Carbon Pulse

A carbon credit ratings agency has downgraded two Verra-certified African afforestation projects while upholding the score of another.

Eleven standard bodies, including national registries from Japan, South Korea and Thailand, have applied for their carbon credits to have eligibility in CORSIA, the international aviation emissions scheme devised by the UN body ICAO, between 2024-26.

A European airline group plans to buy up to 100 million carbon removal credits by 2050, and potentially 2 mln a year by 2030, it stated Friday, adding that this requires clear and globally agreed verification and quality standards, inclusion of the credits in emission trading schemes, and stable policy support. 

UK-based biodiversity credit developer rePlanet Wildlife has secured £600,000 in fresh investments to help it roll out its global portfolio of nature protection projects.

The UN-backed Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA) expects to release the first results of its work within the next three months, with a glossary of terms, demand side concepts, and the inclusion of Indigenous peoples and local communities among the first issues to be tackled by the group.

European carbon rallied for a second day on Friday amid short-covering and de-risking ahead of a three-day weekend in the UK, with the benchmark EUA contract trimming a near-5% weekly loss while UK carbon was poised to post its third consecutive increase.

More than 30 banks have joined a working group led by the UNEP Finance Initiative (FI) to hash out guidelines for financial institutions to set nature-related targets and align their portfolios with global biodiversity targets.

Activity in China's carbon market has remained slow in recent weeks with low trading volumes and prices, driven by low permit demand amid pessimistic economic expectations and new rules that could further boost supply in the market, analysts said.

The Australian government has announced it will establish a new agency to oversee the country’s transition to net zero emissions in a way that benefits workers, industries, and communities.

Innovations in three key sectors of the global food system, including livestock, food loss and waste, and rice cultivation, can help meet climate targets by reducing methane emissions by up to 75% by 2050, a report has found.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo held a closed door meeting with ministers this week to finalise governance structures for carbon credit exports in the country, however there is still debate around how it will be conducted, Carbon Pulse understands.

A Singapore-headquartered climate tech company has launched a climate investing platform to leverage technology with the aim to make investing in carbon markets more accessible, in so doing seeking to empower individuals to take climate action, it announced on Friday.

A startup co-founded by an ex-NBA star that has developed carbon-negative cement has raised $12 million in pre-seed funding.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Carbon standard manager Verra has suspended a major cookstove project and two mangrove restoration projects over the past week, preventing the schemes from being issued with carbon credits.

EU nations this week agreed a united line to require companies to reveal more about their climate goals to consumers, but stopped short of lawmaker efforts to also ban the use of carbon credits for such claims altogether.

Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) values tumbled this week in response to forthcoming emergency rulemaking provisions for the programme’s permit reserve, while California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices declined on extremely light volumes amid numerous bank failures and ahead of the Q3 WCI auction.

The CEO of offset developer South Pole has hit back at “incomplete and factually incorrect” news reports alleging that the company’s Kariba REDD+ forest preservation project in Africa has over-issued carbon credits.

Major problems with Quebec’s afforestation and reforestation offset protocol under the province’s WCI-linked cap-and-trade programme means it could potentially over-credit into the millions, researchers said in analysis released Wednesday.

Nearly 30% of Africa’s trees are located outside areas previously classified as forests or woodlands, researches have found using satellite imaging, presenting an opportunity to better estimate carbon stocks and more effectively direct climate change mitigation efforts.