MARC(U) MY WORD: Ensuring the acceptability of border carbon adjustments
EU discussion over imposing a border carbon adjustment has mostly focused on the technical design and implementation challenges raised by this complex instrument. Even the most robust design will mean little, however, if the measure fails to secure buy-in from relevant stakeholders in Europe and abroad, write Andrei Marcu of think-tank ERCST and Michael Mehling of MIT.
Read MoreCOMMENT: New claims for a new era of private sector carbon finance
The voluntary carbon market can build a common understanding for a new financing claim beyond offsetting that represents the same commitment of taking responsibility for unabated emissions by mitigating carbon beyond boundaries, writes Sarah Leugers of Gold Standard.
Read MoreCOMMENT: We’re still in – let’s align the voluntary carbon market with Paris rather than play by our own rules
Corresponding adjustments will be needed in the future whenever a carbon credit is used to offset emissions, to help ensure the promise is kept that the atmosphere is no worse off, argues Hugh Salway of voluntary carbon market certifier Gold Standard,
Read MoreCOMMENT: Brussels gets twitchy about EU ETS speculation
EUAs endured a boisterous day on Thursday, first reaching a new record of €40.12 and then plunging more than 3% in the last 20 minutes on news the European Commission was considering limiting speculative positions. It’s not the first time the Commission or member states have reacted to price volatility in the market, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. But something doesn’t quite add up here.
Read MoreCOMMENT: May you live in interesting times
Well, this has been an interesting week. In the space of 72 hours carbon has risen 14%, reached a new all-time record and if things keep going like they have been, it’s just a matter of time before the EU ETS starts becoming the subject of $GME-type memes. There have been a number of explanations for the nearly €5 spike in EUA prices; I’ll list them and if I missed any, please shout.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Quality counts – scaling voluntary offsetting the right way
Owen Hewlett of Gold Standard welcomes the Taskforce to Scale the Voluntary Carbon Market’s intention to make sure companies can take responsibility for their emissions, but argues that scale alone should not be the marker of success.
Read MoreMARC(U) MY WORD: MSR review – evolution or revolution?
While the ETS and carbon pricing are critical components of the EU decarbonisation process, the functioning of the EU ETS has long been impacted by a what was seen as a “structural” surplus of emission allowances (EUAs), or what was labelled a “supply-demand imbalance”, explains Andrei Marcu of think-tank ERCST.
Read MoreCOMMENT: WWF ‘Blueprint for Corporate Action on Climate & Nature’ – Key takeaways for the voluntary carbon market
In Dec. 2020, WWF published a ‘Blueprint for Corporate Action on Climate and Nature’, setting out a vision for how companies should follow the mitigation hierarchy to address the climate emergency, informed by science and the Paris policy environment. Here are Gold Standard’s key takeaways for the voluntary carbon market.
Read MoreCOMMENT: The UK ETS – It’s (officially) a thing
So it’s official – the UK will launch its own emissions trading system in 2021. Of course, it won’t actually begin on January 1, as the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – the regulator – has yet to work out what the free allocations should be, how many UK Allowances (are we OK with UKA as an abbreviation?) will be auctioned, etc etc. But we know a few things…
Read MoreCOMMENT: From 40% to 55% – what does the EU’s new emissions target mean for companies?
(Free read) – With the Green Deal, the EU is producing a regulatory storm that will stretch far into the future, deep into today’s profit models, and way beyond Europe’s borders. Companies should bring the Green Deal into the heart of their business in order to secure the competitive advantage of regulatory pre-alignment, argues Christiaan Gevers Deynoot of South Pole.
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