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TOP STORY

Saudi Arabia fund launches voluntary carbon firm with imminent auction

Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund (PIF) will auction carbon credits generated from 16 projects on Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the situation, as the country announced the creation of a firm to manage its voluntary carbon market activities and spur efforts to become a regional hub.

EMEA

EU hints at raised ambition in agreeing stance for UN climate summit

The EU aims to increase the ambition of its nationally-determined contribution (NDC) to the UN Paris Agreement in light of its ongoing work to strengthen domestic climate policies, the bloc’s ministers said Monday in agreeing the bloc’s mandate for the COP27 UN climate negotiations in Egypt next month.

Companies pump out over 300 Mt during first year of Germany’s domestic ETS

Permits covering more than 300 million tonnes of CO2 were surrendered during the first year of Germany’s domestic emissions trading scheme, the government announced Monday.

Euro Markets: EUAs jump by most in one month on short covering after technical levels breached

EUAs climbed by the most in a month on Monday as a technical breach triggered short covering, while energy prices continued to weaken amid healthy gas supplies and above-average temperatures.

Trio of veteran EU carbon analysts leaving Refinitiv for rival market intelligence firm

Three veteran European carbon analysts are leaving Refinitiv to join a rival market intelligence firm that is assembling a crack team of emissions trading experts, Carbon Pulse has learned.

S&P Global head of European gas joins BNP Paribas

The top European gas analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights has joined BNP Paribas as a London-based strategist covering carbon.

INTERNATIONAL

Experts call for pragmatism when making CDM methodologies fit for Paris

It is crucial the capacity built under the 250-plus methodology CDM is used rather than starting from scratch for the mechanism under UN Paris Agreement Article 6.4, experts told an event on Monday, stressing the need for pragmatism given the time pressures and complexity of the task ahead.

Global standard for climate disclosure confirms inclusion of Scope 3 emissions

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) will include Scope 3 emissions in its forthcoming climate standard, recommending mandatory reporting of emissions associated with companies value chains, a controversial requirement that may not survive the US version.

Switzerland completes transfers to ensure a third of UN Kyoto emissions goal met with offsets

Switzerland has received more than 20 million UN-backed carbon credits that the government will use to cover its 2013-20 emissions target under the UN Kyoto Protocol, the transferring body confirmed on Monday.

ASIA PACIFIC

China thermal power generation sees September rise amid expanded coal output

Thermal power generation in China continued to rise in September amid increased coal output, while total generation growth saw a minor decline from a year ago, government data showed Monday.

New modelling suggests ACCU market can maintain stability despite impending review

Strong compliance demand for carbon credits and increased Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) issuance are likely to mute the potential market disruptions that could follow in the wake of the ongoing Chubb Review, according to analysis released Tuesday.

Xpansiv given licence to launch ACCU trade on CBL exchange

Market infrastructure provider Xpansiv has been granted an Australian financial services licence that will allow it to launch Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) products on its CBL platform, the company announced Tuesday.

Fintech firm launches ACCU blockchain trading platform

An Australian fintech firm on Monday launched a blockchain-based trading platform for tokenised Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) that makes it possible for individuals and small firms to trade the government-issued offset units.

Global engineering firm acquires Australian carbon market advisory

An international engineering firm has announced it will acquire an Australian carbon analysis and consulting firm in order for both to mutually benefit from their respective skillsets.

VOLUNTARY

VCM Report: Key VER contracts sink to year lows amid economic gloom

Standardised voluntary emissions reduction (VER) prices lost as much as a fifth of their value over the past week, amid ever-growing concerns that companies would put offset buying on the back burner as they grapple with major macro-economic woes.

US CO2 removals marketplace partners with agriculture company in scaling blockchain-based offering

US carbon removal marketplace teamed up with life science conglomerate to expand its carbon removals offsets platform which would support farmers that adopt a suite of sustainable agricultural practices, the firms announced on Monday.

AMERICAS

California fuel sales see gasoline rise, diesel fall in July

California gasoline sales in July climbed slightly from June but still remained below 2021 totals, while diesel consumption fell from last month’s year-to-date high, according to state data released Monday.

TD Securities poaches North American environmental markets trader from Macquarie

Canadian investment bank TD Securities (TDS) has hired a North American carbon and VER trader from Australia-based financial services firm Macquarie.

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Job listings this week

• *(Senior) Manager/Adviser – Carbon Markets and Pricing Programme, Adelphi – Berlin/Remote (Germany)
• *Head of Project Development, Carbon Offset Projects, Volkswagen ClimatePartner GmbH – Munich
• *Carbon Project Developer, Volkswagen ClimatePartner GmbH – Munich
• *Manager Due Diligence, Volkswagen ClimatePartner GmbH – Munich
• *Consultant, Carbon Project Development, ClimatePartner – Munich
• Principal Advisor ETS, NZ Environmental Protection Authority – Wellington

*Premium listings

Or click here to see all listings

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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

INTERNATIONAL

Incomplete homework – With just days to go before the UN’s COP27 climate conference kicks off in Egypt, Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry said Monday that it had failed to officially anchor a verbal pledge made a year ago by then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that the country would reach net zero by 2050. Bennett made this commitment before COP26 in Glasgow alongside Energy Minister Karine Elharrar, telling those around him that the pledge would have to be made sooner or later anyway. But at an Environmental Protection Ministry briefing for those going to COP27, Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg revealed that the Justice Ministry had ruled against passing a government decision on such a matter so close to the elections next week. Attempts earlier this year to get the net zero commitment included in the climate bill also failed, primarily because of the Finance Ministry opposition. That bill passed its first reading in May, but it only commits Israel to reducing emissions by 85% by 2050, compared with a 2015 benchmark. (Times of Israel)

EMEA

Need more cash – South Africa’s investment plan for shifting from coal to renewable energy will need $46.5 bln, more than five times the $8.5 bln Western nations have pledged to the project over the next three to five years, Reuters reports, citing unnamed sources. The provisional plan was submitted to donor countries this month, with private investors able to step in to make up the difference, according to one source, while another pointed to a mix of private, bilateral, and multilateral funders. Negotiators are racing to complete the deal before COP27, where it could serve as a model for other emerging economies seeking to wean themselves off coal with Western support. If successful, South Africa’s plan will see Africa’s most industrialised nation gradually shut down its polluting coal-fired power stations and mines, replacing them with wind turbines and solar panels at a significantly faster rate than it was planning to do before the partnership with the US, Britain, France, Germany, and the EU. (Carbon Brief)

Green debt – Swedish steel venture H2 Green Steel said on Monday it had secured support for €3.5 bln in debt financing to build a hydrogen-powered steel plant in Northern Sweden. The financing is from state-owned AB Svensk Exportkredit and five commercial banks, while some other lenders had issued letters of intent for credit guarantees. The site is scheduled to start production at the end of 2025 and targets 5 million tonnes in annual production by 2030 that could reduce 95% of CO2 emissions compared with normal steelmaking. (Reuters)

Lax on the DAX – 60% of the top 20 companies listed on the DAX index have set themselves net zero greenhouse gas emission targets, but only a minority has specified the long-term emissions reduction plans to reach them, an annual report by climate consultancy EcoAct has found. The 2022 Corporate Climate Reporting Performance Report, which assesses how the largest international companies are addressing climate-related sustainability challenges, found that this year just one in five of the 20 largest DAX companies has set long-term emission goals. Only about a third of companies have plans to reduce their emissions along a 1.5C trajectory as established in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. (Clean Energy Wire)

ASIA PACIFIC

Joining the pledge – Australian Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen on Sunday announced Australia would join more than 120 other nations in signing a voluntary pledge to cut global methane emissions by 30% this decade, the ABC reports. Around half of methane emissions in Australia come from the agriculture sector, while 29 per cent come from resources and 10 per cent from waste.

AMERICAS

Levelling the CCS field – In the budget last April, Canada’s federal government estimated it would spend C$2.6 bln ($1.9 bln) on tax credits in the first five years, and then C$1.5 bln thereafter annually through 2030 towards carbon capture and storage technology. After the US government passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August, which included massive tax credits to incentivise CCS adoption, the Canadian oil and gas industry is seeking an increase to available funding in the government’s next April budget, to keep CCS investment from flowing south of the border. However, the federal government has told the oil and gas companies, primarily based in the province of Alberta, to seek incentives from the provincial government. But the Alberta government has already invested C$1.8 bln ($1.3 bln) to develop CCS, according to Alex Puddifant, spokesperson for Alberta’s Energy Ministry. (Reuters)

VOLUNTARY

State assets – The Norwegian government will require all Norwegian state-owned companies to set targets and implement measures to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, and report on target achievement. When available, the state expects the targets to be science-based, it added.

SCIENCE & TECH

If I Wood, could you? – Australia-based oil and gas company Woodside Energy and US-based carbon capture company LanzaTech NZ announced a strategic collaboration with the signing of a strategic framework on Monday. In a press release, the companies said that Woodside will design, construct, own, and maintain pilot facilities related to LanzaTech’s technologies, subject to a final investment decision. Additionally, Woodside has entered into an agreement for a $50 mln investment in the common stock private investment in public equity of AMCI Acquisition Corp. II, with which LanzaTech is expected to merge in a previously announced business combination transaction.

AND FINALLY…

Risk on – For the first time in nine years of surveying, global experts in every region of the world ranked climate change as the top future risk facing society, according to the AXA Future Risks Report out Monday. The report, conducted by the insurance company AXA in conjunction with IPSOS and the Eurasia Group, depicts an increasingly perilous combination of climate change, geopolitical strife and energy concerns facing policy makers. The surveys underlying the analysis, which incorporate expert opinion as well as public polling, show that both risk experts and the public place climate change higher on the list of global concerns than just a year or two ago. (Axios)

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