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TOP STORIES

INTERVIEW: Ecosystem service credits can unlock corporate purchases in biodiversity markets

Credits tied to single ecosystem services have the potential to drive corporate action in the emerging biodiversity market, as they could help companies effectively address their dependencies on nature, a consultant has told Carbon Pulse.

Brazilian state to establish country’s first subnational biodiversity credit scheme

A Brazilian state government has announced the upcoming implementation of a legal regulation to offset corporate impacts on nature, making it the first state in the country to establish a biodiversity crediting scheme.

MARKET

Swedish developer signs biodiversity credit deal with forestry trading platform

A Swedish biodiversity developer has partnered with the country’s main digital forest and timber marketplace to sell its biodiversity credits on the platform.

Plan emerges to buy biodiversity net gain units 200 miles from development

A plan submitted for buying units representing habitat uplift, under England’s biodiversity net gain (BNG) scheme, could be the first of its kind, said a lawyer.

Conservation finance group experts call for expanding compliance biodiversity credit markets

A conservation finance group has held discussions on the measures needed to scale the emerging biodiversity credit markets, stressing the importance of advancing government efforts to regulate transactions at a global level.

Australia’s New South Wales announces overhaul to state’s biodiversity offsetting scheme

The New South Wales government has announced major reforms to its biodiversity conservation laws in response to the recent Henry review, including reforming the state’s nature offsets scheme.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

African bank stress test shows high exposure to nature-related risks

African banks could face a 21% increase in credit losses by 2050 unless companies in highly-exposed sectors, including agriculture and mining, urgently address their risks and dependencies on nature and shift to more sustainable practices, a report has said.

Banks must tackle nature loss through circular economy, UNEP FI says

The UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) on Thursday launched a guide to help banks implement a circular economy as what it said is a critical way of conserving nature, combatting pollution, and reaching net zero.

POLICY

Nature-related financial risks overlooked by some G20 regulators, FSB warns

Some G20 regulators have decided not to work on nature-related financial risks due to data challenges and the need to prioritise climate-related analysis, a report released on Thursday showed.

WWF asks International Court of Justice to establish biodiversity duty

WWF has called on the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) to establish a duty for countries to stop harming biodiversity as part of their obligations to address the climate crisis.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

MARKET

Let it sink – A US-registered public benefit corporation has initiated an ocean-based CO2 removal (CDR) project off the coast of North Carolina by dumping 8,200 tonnes of olivine sand into the sea, targeting an abatement cost under $100/tonne by 2030. The effort, orchestrated by startup Vesta, leverages the company’s coastal carbon capture technology to accelerate a natural process to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, it said in a release. By dispersing olivine, a widely available mineral, into coastal waters, the project aims not only to reduce CO2 levels but also to decrease ocean acidity, which benefits marine ecosystems and increases the water’s capacity to store carbon permanently. (Carbon Pulse)

Burning offsets – More than one-third of a voluntary improved forest management (IFM) project or 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) in California is burning as a result of wildfires, a nonprofit research group said Wednesday, calling for compensation from registry ACR’s buffer pool. Based on reports from wildfire analysis outlet The Lookout, CarbonPlan calculated that over 6,000 acres, or 34%, of the Scott River Whiskey IFM Project (ACR733) is burning in Northern California as a result of the Shelly Fire, which began on July 3. According to the nonprofit, this marks the second offset project to burn in the 2024 wildfire season. (Carbon Pulse)

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Just grow up – US infrastructure investor Generate Capital has invested £38 mln in UK vertical farming company’s GrowUp’s salads. The investment will help expand capacity at GrowUp’s Kent vertical farm, support the Unbeleafable and Fresh Leaf brands, and drive research. The farm uses “state-of-the-art technology and 100% renewable energy from a bioenergy plant”.

Spar partners – Supermarket SPAR Slovenia has teamed up with non-profit YouSea Institute to protect the Slovenian coast’s biodiversity. They committed to cleaning up silt in sea meadows, which are crucial for various species. The long-term goal of the collaboration is to preserve marine life.

Mining Brazil – Mining company Vale aims to increase iron-ore production by reviving a mine in a mountainous area next to a national park known for its forests and wildlife in southeastern Brazil, pending approval. The $1.3-bln project has sparked opposition from locals and environmentalists. Vale expects to produce 14 mln tonnes of iron ore annually from the area from 2030. (Mining Weekly)

POLICY

Troubled water – A group of 21 EU member states have signed a joint letter calling on the European Commission to take urgent action to enhance water security and resilience across the bloc. Led by Portugal, the initiative sounded the alarm over the negative impacts of droughts, water scarcity, and floods. “A systems approach is needed to ensure synergy and coherence across all legislative and planning processes, to better integrate water considerations and conservation objectives to ensure availability and security of water supplies,” read the letter.

SCIENCE & TECH

Dragonfly’s dirty secret – A new study published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology revealed that ecosystems significantly influence how mercury pollution moves through the environment. While in drier areas most mercury is deposited through rain and snow, in wetter regions it sticks to leaves, which then fall and carry the toxin into the ground. Researchers made this discovery by using dragonflies as a key indicator. While previous studies had focused on measuring mercury levels in fish and birds, recent investigations showed that dragonfly larvae are a more cost-effective, accessible, and overall accurate indicator of mercury contamination.

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