Presenting Biodiversity Pulse, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter on the biodiversity market. It’s a twice-weekly summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here
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TOP STORY
Entertainment company buys first biodiversity credits under UK govt-linked voluntary scheme
An interactive entertainment company has purchased the first batch of biodiversity credits generated through a nature restoration project in the UK at approximately £50 per unit, Carbon Pulse has learned.
MARKET
Regen announces blockchain storytelling update for carbon, ecocredits
US-based environmental credit platform Regen Network Development is trialling a feature to enable the publishing of project data, connected to blockchain, in a bid to improve the storytelling around their environmental credits.
POLICY
Colombia signs deal with Indigenous Peoples to strengthen ties on nature conservation
The Colombian ministry of environment has announced an agreement with the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon to value their contribution and strengthen their participation in conserving and restoring the rainforest in the lead-up to the COP16 UN biodiversity talks.
Australia seeks advice on sustainable ocean plan, sees market opportunities
The Australian government on Friday distributed a draft sustainable ocean plan for public comment, offering little in terms of specifics at this early stage but saying the plan would bring a long list of opportunities, including for carbon and biodiversity markets.
UN talks move slowly towards setting up a global fund for sharing benefits derived from genetic resources
After the latest round of talks, the UN negotiation group in charge of defining a mechanism to share benefits derived from the digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI) on Friday said parties are getting closer to an agreement, which is set to include the establishment of a global fund.
SCIENCE & TECH
Almost 25% of European lands can be rewilded, report says
Nearly 25% of the European landscape has the potential to be rewilded, with over two-thirds of the territories lying in countries with cooler climates such as Scandinavia, Scotland, and the Baltic states, researchers have found.
Study identifies Key Biodiversity Areas to scale up Antarctica protection
Establishing 30 new Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica has the potential to ensure native wildlife in the region does not decline due to human activities, a paper has said.
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EVENTS
ecology calling returns to London in September. Bringing the city’s thriving nature and biodiversity business community together for series II, the intimate weekly evening events are held in the Linnean Society of London’s Meeting Room where Darwin presented ‘On the Origin of Species’. Panel discussions by leaders in the field provide plenty of room for audience Q&A with further networking opportunities at the nearby pub afterwards. This series topics include: navigating greenwashing, advances in MRV with eDNA, beaver reintroduction in Britain, and technical considerations for nature finance, with more TBA. Use the ‘pulse20’ code to secure your discount on tickets.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
MARKET
Peatlands – Carbon standard Social Carbon officially announced on Friday the release of its carbon crediting methodology for peatland restoration. The company said the text will remain under public consultation until Sep. 16, together with the first module addressing peatland rewetting in agricultural land within temperate climates. The launch of the methodology was advanced by Carbon Pulse earlier this month.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Reg Ag – US Farmers Business Network (FBN) and Chicago-based nutrition firm ADM have announced the launch of a joint venture called Gradable in a bid to scale regenerative agriculture. The aim is to expand the Gradable platform, currently used by thousands of farmers in North America across 12 mln acres. The platform connects grain buyers with grain produced using sustainable and regenerative practices. “The new 50-50 joint venture will enable Gradable to expand and reach new partners and customers at every stage of the grain supply chain,” the companies said in a statement.
Alignment – The Botswana Stock Exchange Limited has published guidelines on corporate reporting for local listed companies, aligning with international standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations. The document mentions biodiversity as one of the critical areas that must be addressed, outlining recommended metrics to help companies assess their impacts on nature.
CNPC OECM in CN – China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), or PetroChina, has established seven new Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to mark China’s National Ecology Day, it announced. Two of them are located in relation to its Changqing and Tarim oilfields, while the other five are shared cabins with Kunlun Energy Hainan Co. That comes in addition to three OECMs it established last year, taking the total to 10, covering just over 4,000 ha. The two companies also established nine biodiversity conservation volunteer teams. China is working to set up a framework for companies and government organisations to develop OECMs to help meet the 30 by 30 target. Last week, securities firm Huatai led a call for expressions of interest for Chinese OECMs.
Scores on the doors – London-based non-profit Planet Tracker has updated the entries of 1,000 companies on its Nature Scorecard, it said on Thursday. The update included the incorporation of 660 corporate entries from the WBA Nature Benchmark, a tool for ranking the ecosystem practices of companies across high-impact sectors such as food and agriculture. Planet Tracker’s scorecard also added data on Business for Nature’s call for policy ambition at COP16, and TNFD.
POLICY
It’s official – The EU’s Nature Restoration Law came into force on Sunday. The regulation, approved in June after a year-long legislative back-and-forth, aims to restore at least 30% of EU habitat types and 20% of the bloc’s land and sea areas by 2030, with each member state free to decide to what extent it will contribute to the overall targets. EU countries are now required to develop their National Restoration Plans within the next two years.
Bottom trawling – The Scottish government has proposed a ban on bottom trawling in 20 fishery sites recently named marine protected areas (MPAs), in an effort to boost the protection of marine biodiversity in the country. There are now more than 230 MPAs across the country, covering 37% of Scotland’s seas. While Greece announced in April a ban on bottom trawling in its MPAs by 2026, the controversial practice is still permitted in some of Europe’s most crucial protected underwater ecosystems. (The National).
SCIENCE & TECH
Clean up – In the US, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) have announced over $11 mln in funding for seven projects to help reduce water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. The Conowingo dam, located on the lower Susquehanna River about 10 miles upstream from where it flows into the Chesapeake Bay, is no longer preventing a portion of the pollutant load from spilling downstream, according to SRBC.
Storing water – Florida has launched an ambitious restoration project in the Everglades in a bid to build a large reservoir to secure the state’s water supply, the BBC reported. The reservoir will be able to store 295.2 bln litres of water. It will be bigger than Manhattan and Staten Island combined, covering 4,090 ha. The initiative also plans to establish a 2,630-ha stormwater treatment area.
Wildcat – Restoring wilderness in Scotland could be crucial for the UK to meet its biodiversity targets, according to a paper led by a researcher from Spain’s National Museum of Natural Sciences published on Current Biology. Large parts of Scotland’s highlands and islands could be a good place to start rewilding, with small changes encouraging animals like the Scottish wildcat to spread, it said.
In orbit – A Lithuania-headquartered small satellite bus manufacturer has announced that four of their customer satellites will be launched into orbit aboard the SpaceX Transporter-11 mission, including the world’s first satellite dedicated to observing the Earth’s biodiversity. Lemu Nge will focus on monitoring wetlands, coastal areas, change in land use, identification of key plant species, and identification of invasive plant species, said the company.
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