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TOP STORY
WCI Q3 auction settles at lowest in 18 months, sparking volatility in secondary market
The Q3 California-Quebec current vintage carbon auction settled at nearly a $3 discount to secondary market prices, well below trader and analyst expectations, sending secondary market California Carbon Allowance (CCA) futures in a volatile spin.
EMEA
Emissions cap should be maintained if carbon removals included in UK ETS, say consultation respondents
Industry and NGOs have backed the UK government’s proposal to maintain the gross emissions cap if greenhouse gas removals (GGRs) are included in the UK ETS, and argued their inclusion could incentivise uptake but additional support will still be needed.
Malawi authorises ITMOs from cookstove carbon project
Malawi’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change (MNRCC) has provided a Letter of Authorisation (LoA) that permit up to 1.4 million carbon credits to be issued to a cookstoves project in the country and then be correspondingly adjusted under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.
Euro Markets: EUAs and TTF gas slide heavily as position data shows funds cutting carbon short, boosting gas length
European carbon allowance prices fell back after early strength on Wednesday was unwound when the weekly position data showed investment funds significantly cut their bearish bets, suggesting that the risk of a short squeeze has receded, while boosting their long positions in natural gas.
AMERICAS
Cryptocurrency company sues New York for denial of its power plant renewal permit
A bitcoin mining company has sued New York for denying a permit renewal to its natural gas-fired power plant, due to its associated emissions, under the state’s flagship climate law.
US DOE unveils $15 mln to support market entry of industrial decarbonisation technologies
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $15 million in lab call funding to advance later-stage commercialisation and deployment of industrial decarbonisation technologies.
Advocates overshadow industry’s cost concerns under Oregon CPP with calls for stricter rules
Industry complaints about compliance costs under Oregon’s proposed Climate Protection Program (CPP) rule were eclipsed by environmental advocates’ calls for immediate implementation of a more stringent scheme at Wednesday’s public hearing held by the programme’s regulator.
ASIA PACIFIC
Placing agriculture into NZ ETS would have “torpedoed the economy”, minister says
The New Zealand economy would have been torpedoed had agriculture been folded into the emissions trading scheme next year, the country’s climate minister told a conference Tuesday, despite a senior Nestle executive warning the sector is not doing enough to reduce emissions to remain internationally competitive.
Foresters shouldn’t shy away from difficult NZ ETS conversations, expert says
Challenges facing the New Zealand emissions trading scheme in the near term that have yet to be resolved will have a direct impact on foresters, and those in the sector should not be afraid from having the difficult conversations, a conference heard Wednesday.
India needs cheaper battery costs to help transition away from coal to renewables -report
India’s power transition away from coal is highly sensitive to the rate at which battery project costs decline, according to analysts.
Japan, Southeast Asia vow to boost energy transition
Members of the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) have agreed to expand their collaboration in decarbonisation projects with dozens of agreements signed, highlighting the developments of hydrogen, ammonia, and sustainable fuels.
China approves far fewer coal plants, but pipeline remains robust
China’s rapid development of renewable energy has led to a slowdown in coal power project approvals, though the existing pipeline of projects could still pose a potential challenge for the country to meet its climate targets, analysts have said.
Australian oiler prices the cost of carbon for new gas project
The costs of one of Australia’s upcoming LNG developments are set to rise thanks to Safeguard Mechanism requirements, adding around 30% to the price per unit of gas.
INTERNATIONAL
Reforester in Ghana signs deal with carbon financier to boost credit supply
A carbon financier has gained exclusive access to 371,000 voluntary credits from reforestation projects in Ghana, which can now provide Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) to Singapore, it said Wednesday.
International emissions trading and carbon removal deployment go hand in hand, argues report
Driving international emissions trading of carbon removal (CDR) credits can balance out geographical differences, such as storage suitability occurring in some regions and not others, and, when combined, can significantly scale new technological capacity and bring down costs, according to a new report.
Carbon tax constraints reduce likelihood of limiting global warming to below 1.6C -study
Feasibility constraints that prevent some governments from implementing climate policies, such as a carbon tax, significantly reduce the likelihood of limiting global warming to below 1.6C, according to a study that found keeping to 1.5C no longer possible.
VOLUNTARY
INTERVIEW: UK developer receives first carbon credits from Verra’s new clean cooking methodology
A London-based investment management company and climate project developer has become the first to receive carbon credits under Verra’s latest cookstoves methodology, VMR0006 version 1.2, the company confirmed to Carbon Pulse.
Clean cement outfit raises $85 mln in Series C round
A US-headquartered low carbon cement developer with some 100 patents to its name and plans to grow to global scale has raised $85 million in Series C funding from a conglomerate of clean energy financiers.
Voluntary carbon data firm raises Series A funding round
A nature mapping provider active in the voluntary carbon market has closed a Series A round, with the funding to be used to expand its library of data and insights on global forest cover.
BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)
US state agency delivers five-year plan to boost biodiversity protection
A Massachusetts state agency has released a five-year plan for preserving nature in the region, aiming to double its land protection efforts and implement restoration activities in water ecosystems by 2030.
G20 should improve uptake of biodiversity credits, UNEP FI says
The G20 should support a credible market for biodiversity credits by taking measures to improve their uptake, the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) has said.
South Korea bets on OECMs in updated biodiversity plan to achieve marine conservation target
South Korea has published its updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), outlining actions to scale up nature conservation efforts, including expanding Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to bridge the country’s huge gap in marine protection.
Regenerative agriculture finance to mobilise at scale in 2025, says executive
Large amounts of money will begin to flow into regenerative agriculture around the world next year, as organisations become more comfortable with financing it, the managing director of Pollination has predicted.
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CONFERENCES
Carbon Forward Expo – October 8-10, London and Online: Our flagship conference returns to the stunning De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden. As the agenda comes together for our ninth annual event, we want to make sure you don’t miss out on our 10% discount offer, which is available throughout August. We’re also offering free passes for offset buyers. Get in touch to find out if you’re eligible and how to apply. Register now!
Chile Carbon Forum – October 8-10, Santiago: The forum will bring together experts, business leaders, and government officials to discuss challenges and opportunities within the carbon market. It will cover topics such as carbon taxes, offsetting mechanisms, climate finance, carbon market regulations, international cooperation, nature-based solutions, and innovative emission reduction strategies. The agenda includes panel discussions, workshops, and keynote speeches that emphasize the importance of these topics in promoting a low-carbon economy and combating climate change. This forum is crucial for understanding and advancing collaborative approaches to sustainability. For more information, visit Chile Carbon Forum.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
And then there were three – The Joint Committee (JC) overseeing the Japan-Chile Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) has registered what is just the third project since the two countries started their cooperation in 2015. Chile’s Land and Sea and Farmdo Energy alongside Japan’s Farmland will implement a 3-MW solar power project in the Valparaiso region that can earn some 2,128 carbon credits annually. The three registered projects have a total annual capacity of creating almost 5,000 credits per year, though so far none have been issued.
EMEA
Watering down – A draft law from Germany’s agriculture minister to protect the country’s forests against the effects of climate change has been critiqued for being significantly watered down compared to the original proposal. An amendment to the Forest Act, which dates back 50 years, was promised as part of the government’s coalition agreement as climate change had not played a role when it was drafted. However, following protests from forest owners and others, the initial updates were watered down, media house RND reported. Elements of the draft considered too soft by environmental organisations include the illegal felling of trees that would no longer be considered a criminal offence unlike in the initial draft, while the responsibility of which tree species to plant where was also left to the federal states. German forests have been heavily damaged by droughts, bark beetle infestations, storms, and forest fires in recent times, with the impact of changing climate conditions a growing cause of concern.
Saudi MOU – Saudi Aramco has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to drive forward research and development with environmental and commercial benefits. The partnership will see Aramco invest up to $100 mln in KAUST over the next decade, funding a broad spectrum of research initiatives aimed at pushing the boundaries of science and technology. Areas of focus will include liquids-to-chemicals conversion, future refineries research, low-carbon aviation fuels, hydrogen production, carbon capture and storage, renewable energy, and energy storage solutions.
ASIA PACIFIC
Green tick for giant solar project – Australia has approved its largest-to-date renewable energy project. The Australia-Asia Power Link 6 GW solar farm will be built in the Northern Territory and will supply power to both Australia and Asia. It said 4 GW will be used in Darwin, which is enough to power three million homes. The Top End capital’s population is just 130,000 people. “The energy generated by this project is almost six times the amount of energy a 700 MW large nuclear reactor could deliver, based on IEAA figures. We have no idea what the equivalent to Peter Dutton’s anti-renewables nuclear plan might be because there are no details other than it being too slow and too expensive for Australia,” Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek said. Plibersek gave the final environmental approval Wednesday.
Study first – Tokyo Gas has teamed up with a subsidiary of Australian energy company Santos and two other Japanese gas suppliers, Osaka Gas and Toho Gas, to conduct a preliminary study for an e-methane project in central eastern Australia, it announced Wednesday. The study will be carried out based on the results of a business feasibility study that Tokyo Gas and Santos have been conducting since November 2023. The four companies will jointly study technologies, systems, and commercial matters until March 2025, with the aim of producing and exporting more than 130,000 tonnes of e-methane per year to Japan from 2030 onwards.
Almost ready – Japanese tech solution provider Jasmy has launched a beta version of NCCX, a carbon credit exchange that supports emissions reductions certified by the Natural Capital Credit Consortium (NCCC), the domestic J-Credit programme, and international standards, it announced Wednesday. The version was released ahead of the official launch in late September, and the newly established exchange will be managed by project developer Green Carbon, according to a company statement. NCCC has seen the first batch of certified carbon credits under its newly developed carbon standard.
New partnership – Japan’s Carbon EX, which operates a voluntary carbon exchange, has formed a business partnership with Tohoku Bank to provide consultancy and business match services, according to a statement released this week. The alliance will support the regional bank’s corporate clients to purchase carbon credits and non-fossil certificates.
From India to Japan – Singapore-based energy company Sembcorp and Japanese firms Sojitz and Kyushu Electric have signed a Heads of Terms (HoT) with shipping giant Nippon as partner for the export of green ammonia to Japan. Under the HoT, Nippon will oversee the maritime transportation of the green ammonia, to establish a supply chain from production in India to supply in Japan’s Kyushu region, a press statement said. Sembcorp, as the lead developer of the proposed project, will leverage its strong capabilities demonstrated through its existing renewables portfolio of 4.7GW in India, to produce competitively priced green ammonia in the South Asian nation, it added. The engineering and design work for the green ammonia plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, has commenced.
Coal India earns carbon credits – India’s largest coal company, Coal India Limited’s (CIL) subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), has earned carbon credits through the implementation of the Accredited Compensatory Afforestation (ACA) guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for increasing forest cover and promoting afforestation on non-forest lands, an official statement said. In response to ACA guidelines, SECL identified approximately 2,245 hectares of afforested non-forest de-coaled land in the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Coal mining projects often require forest land, necessitating Forestry Clearance (FC) as part of the environmental approval process. A major challenge in securing these clearances is the identification of suitable Compensatory Afforestation (CA) land, the statement added.
Steel introspection – India’s Ministry of Steel has initiated a review of the seven year-old National Steel Policy (NSP) to develop a comprehensive decarbonisation strategy in response to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which aims to impose taxes on carbon-intensive products entering the EU from 2026. The review will assess the impact of the current policy on steel production and consumption to determine if any adjustments are necessary in light of emerging global challenges. The domestic steel sector contributes 12% to India’s total GHG emissions, with an emissions intensity of 2.55 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of crude steel produced, compared to the global average of 1.9 tonnes. India aims to scale up its annual crude steel production capacity to 300 mln tonnes by 2030 to meet its domestic demand.
Coal is, was, and will remain – Coal will continue to be an important part of India’s energy mix to meet the growing power demand of the country, Chairman of government-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) RP Gupta told a conference. He added that India could meet its net zero target before 2070 keeping in mind the growing non-fossil fuel capacity addition led by renewables and that India’s emissions will peak in early 2040s before they begin to decline. India generates over 70% of its power through coal and has insisted that it will continue to expand thermal power, keeping in mind the country’s need for economic development.
AMERICAS
ETS expectations – Senator Leila Barros (PDT-DF) said Wednesday that there is an agreement with the President of the Senate Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), for a vote on proposed national cap-and-trade legislation in Brazil in the first half of September, reported EPBR. Ongoing political disagreements around the legislation led to a meeting between legislators last week to try to mediate their differences. Barros also said the matter would not be brought to the Senate floor until there is a consensus. She highlighted signing of an agreement – the Pact for Ecological Transformation – between the three branches of the Brazilian federal government on Wednesday, which involves the legislature prioritising environmental and climate legislation including the cap-and-trade bill. Under the pact, the judiciary branch will also work to expediate resolution of issues, while the executive will expand financing to help reduce the cost of activities related to sustainability.
Application withdrawn – Natural gas export terminal developer NextDecade on Tuesday announced that its subsidiary Rio Grande LNG withdrew its application at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. The firm had proposed the project in 2021 to reduce permitted CO2 emissions at the facility – which is located in Rio Grande, Texas – by more than 90%. However, NextDecade Chairman and CEO Matt Schatzman said the CCS project at present was not sufficiently developed to allow the FERC review to continue.
Brushing on climate – The second night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) avoided focus on climate and energy issues, although it emphasised President Joe Biden’s investments in domestic clean energy jobs, E&E News reported Wednesday. Former President Barack Obama along with other speakers, at times touched on the Democratic clean energy vision. Obama said that an administration led by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris would be a “force for good” in “protecting the planet from climate change”.
VOLUNTARY
Reporting extension – Global environmental disclosure system CDP has extended its reporting window after users reported technical issues with a new disclosures portal in recent months. The nonprofit has provided disclosure and scoring systems on climate, deforestation, and water security for years and, more recently, has added a plastics platform. CDP launched a new portal in June to try to encourage companies reporting on climate to disclose on other topics but users have said they found the platform difficult to navigate, partly due to technical challenges and glitches. More than 21,000 companies and over 3,000 other organisations and cities report environmental data through CDP each year. CDP was set to close this year’s scoring deadline and reporting window on Sep. 18, but has now confirmed that the deadline has been extended to Oct. 2 for scoring and Oct. 16 for corporate disclosures. (edie.net)
Growing – Impact investment fund Global Innovation Fund (GIF) has made an equity investment in developer Boomitra to help expand global soil carbon projects, the latter announced Wednesday. Expanding into Mongolia earlier this year, Boomitra has a global portfolio of soil and land restoration projects. It did not state the size of GIF’s investment, though the URL of the announcement suggests it may have been $500,000.
INVESTMENT
Real estate decarbonisation – Optiml, a digital platform for net zero real estate investment and renovation planning, has closed a $4 mln pre-seed extension funding round, led by BitStone Capital, and supported by Kompas VC, according to a Wednesday press release. Existing investors, Innovation Endeavors and Planet A Ventures, also participated. Optiml provides asset managers, investors, and consultancies with decarbonisation and renovation software that uses AI to provide insights for portfolios and building assets such as indicative ESG due diligence, detailed net zero investment plans, and optimal decarbonisation strategies. Optiml has completed over 30 pilot projects with industry players such as AXA, Credit Suisse, and Grosvenor and is now onboarding its first large-scale asset managers and consultancies. The funding will be used to accelerate the technology’s development and expand the company team.
SCIENCE & TECH
Nuclear for green steel – Tata Steel is exploring the potential of using nuclear energy to produce green steel by way of installing around 200 Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs), each with a capacity of 220 MW, totaling approximately 45 GW, according to sources in the sector. However, the company has not confirmed the statement. Suggestions are that the steel producer would use the electricity generated to power electrolysers for producing green hydrogen, which could then replace coking coal in steel production. The production of green steel would benefit the company in reducing the cost of complying with the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that will kick in from the start of 2026 for any exports it makes to the bloc. Tata Steel operates four plants in India with combined annual capacity of 21.6 mln tonnes of steel, and also has substantial operations in Europe and a small presence in Southeast Asia. It is targeting net zero emissions by 2045 and has suggested that India rename some of its current fees and levies as carbon taxes to get a better deal under the EU’s CBAM.
AND FINALLY…
Climate change curriculum – Washington DC-based nonprofit the Aspen Institute released recently its Higher Ed Climate Action Plan that calls for a systemic approach to climate education at the university level, reported Inside Climate News. The report lays out a plan for all universities to partake in climate-focused operations, research, education and community engagement, also calling on students to become more engaged in climate action through education. Multiple universities, including Arizona State University and University of California San Diego, are requiring students to take climate change courses starting in the 2024-25 academic year to prepare the workforce for tackling the climate challenge. Other institutions, such as Columbia, Harvard, and Stanford, are taking the climate focus a step further and establishing entire schools devoted to climate. Although universities are taking different approaches to improve sustainability and climate education, administrators say they are all responding to the same need – educating students who say they care deeply about the climate crisis. However, challenges remain in tying the implications of climate change to specific areas of studies, which is why universities are implementing general education climate courses to bring students of all disciplines together.
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