- A US-based financial services firm is advocating for separation between standards agencies and registries in the voluntary carbon market, as it partners with a UK-based forestry crediting programme to settle transactions on the firm's platform.
- Tue 00:38Gaps and inconsistencies across global property law regimes regarding voluntary carbon credits (VCCs), typically construed as post-issuance problems, can be addressed using the pre-issuance risk management tools of ratings and insurance, according to a report published Monday.
- Tue 00:01Only 16 out of 500 companies driving deforestation took meaningful action to curb impacts in their supply chains in 2024, with pledges often overlooking commodities most linked to forest loss, a UK-based non-profit said on Tuesday.
- Mon 23:59Board briefing - The Board of Directors of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) will hold a teleconference meeting on May 8 to review and consider approval of last year's audited financial statements, tax filings, annual report, and an update to the Audit Committee membership. Following the public session, the Board will enter a closed executive session to discuss jurisdiction and procurement matters.
- Mon 23:43In the absence of near-term drivers, benchmark RGGI allowances (RGA) slid below $20, with framing ahead of the June auction potentially keeping a lid on prices, traders said.
- Mon 23:24An action-packed week for LATAM saw government-backed carbon pricing programmes take slow steps forward, while the voluntary market (VCM) experienced a mixed bag of bold announcements and dramatic setbacks.
- Mon 23:04What's the plan? - The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) Air Pollution Control Division announced Monday it will share draft GHG emissions reduction plans for public comment over the next few weeks. Covered facilities will submit the draft plans to the division as part of manufacturing sector rules approved in 2023, and the purpose of these plans is to show how each facility will comply with its individual GHG emissions limit starting in 2030. Each plan will be available for a 45-day public comment period after the division has received it and deemed it administratively complete. Then, an independent third party will review all public comments on each plan, request changes in response to feedback where appropriate, and certify each plan. The division will provide regular email updates on Mondays over the next two months for as long as needed to share all draft plans, which it expects to receive from all applicable facilities by the end of June.
- Mon 22:57A US business group has slammed proxy advisory firms that it said are hijacking shareholder votes to inject ESG agendas into the voting processes, and called on Congress and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to intervene.
- A Calgary-based green hydrogen developer has secured more than C$3 million ($2.2 mln) in funding from Alberta's industrial emissions pricing scheme.
- Mon 22:27A recently published study has proposed that the scientific basis for holding fossil fuel producers legally responsible for climate-related damages is now firmly established.
- Mon 22:25The US EPA on Monday issued an emergency waiver allowing the sale of E15 – gasoline blended with 15% ethanol – throughout the country, and also waived provisions that would have increased E10 fuel stringency.
- An Oregon-based non-profit's carbon credit purchasing platform aimed at small business and individual buyers has achieved its first sale, as the group aims to expand its support for grassland projects in North America, its executive director told Carbon Pulse.
- Mon 22:09Brazil’s environment ministry (MMA) on Monday published an ordinance establishing a forest carbon task force that will help regulate both voluntary and compliance forest carbon markets.
- Ready in Readlyn - The Iowa chapter of US environmental non-profit Sierra Club held a meeting Saturday to discuss the potential impacts of a CO2 pipeline in the community. Local media KCRG reported that nearly 100 people showed up to the meeting in Readlyn, a city with a population of just under 900, according to 2023 data. Of concern is Summit Carbon Solutions’ Midwest Express CO2 pipeline, which was initially expected to begin operations in 2024 but has since faced delays through the permitting process. It has permits in Minnesota, Iowa, and North Dakota but was most recently rejected by South Dakota’s Public Utilities Commission amid ongoing landowner concerns.
- Paper and pulp partnership - CDR developer Svante Technologies announced on Monday is advancing a project aimed at decarbonising Canada’s pulp and paper sector. The joint CCS project with Canada-based global forests products company Mercer International is focused on an Alberta pulp mill, intended to target biogenic CO2 emissions. The next design phase of the project will evaluate the project’s estimated cost and overall commercial viability. Svante’s project uses a structured sorbent filter system to selectively capture CO2 molecules while reducing energy requirements overall for the industrial process.
- Mon 21:30Climate disclosure discourse - California regulator ARB announced a virtual workshop on May 29 to discuss the implementation of the state's 2023 GHG reporting laws, SB 253 and SB 261. ARB is planning to finalise its rulemaking for SB 253 by July 2025. SB 253 mandates companies with annual gross revenues over $1 bln doing business in the state to disclose their full Scope 1-3 GHG emissions, while SB 261 requires companies with annual gross revenues exceeding $500 mln to report their climate-related financial risk. The webinar was announced after a coalition of US businesses led by the US Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit asking the District Court for the Central District of California to enjoin the climate laws.
- Mon 20:17In the driver's seat - Car manufacturer Toyota has encouraged its employees to support efforts in Congress that would repeal California’s clean car rules, Politico reported Friday. In an e-mail distributed to select staff, Toyota said that it opposes the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate as a result of California’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulations, which set increasing ZEV sales targets each year. It further encouraged employees to write to legislators in support of current resolutions up for vote in Congress that would roll back California’s rules. The email was sent to employees signed up to the Toyota Policy Drivers programme, a company effort to encourage public policy advocacy.
- Lassoing emissions - Cowboy Clean Fuels, a US-based renewable energy and carbon removal technology company, announced completion and release of its Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage plus Renewable Natural Gas (BiCRS+RNG) methodology. The new framework aims to establish standards for measuring, monitoring, reporting, and verifying carbon removal projects by injecting biomass-derived feedstocks into geologic formations for microbial conversion into CO2 and biomethane, capturing biomethane as RNG, and sequestering CO2. The methodology complies with ISO 14064-2:2019 standards and expects to offer a verifiable pathway for carbon removal crediting.
- Mon 18:51Clearcutting comments - The acting deputy chief for the US Forest Service, Jacqueline Emanuel, issued updated guidance for regional foresters on Apr. 22, stating that formal comment periods will not typically be required for environmental assessments and categorical exclusions under new emergency authorities that Secretarial Memo 1078-006 and Executive Order 14225 established. Instead, the agency directed that alternative forms of public involvement were sufficient to fulfill agency responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
- Mon 17:56Governor Gavin Newsom (D) added a sixth member to the independent advisory committee overseeing California’s ETS and other relevant climate policies.
- Mon 16:43Voluntary carbon credit indices edged higher last week as market participants returned to desks following a holiday break, while France threw its weight behind corporate use of integrity-backed carbon credits, following similar moves by Germany and the UK in April.
- Mon 16:33Brazil’s upcoming COP30 summit will usher a new era of Chinese climate leadership, as the country pushes ahead with the transition to renewables and overachieves on its commitments — filling a void left by the US, according to Brazilian experts.
- Mon 15:47Two companies have partnered to launch a new carbon investment fund for US-based projects as they seek to raise $200 million to generate high-integrity credits.
- A Toronto-headquartered carbon and precious metals royalty and streaming company has terminated future capital commitments to a major US-based carbon farming programme, citing worsening market conditions and increased investment risks.
- Mon 09:22One of Japan's largest refiners will invest in a venture capital fund dedicated to supporting startups engaged in the development of carbon removal solutions, it announced Monday.
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