Presenting CP Daily, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter. It’s a daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here
TOP STORY
JPMorgan Chase unveils $200 mln in carbon removal purchases
JPMorgan Chase has signalled one of the world’s biggest corporate commitments to purchasing durable carbon removals, agreeing to spend some $200 million via several long-term deals to buy a total 800,000 tonnes from startups, the US-headquartered bank announced Tuesday.
INTERNATIONAL
Paris-compliant carbon price coverage remains less than 5% of global GHGs, says World Bank
The share of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions covered by a carbon price that would keep warming limited to UN Paris Agreement goals marginally rose year-on-year but remains below 5%, according to a report published by the World Bank on Tuesday.
Small group of corporates account for 60% of global industrial emissions -report
A group of around 150 large companies account for the majority of the world’s industrial emissions, of which the overwhelming majority are across their supply chains, a report has found.
VOLUNTARY
Shaky legal status of voluntary carbon credits creates minefield in cases of insolvency
Uncertainty over the legal status of voluntary carbon credits has created a minefield for companies dealing with the insolvency of a counterparty, particularly when an intermediary is involved, a conference heard Tuesday.
Standards body rejects complaint from Guyanese Indigenous peoples over forest carbon project
The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) Secretariat has rejected a complaint from a group representing Guyana’s Indigenous peoples that the country’s government did not receive consent from local communities to facilitate the distribution of tens of millions of avoided deforestation carbon offsets.
Soil carbon project developers expand operations in Europe
Two companies specialising in developing soil carbon sequestration projects are expanding their operations in Europe.
Global energy company signs MoU with Vietnam on agri-feedstock, carbon credits
A global energy company on Tuesday signed an MoU on with the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), aiming to cooperate on agri-feedstock and nature-based carbon credits.
Large-scale biofuel CCUS project to apply for Puro.earth removals certification
A large-scale biofuel carbon capture and underground storage (CCUS) project in the US that plans to sequester up to 15 mln tonnes of CO2 a year intends to be certified by Finnish standards body Puro.earth, it was announced Tuesday.
Vinegar could be secret ingredient in climate fight, study finds
Household vinegar – the stuff you put on your fish and chips – could be a secret ingredient in the fight against climate change, researchers have discovered.
AMERICAS
Brazil swapping Bolsonaro’s bottom-up climate decree for new carbon market approach -report
The first shift in Brazilian carbon market regulation under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has begun after local media reported of an impending scrap of last May’s presidential decree from right-wing predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, while a Senate committee has scheduled a hearing on a related bill this week that could draw executive branch backing.
Virginia board to vote next month on finalising RGGI regulation repeal
A Virginia regulatory board next month will vote to approve final amendments rescinding the state’s RGGI-linked cap-and-trade regulation, according to a government notice published Monday, setting the stage for potential litigation once the contested move takes effect.
RGGI emitters’ permit shortages shrink further in Q1
Compliance entities regulated under the power sector RGGI programme grew closer to filling their compliance shortfall during Q1 as their allowance holdings nearly matched outstanding CO2 obligations, according to a report published Tuesday.
Stakeholders counsel California’s ARB not to risk delays in implementing LCFS stringency
Stakeholders urged California regulator ARB to separate an increased stringency rulemaking from other Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) programme design changes also under consideration, in the event the regulator encountered delays in rollout of its forthcoming amendment package, a webinar heard Tuesday.
Xpansiv to launch California LCFS spot contract this summer
Carbon market exchange operator Xpansiv on Tuesday announced it is launching the first California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) spot contract this summer, as the clean transportation market continues to grow in relevance.
Researchers warn buyers to stay away from new Alaska carbon offset programme
Voluntary carbon credit buyers should shun forest-based offsets generated through Alaska’s forthcoming state-run programme due to additionally concerns, a research group has warned.
ASIA PACIFIC
China ETS expansion back on agenda as govt kicks off research project
China’s environment ministry has launched a research project on expanding the nation’s emissions trading scheme, rekindling hopes that the market could soon be broadened to also include the biggest-emitting manufacturing industries.
IPCOS Article 6 demonstration projects should use existing projects, methods, market participants say
Australian-funded Article 6 demonstration projects under its Indo-Pacific Carbon Offset Scheme (IPCOS) should make a point to use established projects, operators, and methodologies, in order to keep community needs in focus, voluntary market participants told a conference Tuesday.
EMEA
EU coal power emissions drop 15% in Jan-Apr as coal’s revival fails to materialise, says think-tank
EU coal-fired power generation dropped sharply in the first four months of this year, damping fears that the fuel would make a sustained comeback after natural gas prices rocketed in 2021 and 2022, according to a report published on Tuesday.
Euro Markets: Traders test technical support as bearish fundamentals and auction volumes weigh
European carbon prices fell by as much as 2.7% on Tuesday as bearish gas and soft fundamentals kept prices under pressure and the market tested key technical indicators to the downside following a relatively weak auction.
Industry urges more EU funding to cover entire CCUS value chain
Still more public funding is needed to scale up manufacturing of clean technologies in the EU, industry experts told EU lawmakers on Tuesday, stressing that the entire CCUS sector should also be elevated to ‘strategic technology’ status in the bloc’s proposed Net Zero Industry Act.
RWE announces three new projects as UK continues to scale CCS
RWE announced on Tuesday plans to build a new gas plant and progress on three new carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the UK which could capture 11 million tonnes of CO2 per year, as the country continues to scale plans for the technology as part of its net-zero targets.
UK institutional investors most advanced in the world on climate action -report
UK financial institutions are ahead of their counterparts worldwide in setting defined climate goals and implementing climate action, according to a report due to be launched on Wednesday.
SHIPPING
Bureau Veritas, Engie partner to help maritime sector comply with evolving emissions reduction mandates
Certification firm Bureau Veritas and energy company Engie have partnered to help the maritime sector comply with evolving carbon emissions reduction mandates.
BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)
Developed biodiversity market schemes have seen $8 mln pledged for credits -report
The footprint of eight of the most developed existing biodiversity crediting schemes covers more than 800,000 hectares with $8 million in funding so far pledged toward investment in the creation of the resulting units, a report has estimated, also assessing each mechanism’s credentials across various criteria, such as additionality and scalability.
Australian state moves to end native logging
The state government in Victoria in Australia on Tuesday announced its local logging industry will shut down at the end of the year, six years earlier than planned.
Carbon ratings agency launches eDNA trial for biodiversity measurement
A carbon offset ratings agency has launched a trial project in Uganda to assess the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to measure biodiversity values in ecosystems, including as basis for the issuance of nature credits.
—————————————————
Carbon Pulse is hiring!
- Head of EMEA, Carbon Pulse – London/Europe
- Asia-Pacific Environmental Markets Correspondent, Carbon Pulse – Asia-Pacific
- North American Environmental Markets Correspondent, Carbon Pulse – Eastern Time Zone
- North American Environmental Markets Correspondent, Carbon Pulse – Pacific Time Zone
- Feature Writer/Sub-Editor, Carbon Pulse – Europe
Premium job listings
- *Portfolio Manager/Senior Carbon Trader, Carbon Cap – London
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Carbon Credits, CL-Invest – Oslo
- Sales Trader, Voluntary Carbon Markets, AFS Energy – Amsterdam
- Structured Carbon Deals Lead, Nature-based Solutions, Maya Climate – Berlin/London
- Registry Architect, American Carbon Registry – Arlington, VA/Remote (US)
*New listing
Or click here to see all listings
—————————————————
CONFERENCES
InnovationZero – May 24-25, London: A two-day, free-to-attend, access-all-areas international cleantech congress running taking place at London’s Olympia. Don’t miss out on the UK’s must-attend event to accelerate business action in the low-carbon transformation. Register for free
Grow to Zero! – June 26-27, London: Insightful discussions on carbon market evolution? Thought leadership on blended finance for impact? Networking with impact investors and sustainability professionals? Find it all at Gold Standard’s Conference, Grow to Zero! 26-27 June 2023 at Kings Place, London. Tickets and agenda details available here: www.growtozero.co.uk
—————————————————
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
He’s gotta go – More than 100 US and EU lawmakers appealed to the leaders of their countries and the UN to oust oil executive Sultan Al-Jaber as head of this year’s COP28 climate summit, Bloomberg reports. The politicians also asked that further steps be taken to limit the influence of fossil-fuel companies at the talks to be hosted by the UAE at the end of the year. The appointment of Al-Jaber, who runs state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., to lead a conference whose goal is to increase global action to cut carbon emissions, has been controversial from the start.
COP28 call to action – A coalition of non-profits on Tuesday released a “call to action” outlining objectives for the UN’s COP28 climate change negotiations taking place this November, in terms of addressing the needs of developing and climate-vulnerable countries. Demands from the consortium include: leveraging the Global Stocktake to spur countries to take more ambitious action; improving global resilience to climate impacts by addressing financing gaps and rallying behind the Global Goal on Adaptation; ensuring the Loss and Damage Fund becomes operational at COP28; and addressing the major deficit in climate finance from developed countries.
Dirty export credits – Countries under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) supported fossil fuel exports by an average of $41 bln from 2018-20, almost five times more than clean energy exports, according to analysis published Tuesday by non-profit Oil Change International. A majority of this international public finance for fossil fuels is provided by national Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) that play a key role in helping large fossil infrastructure projects being built. The authors hope to influence OECD countries to better align international finance to climate goals, as they meet this week in Paris to negotiate terms and conditions for climate-friendly export financing.
Westward ho! – UK power generation business Drax is planning a big push into the US, lured by President Joe Biden’s green energy tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act. CEO Will Gardiner said the tax breaks were the “icing on the cake” as he set out plans to spend $4 bln building two new power plants in the southern US, with the potential for more to follow. The new plants are part of Drax’s strategy to become a leader in “negative emissions”, which can be sold in the form of credits to other companies looking to offset their emissions. The company’s biomass power plants burn pellets made from organic matter such as wood chip to generate electricity. This process emits CO2 but is considered a renewable technology under international carbon accounting rules. Drax has signed an MoU with Respira, a carbon broker, to buy carbon removal credits from its US projects. The push into the US is likely to fuel concerns in the UK about the US attracting green investment because of the generous tax breaks under the IRA. Drax Group on Tuesday said its outlook for 2023 remains unchanged, with adjusted EBITDA expected to be in line with analyst consensus at around £1.16 bln, up from £731 mln in 2022. Drax also plans to be carbon negative this year, achieving this through three strategic pillars: to be a global leader in carbon removals, to be a global leader in sustainable biomass pellets, and to be a UK leader in dispatchable, renewable generation. (FT, Alliance News)
Green abundance – Trafigura believes green e-fuels produced from renewable energy could be produced in abundance in the developing countries of the global South. But the trading giant has a major caveat: unlocking the potential in the developing world to produce these fuels will require the International Maritime Organization to set a global carbon price. The company expressed its optimistic view of e-fuel production in a white paper issued before an IMO working group meeting next week. The meeting is a key milestone before the UN shipping regulator is scheduled to vote “no” to new decarbonisation targets in July and narrow its options for taxing GHG emissions. (TradeWinds)
Bad investments – Fossil fuel companies register a drop in value after litigation or unfavourable judgments, according to a study by LSE’s Grantham Research Institute that analysed 108 climate crisis lawsuits around the world over 2005-21 against 98 companies listed in the US and Europe. The research finds that filing a new case or a court decision against a company reduces its expected value by an average of 0.41%. The stock market responded most strongly in the days after cases against carbon majors, which include the world’s largest energy, utility, and materials firms, cutting the relative value of those companies by an average of 0.57% after a case was filed and by 1.5% after an unfavourable judgement. Although modest, the researchers conclude that the drop in the value of big polluters is statistically significant and therefore down to the legal challenges. (Guardian)
EMEA
“Go to hell, Shell” – Climate activist shareholders stood on seats in front of the Shell board on Tuesday at the firm’s AGM, and sang “go to hell, Shell, don’t you come back no more,” to the tune of ‘Hit the Road, Jack’, Bloomberg reports. The lengthy protests come as Shell faces a shareholder vote on a measure to increase its climate ambitions following a year of record profits at the company. New CEO Wael Sawan has previously signalled to shareholders that he’s focused on delivering value to the company’s investors.
Boiling point – Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he does not expect any fundamental changes to his coalition government’s controversial plans to phase out fossil fuel heating systems, Clean Energy Wire reports. He told local media that the parliament will merely check whether the draft law can be made more precise in some sections but that he did not envisage substantial amendments. The recent departure of the Green Party’s state energy secretary due to a cronyism scandal has led some to question whether existing climate policies may be scrapped or watered down, including one that will mean only heating systems that run on at least 65% renewable energy can be newly installed from the start of next year. Separately, Scholz labelled the protest actions from climate activist group Last Generation, who glue themselves to artwork or roads, as “completely nutty” during a visit to a primary school, Tagesspiegel reports. “I have the impression that this does not help anyone to change their mind. Instead, everyone gets annoyed,” the Social Democrat added, answering questions from students.
Trim the hedge – German utility Uniper expects to make than €2 bln in pre-tax profits from hedging activities in the gas market for 2023 and 2024, Montel reports. The company had hedged its gas supply obligations for this period through futures contracts, among other financial instruments. It credited the €2 bln pre-tax profit to the significant drop in gas prices in 2023. The company, formerly Europe’s biggest importer of Russian gas, had to buy gas in the market at record price levels last year to supply its own customers, after gas flows from Russia stopped in the wake of the Ukraine war, and was nationalised amid great financial loss which amounted to €13.2 bln.
ASIA PACIFIC
DAC in business – Santos, Australia’s second-biggest gas producer, says it can slash the cost of sucking carbon dioxide directly out of the atmosphere, allowing it to manufacture a synthetic version of natural gas that it says would have no climate impact. The Adelaide-based company is testing technology that could bring the cost of direct air capture (DAC) to just $75/t by 2030, far cheaper than current methods, CEO Kevin Gallagher told journalists last week. Initially the captured CO2 will be piped into depleted underground gas reservoirs in South Australia for permanent storage, generating carbon credits that could then be sold to companies looking to offset their own emissions. But longer term the CO2 could be combined with hydrogen to manufacture “green methane”, which could replace the fossil fuel without adding to atmospheric CO2 levels, Gallagher said. (Bloomberg)
Sunny disposition – China’s solar sector is accelerating an already world-beating pace of installations as costs tumble and demand keeps rising, putting it on track to rush past last year’s record, Bloomberg reports. The country installed almost three times the volume of solar capacity between January and the end of April than in the same period in 2022, and is on track to add more panels this year than the entire total in the US.
Ready to spend – Beijing-headquartered fund manager IDG Capital and Hong Kong utility Towngas have closed what they say is Mainland China’s first zero-carbon technology investment fund, at 5 bln yuan ($712 mln). Contributors include local governments, leading sovereign funds, large domestic and foreign insurance funds, and government industry funds, they said in an announcement. The fund will focus its investments on solar energy, batteries and storage, smart grids, hydrogen, carbon capture, and carbon trading and management.
AMERICAS
Pipe up – Natural gas flaring in the top US shale basin is poised to increase next year, a report released on Tuesday projected, as the region’s output exceeds available pipeline capacity. The Permian is the biggest US shale oil basin, pumping 5.7 mln barrels of oil per day and 22.5 bcf/day of natural gas, productivity estimates by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) show. East Daley and Validere, a measurement, reporting, and verification firm, estimated pipeline takeaway capacity will fall short of gas production by an average of 200 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) in 2023 and the first half of 2024, before rising to about 500 mmcfd in May 2024. East Daley said the shortfall could “spike dramatically” if some gas pipelines under construction are delayed. Pipes being laid in the Permian include the 500-mmcfd Whistler and 550-mmcfd Permian Highway expansions expected in service in late 2023, and the 2.5-bcfd Matterhorn Express Pipeline in mid 2024. (Reuters)
e-RIN delay – The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recommended delaying biofuel RIN credits to EV manufacturers in the final Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) annual quotas that the White House is reviewing, Reuters reported Tuesday. Last year the EPA had proposed granting e-RIN credits to electric vehicle manufacturers in the RFS programme that is expected to be finalised by June 14. The agency had considered delaying the e-RIN proposal over concerns the plan could trigger lawsuits, the report added.
VOLUNTARY
Can only do so much – A new study by the EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and ETH Zurich University suggests that reducing logging and increasing afforestation to increase the amount of carbon storied in trees would have only a limited impact in preventing climate change. The study found that a scenario with no forest management, or stopping any interference and allowing forests to naturally store carbon, could only offset four years of CO2 emissions based on 2019 levels. Furthermore, increasing forest land to store enough carbon for a significant impact would require a land area larger than Germany, France, and Spain combined, a challenging prospect given competition for land from agriculture and urban expansion. The study underscores that while forests can contribute to carbon sequestration, they cannot fully compensate for current CO2 emissions rates, and other emission sources need to be drastically reduced to reach carbon neutrality.
Orphan credits – Offset certifier American Carbon Registry (ACR) announced approval of their carbon credit methodology for plugging orphaned oil and gas wells in a press release on Tuesday. ACR developed the methodology in partnership with Mary Kang of McGill University. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expects methane emissions of 7–20 Mt/yr of CO2e leak from orphaned oil and gas wells. Environment advocacy Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has mapped 120,000 documented orphaned wells across 30 US states and estimates undocumented wells to run into several million, the release noted. A Columbia University report has put the cost of plugging 500,000 wells as high as $24 bln.
Offsets on my mind – US natural gas marketer, Georgia Natural Gas announced Tuesday that it had offset 250 mln pounds (nearly 113,400 metric tons) of CO2 emissions on behalf of its 500,000 residential and industrial natural gas customers that signed up for the company’s Greener Life programme. The company purchases and retires carbon offsets from a variety of offset projects in the US, including forestation, landfill, and HFC refrigerant reclamation, on behalf of their customers for a monthly fee. Last year the company offset 100 mln pounds of customer emissions, the press release noted.
AND FINALLY…
Disruptive dichotomy – Dozens of climate activists also disrupted Europe’s largest private jet trade fair, the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE), by chaining themselves to aircraft to protest against the sector’s carbon emissions, the Guardian reports. The demonstrators on behalf of Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion, and Scientist Rebellion also attached themselves to the entrance gates of the event at Geneva airport in the hope of preventing prospective buyers from entering the annual show. Meanwhile in Dubai, Five Hotels and Resorts has launched the world’s first fully-customised ACJ TwoTwenty private party jet, named 9H-Five and developed by Swiss aviation firm Comlux. Available for charter hire for $13,000-14,000 per flying hour, the aircraft, dubbed Fly Five, can carry up to 16 passengers to destinations within a 12-hour flight radius. According to The National, the jet features a party-like aesthetic including a business lounge, dining area, cinema room, master bedroom, and a nightclub-quality sound system. The hotel and resort chain has purchased nature-based carbon credits to cover 102% of the jet’s flying capacity for the first year, “supporting rainforest preservation and reforestation efforts in Borneo”.
Got a tip? How about some feedback? Email us at news@carbon-pulse.com
