COMMENT: Are we missing the point of offsets?
The landscape for voluntary carbon offset types today is complex, with many buyers in a state of “analysis paralysis”. We need to think about the implications of a company using a carbon offset while observing the key principles that make offsetting a powerful tool, argues Lauren Mechak, Director, Program Development at ClimeCo.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Restricting market access will damage the EU ETS
EU institutions, stakeholders and experts agree that the EU’s carbon market should serve as the centrepiece of Europe’s decarbonisation efforts. To reach enhanced climate ambition for 2030, the EU needs a well-functioning carbon market fostering cost-efficient emission reductions. However, this role has just been cast into doubt.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Carbon markets – how to stop worrying and COPe with change
Recent actions by Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to pause the authorisation of new voluntary carbon market (VCM) credits represent the start of country level accounting impacting the VCM, as the mechanisms laid out in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement begin to be implemented, writes Sebastien Cross of ratings firm BeZero Carbon.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Statement on the credibility of HFLD credits in global carbon markets
A new crediting approach for High Forest, Low Deforestation (HFLD) jurisdictions is a credible way of incentivising the avoidance of deforestation in areas anchored by the large areas of intact forest, argue members of the Forests for Life Partnership in response to concerns raised about whether such units are appropriate for use in the CORSIA aviation offsetting mechanism.
Read MoreCOMMENT: The EU’s MSR sale proposal – “Ooooh! Look at that cookie jar!”
The European Commission’s plan to bring roughly 200-250 million EUAs out of the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) and auction them to raise €20 billion to fund the bloc’s shift away from Russian energy has jolted the EU ETS, igniting “trust” concerns by market participants who liken the move to Brussels raising the EU’s climate cookie jar.
Read MoreCarbon Pulse hires its way to record reporter headcount, doubles article output
(FREE READ) – Carbon Pulse has further boosted its coverage of regional and global carbon markets after completing a hiring drive that allowed it to welcome another four talented journalists, giving the unrivalled news provider a record staff size and doubled story count.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Can Brussels chase the speculators out of the EU ETS?
EU lawmakers want to clamp down on speculative traders participating in the EU ETS. There’s been a steady drumbeat of complaints over the past few months from MEPs and some member states, claiming that unnamed speculators have driven the price of EUAs too high, and that it’s costing industry too much money. But is restricting speculator access to the EU ETS such a good idea? And is it even feasible?
Read MoreCOMMENT: Risk of surplus in the EU ETS – a short story
The EU’s carbon market reform is going the wrong way by not properly addressing the system’s surplus, argues Adrien Assous, executive director, Sandbag Europe.
Read MoreCOMMENT: REDD+ evolves with Verra’s changes to key methodologies
Standard-setting body Verra has proposed changes to tools for estimating emission reductions from its key REDD+ project types that will ensure Verra’s methodologies reflect the latest science and practices while aligning with jurisdictional GHG estimation procedures, Steve Zwick of Verra writes.
Read MoreCOMMENT: We must protect intact forests, but CORSIA got it wrong
While it is essential for the world to protect forests that are not under immediate threat of deforestation, treating carbon credits from their conservation as fungible compliance instruments threatens to undermine carbon market integrity, argue several consultants critical of UN aviation body ICAO’s recent decision to accept ART TREES carbon credits from jurisdictions under its CORSIA offsetting programme.
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