COMMENT: Westpac says no to deforestation – others will soon have to

Published 06:33 on December 14, 2023  /  Last updated at 10:49 on December 19, 2023  /  Asia Pacific, Australia, Biodiversity, Contributed Content, Other Content

All Australian banks and investors will soon need to make zero-deforestation commitments because it is increasingly well known that Australia is a deforestation hotspot, and this is attracting the scrutiny of legislators, consumers, and investors, the Wilderness Society writes.

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COMMENT: Paris Agreement forest carbon transactions should follow tropical forest credit integrity guidance

Published 20:16 on December 8, 2023  /  Last updated at 10:49 on December 19, 2023  /  Climate Talks, Contributed Content, International, Nature-based, Other Content, Paris Article 6, Voluntary

In the context of increasing reports of forest carbon-related cooperative approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Parties should apply strive to ensure that all credits transacted are of the highest quality by applying guidance developed by leading environmental and Indigenous organisations, writes the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups.

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COMMENT: US-EU negotiations on sustainable steel and aluminium showed little progress… so, what’s left for EU’s industry?

Published 20:06 on December 5, 2023  /  Last updated at 10:50 on December 19, 2023  /  Americas, Carbon Taxes, CBAM, Contributed Content, EMEA, EU ETS, International, Other Content, US

Negotiations over the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium (GSA) remain stuck in a complex impasse, necessitating substantial concessions that neither the EU or US is willing to provide, writes Irina Kustova, Research Fellow at Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

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COMMENT: To succeed, REDD+ should focus on what Indigenous peoples and Local Communities value

Published 13:54 on November 29, 2023  /  Last updated at 20:04 on December 5, 2023  /  Climate Talks, Contributed Content, Nature-based, Other Content, Voluntary

REDD+ standards should not only include technical and scientific aspects developed in the Global North, but also contributions and experiences of the inhabitants of the same territories where these standards will be implemented, writes Gustavo Sanchez of the Mexican Network of Rural Forestry Organizations and colleagues representing other Indigenous peoples and Local Communities.

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ECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE – Shades of REDD+: Harmonized Biodiversity Claims as a Solution for Fragmented Biodiversity Markets

Published 11:25 on November 23, 2023  /  Last updated at 23:08 on February 14, 2024  /  Biodiversity, Contributed Content, International, Nature-based, Other Content, Voluntary

Since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, there’s been growing interest in market-based approaches for biodiversity conservation, but significant challenges remain in establishing a global market for biodiversity credits due to their complexity and context-specific nature. As Charlotte Streck writes, alternative solutions like national and local schemes and standardized biodiversity claims are being explored to address these challenges.

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COMMENT: The future of clean cooking in the carbon market

Published 22:32 on November 13, 2023  /  Last updated at 10:50 on December 19, 2023  /  Contributed Content, Other Content, Voluntary

Carbon markets must learn how to deal with the application of new practices and norms in clean cooking, and ensure we take the lessons from past actions without judging them against criteria that had yet to be invented, writes Owen Hewlett of Gold Standard.

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COMMENT: We can’t afford to get this wrong – Ensuring high integrity in agricultural carbon credits is imperative for fighting climate change

Published 21:15 on November 6, 2023  /  Last updated at 10:50 on December 19, 2023  /  Contributed Content, Nature-based, Other Content, Voluntary

The time is now to harness high integrity crediting of agricultural soil carbon projects in global mitigation efforts, but projects must be guided by considerations derived from the Integrity Council on the Voluntary Carbon Market’s (ICVCM) Core Carbon Principles (CCP), writes Max DuBuisson, VP Sustainability Policy and Engagement at Indigo Ag.

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ECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE – Shades of REDD+: Reforming the International Financial Systems to Value High-Integrity Forests

Published 17:59 on October 19, 2023  /  Last updated at 10:50 on December 19, 2023  /  Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, Contributed Content, EMEA, International, Nature-based, Other APAC, Other Content, South & Central, Voluntary

Next week, the Republic of the Congo will host the Three Basins Summit of tropical forest basins, which account for 80% of the world’s tropical forests, house two-thirds of terrestrial biodiversity, and play an essential role in regulating the global carbon balance. Rarely has there been an event where forests play a more central role than the forthcoming meeting in Brazzaville. The Summit provides a unique opportunity to make the case for a reform of the rules of global public finance to value tropical forests as global climate and biodiversity assets, writes Charlotte Streck in a piece for Ecosystem Marketplace.

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COMMENT: How did carbon accounting make the headlines?

Published 20:12 on September 26, 2023  /  Last updated at 10:50 on December 19, 2023  /  Contributed Content, Nature-based, Other Content, Voluntary

Accounting rules are important, but, in a system where the fossil fuel industry is receiving a $7 trillion annual subsidy without any accounting rules whatsoever, fixing small historical inaccuracies and solving for complexity in what is now a micro-industry of REDD+ is far more constructive than ripping down the whole notion of environmental markets, writes Charles Bedford of Carbon Growth Partners.

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COMMENT: The market impact of the new EU ETS compliance cycle

Published 17:26 on August 31, 2023  /  Last updated at 10:51 on December 19, 2023  /  Contributed Content, EMEA, EU ETS, Other Content

The market impact of the new EU ETS compliance cycle explained by Gauthier Bily, CEO of Vertis Environmental Finance.

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