Rising attendance has driven a 26-fold increase in emissions from air travel to United Nations climate negotiations over the past three decades, with delegate flights generating more than 710,000 tonnes of CO2e since the mid-1990s, according to a new study.

Sleepless in the south - A new study analyses how rising temperatures from climate change may reduce children’s sleep and generate long-term economic impacts. The paper, published Friday in Nature Sustainability, said higher nighttime temperatures interfere with the body’s ability to cool during sleep, shortening sleep duration. Because adequate sleep is important for cognitive development, the authors model how climate-driven sleep loss could affect children’s intelligence and future economic productivity. Using climate and socioeconomic scenarios, the researchers estimate that global warming could cause an average of 16.37 hours of additional sleep loss per person annually by the end of the century under a high-emissions pathway, compared with about 3.42 hours under a low-emissions scenario. Sleep loss is projected to be greatest in hotter regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and parts of Africa. The modelling suggests small downward shifts in children’s IQ distributions linked to sleep loss, with larger effects in lower-income countries. When translated into economic outcomes, the associated reduction in lifetime earnings could cost the global economy around $2.86 trillion by 2100 under high emissions, equivalent to roughly 0.3% of global GDP, with poorer regions bearing a disproportionate share of the burden.

Energy Aspects’ London-based senior carbon analyst is joining risk management firm Redshaw Advisors, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA said this week it will appeal to the country’s Supreme Court after the Borgarting Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling that had cleared the airline of a NOK 400 million (€33.8 mln) penalty linked to its failure to comply with the EU ETS during the pandemic.

The government of Indonesia will pilot a new global framework for standardising carbon credit data as part of efforts to strengthen transparency and interoperability in carbon markets, according to an announcement Friday.

ArcelorMittal is preparing to restart a second blast furnace at its major steelworks in Fos-sur-Mer, signalling a potential rebound for one of France’s largest industrial sites and significant EU ETS-covered emitter.

A new procurement service and online marketplace has launched aimed at helping airlines source carbon credits eligible under the UN aviation offsetting scheme CORSIA, the partners behind the project announced Friday.

German MEP Peter Liese is urging the EU to allow international carbon credits in its Emissions Trading System (ETS), reviving debate over the potential integration of Paris Agreement Article 6 units into the bloc’s carbon market.

Lost barrels - Around 2 million barrels per day of refined oil products will likely be lost from the global market if the straits of Hormuz remains impassable for the next six weeks, according to Rystad Energy. Bahrain and Kuwait face the highest operational risk due to their export-dependent refining systems that offer zero alternative routes. In a scenario where tanker movements remain constrained, these countries could quickly encounter storage limitations for refined products, forcing refiners to halt exports and reduce utilisation rates. Qatar oil refinery production will also be constrained, but the country has a relatively small refining system and limited domestic demand, focusing on LNG instead. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) can use the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) to allow crude exports to bypass the Strait via Fujairah, but refined products from the Ruwais complex still largely depend on tankers passing Hormuz. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia could increase exports of refined products from its Red Sea refining hubs, including Yanbu, Rabigh and Jizan. However, with Yanbu occupied and given priority of crude exports, the port loading capacity of Rabigh and Jizan does not exceed 400,000 bpd combined, meaning Saudi Arabia might have to reduce refinery runs by 10-20% initially if the war is prolonged for more than 4-6 weeks.  Most attacks on refining capacity since the start of the conflict have been limited in scope: Mina Al Ahmadi in Kuwait remained operational after debris damage, while Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura – already offline for scheduled maintenance that began the last week of January – extended its outage window following drone attacks and a debris-related fire. (Business Standard)