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TOP STORY
INTERVIEW: Boost in compliance biodiversity credit schemes after Cali needed to attract carbon players
The COP16 summit has the potential to drive an increasing number of governments to set up compliance nature credit schemes, which carbon players see as a key condition for swarming into the biodiversity space, a consultancy firm has told Carbon Pulse.
MARKET
Carbon standard unveils first nature stewardship credit pilots
A carbon standard will pilot its methodology for nature stewardship credits across two sites in Canada and Zambia, with plans to onboard additional projects in the coming months, the company told Carbon Pulse.
Brazilian developer reviews unit count, price under updated biodiversity credit methodology
A Brazil-based developer has revised its biodiversity credit methodology to more clearly define the units within its framework, resulting in changes to the number of credits generated by its project as well as adjustments to pricing, the company told Carbon Pulse.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Amazon’s climate fund backs new peatland standard in Ireland
US e-commerce giant Amazon will support a new voluntary certification programme in Ireland aimed at restoring 700,000 hectares of degraded peatlands that could avoid up to 2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
BRIEFING: UK agriculture must rethink land use balance to meet net zero, weather global shocks
Big changes are needed in the UK’s agri-food system to reach net zero emissions and improve resilience to global shocks, including on carbon audits and reducing livestock numbers.
TOOLS & GUIDANCE
Non-profit launches nature impact assessment tool for financial institutions
A Switzerland-based non-profit on Thursday launched a free tool designed to help financial institutions assess their nature-related impacts.
POLICY
Scottish govt releases framework for carbon, biodiversity markets
Scotland’s government released on Tuesday a framework aimed at driving private investment in natural capital, outlining a set of high-integrity principles as well as a roadmap to 2026 to scale the carbon and biodiversity credit markets.
New EU environment commissioner expresses support for developing nature credits
The newly confirmed EU environment commissioner at her hearing with the European Parliament on Tuesday evening said she will explore ‘well-designed’ nature credits during her tenure at the European Commission.
SCIENCE & TECH
Amazon deforestation falls by over 30%, records largest drop in 15 years
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell by more than 30% between Aug. 2023 and July 2024, marking the most significant percentage drop in 15 years, according to government data.
Nature-based solutions often overlook climate-biodiversity nexus, study says
Nature-based solutions (NbS) projects must better consider the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, as temperature shifts in the long term are set to increasingly affect species conservation efforts worldwide, according to a recent paper.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
MARKET
Brazilian partnership – An alliance of several Brazilian public institutions on Friday agreed to structure new forest concessions for sustainable logging and forest restoration, financing the cost of restoring 334,000 ha of degraded areas in the Amazon from the proceeds from carbon credits. The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, through the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB), signed a contract covering 11 conservation units, which have a total area of 6 mln ha. (Carbon Pulse)
Planned deforestation – A group of Brazil-based nature-based solutions carbon credit project developers said in a technical note last week that the development of jurisdictional REDD+ approaches (J-REDD+) in the country must better address the risk of planned deforestation. The note, published Oct. 31 by the Nature-Based Solutions Brazil Alliance, said that as J-REDD methodologies and programmes continue to emerge, these initiatives must better distinguish between illegal deforestation, or “Avoided Unplanned Deforestation” (AUD), and legal deforestation, “Avoided Planned Deforestation” (APD), in emissions accounting and application methods for conservation activities. (Carbon Pulse)
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Solar parks – A group of Latvian organisations has presented a set of guidelines for developing solar parks in the country, in a bid to promote the protection of ecosystems and improve biodiversity within project areas. The guidelines primarily recommend choosing artificial surfaces, degraded areas, or agricultural land in order to ensure minimal impact on nature. Moreover, solar parks should not be developed in “specially protected natural areas, protected biotopes of EU importance, over natural water bodies, in areas of national scenic importance, in cultural-historical and natural areas of local importance, in scenically valuable areas and their buffer zones, as well as in areas of nationally protected cultural monuments”.
Finance gap – Social enterprise One Acre Fund has estimated that $153 bln would be required annually to support smallholders worldwide to build climate resilience. In an analysis released on Thursday, One Acre Fund showed that today just $2 bln of global climate finance from both public and private sources reaches smallholder farmers, revealing a financing gap of $151 bln.
Commitment – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has pledged an additional €3 bln to its Green Cities programme, designed to promote sustainable urban development across a network of cities over the next five years. The allocation expands the programme’s focus to include nature finance and green capital markets, EBRD said in a press release on Wednesday.
POLICY
BBNJ – The French parliament approved on Tuesday a bill authorising the ratification of the UN agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), also known as the High Seas Treaty. The agreement provides a legal framework for creating MPAs in the high seas, considered essential to achieve the 30×30 target in the ocean. To date, only 14 countries have ratified it, and a further 46 ratifications are needed for the treaty to enter into force.
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