plant formerly known as Ilva under special administration in order to keep it alive, Italian media reported Thursday. The decisions follows the government’s failed effort to persuade shareholder ArcelorMittal to inject capital into the company in exchange for raising its share from 62% to 66%. As Carbon Pulse reported last week, Italy’s enterprises minister, Adolfo Urso, said the government was committed to re-building the steel plant in a competitive way “using green technology”. Despite a decline in production in recent years, the plant, now named Acciaeri D’Italia, remains one of the EU’s biggest polluters.
Malta-Egypt deal – Malta and Egypt have signed an initial agreement to strengthen cooperation on energy and electricity, looking at the possibility of virtual energy corridors and working together on research and innovation, Malta Today reported. The European Commission is encouraging member states to collaborate on achieving renewable energy targets. Malta is pushing to create a Mediterranean green energy hub with its neighbouring countries, both in and out of the EU.
Bureaucratic barriers – “EU bureaucracy” should be cut down in key policy areas such as tech, according to a draft electoral manifesto of the EU centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) seen by Euractiv. The draft states “we want to enable, develop, and utilise AI, not contain it or hinder it”, while also echoing rising complaints across the bloc about overregulation in environmental, agricultural, and social policy.
ASIA PACIFIC
In a first – Malaysia-based Semarak Renewable Energy has signed a $400 mln deal with Power China, the Chinese state-owned construction firm, to develop Malaysia’s first large-scale green hydrogen production project by using floating photovoltaic power generation in the state of Perak, Business Times reported. Along with the development of green hydrogen production capacity, the agreement also includes the building of hydrogen storage units.
Second thought, maybe – Third Wednesday Club (TWC), a major trade group in Taiwan, has suggested the new government rethink existing energy policies to guarantee domestic power supply, after Lai Ching-te from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) last weekend won the island’s presidential election, according to Taiwan News. Lai has said his government will adhere to his predecessor President Tsai Ing-wen’s plan to turn Taiwan into a nuclear-free homeland, an approach that has provoked concerns about power shortages. TWC chair Lin Por-fong told reporters that Taiwan’s energy policies would need a rethink, given that nuclear energy has been considered by some countries as a cleaner source of power.
AMERICAS
Cap-and-trade charges – Washington Senate Environment and Energy Committee on Wednesday heard from a fuel distributor who said the ripple effect of the state’s cap-and-trade programme seeps into fuel prices at the pump. The committee took testimony on legislation sought by Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) to establish an agency to investigate fuel prices, identify potential market mishaps, and fine oil companies that withhold business records. Steve Snider, owner of a fuel distribution company in Pierce County, said that while crude oil prices account for most of the gas prices, the cap-and-trade scheme and the state’s Clean Fuel Regulation also contribute to higher values – some 50 cents more per gallon (3.8 litres). A day prior, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs (D) had informed lawmakers that an initiative to overturn cap-and-trade –ballot initiative 2117 – qualified for the November ballot, which initiative sponsor Representative Jim Walsh (R) said was “great news” for state residents financially “suffering” due to the cap-and-trade scheme. (Capital Press)
Power lobbying – An analysis by US sustainability advocacy non-profit Ceres released Tuesday found that 100% of the 12 US utility companies assessed have either lobbied individually or as part of a coalition for Paris Agreement-aligned climate policies in the last three years – but the same 100% of the companies have also lobbied in its opposition.
INVESTMENT
Softening price – US lithium producer Abemarle will cut jobs and pause expansion at its refinery in Western Australia’s south, as it looks to tighten its belt as a result of the drop in lithium demand, the ABC reports. The company said it expected its 2024 capex to be down to $1-1.2 bln, compared to $1.3 bln in 2023. The company has deferred plans to build a fourth lithium hydroxide processing train at its Kemerton lithium downstream processing plant. Demand for lithium has dropped by more than 80% in the past year and nearly 11% in the past month alone. Experts say the deferral will impact industry sentiment and send a message to the market regarding lithium prices. Australia is attempting to establish itself as a “genuine manufacturer” of battery and EV-grade chemicals. The uptake of EVs in North American and Europe has been slower than expected, but that is expected to change as better, cheaper models enter the market.
Building efforts to decarbonise – Swiss-based building material manufacturer Holcim is partnering with climatetech incubator Greentown Labs to advance open innovation for the decarbonisation of the built environment, Holcim announced Thursday. The ‘Terawatt’ partnership with Greentown, with incubators in Somerville, Massachusetts, and Houston, Texas, will provide Holcim with access to startups focused on innovative and sustainable building solutions, which will help advance the manufacturer’s goal to become an early adopter of “cutting-edge” technologies to decarbonise the building sector. Holcim has also joined Greentown’s Industry Leadership Council, which provides the incubator with strategic guidance, including avenues to reduce tech-to-market lead times.
VOLUNTARY
Cool and collected – Long-standing executive Jodi Manning has been promoted to the top job at Bay Area non-profit Cool Effect, with effect immediately, the company announced Thursday. Prior to assuming the role of CEO, Manning has held several roles for Cool Effect, overseeing strategy and sales, corporate partnerships, marketing efforts, carbon credit inventory, and financials. Cool Effect is a voluntary carbon market intermediary supporting corporate buyers to purchase “high-quality” credits from carbon projects globally and is one of the few intermediaries to operate with a flat fee structure.
SCIENCE & TECH
Cooler DAC – California-based DAC startup 280 Earth, a spin-off from technology multinational Google’s research facility Moonshot Factory X, is set to launch with backing from former social media platform Facebook’s CFO Gideon Yu, Axios reported Thursday. The company is developing DAC technology which uses a dry sorbent invented at Google X, and is said to operate at a lower temperature from other comparable DAC technologies, tapping into waste heat emitted at factories in cooling towers. A local outlet reported that 280 Earth started work on its first facility in Oregon.
Ice loss – The Greenland ice cap is losing as much as 30 Mt of ice an hour – some 20% more ice than previously thought, a new study has revealed. Scientists are concerned that this additional source of freshwater pouring into the Atlantic might mean a collapse of the ocean currents called the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Amoc) is closer to being triggered. Amoc circulates warm, salty water from the tropics towards Europe and sends colder water south along the ocean floor, so changes to ocean circulation could have notable impacts on human life, bringing extreme weather events and disrupting rain patterns. If fully melted, the Greenland ice sheet would raise global sea levels by about 7.4 metres, it is estimated.
AND FINALLY…
Save the whales – In Juneau, Alaska, whale watchers are being asked to offset their carbon emissions before they step on the boat, in an effort to mitigate the shrinking of the Mendenhall Glacier tourist attraction, Canada’s National Observer reported. The money goes into the Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund and is spent on installing heat pumps in Juneau, rather than funding far-away emissions reductions. Heat pumps were deemed the low-hanging fruit for the city, saving residents money since hydropower-fuelled electricity is already cheaper than oil heat.
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