Carbon Pulse

One of the world’s poorest, most indebted, and most climate-vulnerable countries is turning to carbon markets to secure foreign exchange, as countries prepare to debate a new climate finance target amid crushing debt burdens at the COP29 UN climate conference this autumn.

The world’s largest business association has written to the European Commission’s director general for taxation and customs union to call attention to the “severe” challenges companies have faced in complying with the first reporting period of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

The rate of decarbonisation across UK businesses decelerated significantly last year, posing a potential setback to achieving net zero goals, finds a new report.

EU steel association Eurofer has lowered its 2024 consumption forecast for the 27-nation bloc, citing worsening geopolitical tensions, growing economic uncertainty, high energy prices, inflation, and interest rates as factors that are adversely affecting demand.

The European Commission has called on two EU states to raise their climate ambitions in line with the agreed targets for 2030, in an assessment of the draft updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) published on Friday.

Ministers from the G7 nations agreed on Monday to shut down coal plants by 2035, British Minister for Renewable and Nuclear Energy Andrew Bowie said following a meeting in Italy.

The Scottish government's collapse on the heels of a shelved emission target highlights the need for policymakers to back their targets with concrete action in the near term - or risk losing public backing both from supporters and opponents of climate action, according to analysts.

Nearly half of countries' policy pledges for nature made in the National Biodiversity Strategies and Actions Plans (NBSAPs) before 2020 were not supported by evidence of actions taken by governments, a paper has revealed, sounding the alarm over the reporting gaps ahead of this year's COP16 UN biodiversity summit.

The Biodiversity Credits Alliance (BCA) on Monday released an issue paper delineating the process of developing a review mechanism for the emerging biodiversity credit market in a bid to quell concerns over nature risks related to credited projects.

European carbon prices slumped on Monday morning in line with weakening energy markets, as warmer weather and a predicted rise in renewable power generation raised the prospect of reduced demand for thermal ouput.

Taxing the domestic extraction of coal, oil, and gas in the world's richest economies could raise as much as $720 billion by 2030 to help with climate adaptation in vulnerable nations, by way of the Loss and Damage Fund, finds a report backed by dozens of climate organisations.

China's top legislature is reviewing a draft energy law that could give additional clout to the development of renewable energy and hydrogen in the country. 

A regional director at project developer South Pole has left the company to found his own carbon market firm.

Australia’s Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC) has added a new member to its ranks to better undertake its work ensuring the integrity of Australia’s carbon credit scheme, the government announced Monday.

An emissions accounting platform for Australia’s agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors is expected to go live in May, its developer announced Monday.

Market interest in biodiversity projects led by Indigenous Peoples is surging as local leaders in the Amazon rainforest strive to scale up funding through voluntary credits, according to a project developer.

Australia’s fleet of coal-fired power stations will retire in the early 2030s, but a new signal on carbon emissions will be required for the electricity sector to reach net zero, a report published Monday said.

The federal government of Pakistan is setting up a committee that will seek counsel from the provincial governments on the country’s draft carbon credit policy, as part of preparations for a national market launch and greater involvement in the international market.

Singapore will spend S$60 million ($44 mln) on a new institute to study various decarbonisation techniques, from new fuels to carbon capture and storage, with a focus on cutting the emissions of its energy and chemical sectors.

A committee within the California Assembly unanimously approved last week a bill to assess and advance the use of ocean CO2 removal (CDR), including by qualifying approved projects for inclusion in the state's carbon credit programmes.