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TOP STORY

Verra gives 2025 deadline for offset projects to use revamped REDD methodology

Standards body Verra on Wednesday outlined a phased approach for VCS carbon credit projects to begin using its forthcoming consolidated REDD methodology, as the organisation aims to have individual avoided deforestation initiatives align with jurisdictional-level activity data.

EMEA

Euro Markets: EUAs rise to six-month high as traders start to eye resumption of full auctions in September

EUA prices rose to their highest in six months on Wednesday as the upward spiral in energy prices continued, with some traders now starting to eye a potential retracement in September, when allowance auction volumes increase and the reduced liquidity due to the holiday period comes to an end.

(We have issued a correction to Tuesday’s Euro Markets report on monthly and yearly EUA price % changes in paragraph 16)

Slovakian aluminium plant to shutter due to energy crisis

Slovakia’s only aluminium plant will close later this year due to soaring power prices, the company’s operator announced Wednesday.

ASIA PACIFIC

Major Inner Mongolia firms team up to develop carbon sink projects, build regional offset market

A major forestry group owned by the Chinese government has teamed up with several companies to jointly develop carbon sink projects in Inner Mongolia, one of the country’s most forestry-abundant regions.

Green hydrogen has the low carbon credentials but investors need policy backing, report says

Green hydrogen offers a more viable option for Australian investors than its blue rival, as hydrogen made from renewables appears to be more economically viable and comes with fewer investment risks than hydrogen from fossil fuels with CCS, a report from an investor group focused on the impact of climate change stated on Thursday.

Australia Market Roundup: Woodside receives WA govt H2 funding, as regulator reports 600,000 ACCUs issued

Woodside Energy has received A$10 million ($7 mln) from the Western Australian state government to go towards a renewable hydrogen production and refuelling station, as nearly 600,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) have been issued in the carbon market.

AMERICAS

Quebec finalises free allocation haircut for cap-and-trade emitters

The Quebec provincial government on Wednesday finalised its plans to cut the number free allowances that it distributes to the industrial sector under its WCI-linked programme from 2024.

INTERNATIONAL

Australia’s Santos makes FID on Alaskan oil project with net-zero pledge

Australian oil and gas Santos company has made final investment decision on its Pikka project in Alaska, claiming the 80,000 barrels of oil per day development will be a “net zero project” backed by carbon credits.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Carbon Pulse has teamed up with CME Group to provide its clients with regular updates on the global carbon markets. Check out these briefs for the latest insights on pressing trends and events impacting markets, published every other week. Registration required

EMEA

Mapping blue carbon – The Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) on Tuesday revealed three maps of seagrass meadows following a two-year mapping exercise, Seychelles News Agency reports. The mapping exercise was carried out around the main islands – the three most populated islands of Mahe, Praslin, and La Digue. It was also done around the outer islands of Astove, Cosmoledo, Alphonse and St. Francois. The University of Oxford was contracted by the Pew Charitable Trusts to coordinate the scientific mapping component of the project. The university worked with the German Aerospace Centre to produce the baseline satellite map that will be refined by the ground-truthing process. The newly completed maps detailing the distribution of mangrove and seagrass ecosystems were presented by SeyCATT at the opening of a two-day workshop at Savoy Resort and Spa Hotel. With the three maps, policymakers, planners and others involved in the development of the Blue Economy in the country will now have data collected during the mapping exercise. Read Carbon Pulse’s reporting on Seychelles’ roadmap for blue carbon to protect its mangrove and seagrass assets.

Swiss bonds – Switzerland is to issue its first green bonds from autumn of this year, the government said, after adopting the framework for doing so at a meeting on Wednesday. The targeted issuance volume is several hundred million francs per year, the government said. The issuance “intends to promote the application of international standards on the Swiss capital market and encourage private sector players to issue their own green bonds,” it added. (Reuters)

ASIA PACIFIC

Looking at the long term – Even as India is set to communicate its updated 2030 climate targets or nationally determined contributions (NDCs), it has begun work on the long-term action plan to achieve net zero target by 2070, as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the last year’s Glasgow climate conference, Economic Times reports. India is actively working on formulating a Long-Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS) paper, a climate action document that will spell out the country’s roadmap to net zero.

More hydrogen – Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province has pledged to expand its hydrogen infrastructure in the coming few years, as part of the coal-rich region’s effort to reduce emissions, according to filings issued earlier this week by the provincial government. By 2025, the province is expected to complete the construction of around 100 hydrogen refuelling stations and several hydrogen plants, pushing the total value of the local industry to 100 billion yuan ($14.75 billion), the documents showed. 

AMERICAS

Clean energy hub – US Steel, Equinor, and Shell have entered into a non-exclusive Cooperation Agreement to advance a collaborative clean energy hub in the Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania region, a US Steel press release announced. The hub would focus on decarbonisation opportunities that feature carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), as well as hydrogen production and utilization. The development of this hub, and its associated infrastructure, would generate new, sustainable jobs, stimulate economic growth, and help achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions. The regional CCUS and hydrogen hub aligns with both the United States’ and project partners’ ambitions to realize net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. To support its development, Equinor and Shell will jointly apply for US Department of Energy funding designated for the creation of regional clean energy hubs. US Steel is evaluating the role it may play in the hub, including as a potential funding participant, customer, supplier, or partner.

AND FINALLY…

Low carbon lock-in – The construction of what is described as the UK’s first ‘smart prison’ will start this autumn. The British government has signed a £400 mln contract with construction firm Kier to build the facility in East Yorkshire. Solar panels, heat pumps, and efficient lighting systems will be installed to make the facility the UK’s first new prison to operate with ‘no carbon emissions’. (Energy Live News)

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