Carbon Pulse

The Australian state of New South Wales has implemented tough new Treasury guidelines that one expert says applies a carbon price through regulation, would make new fossil fuel projects untenable, and could be easily applied to other state and federal jurisdictions.

The Canadian federal offset system has only received one project application since its publication in June because its first protocol is already covered by the provinces, according to the government agency tasked with running the programme.

Climate Impact X (CIX) is set to launch its nature-based standardised contract on its upcoming spot trading platform, addressing market concerns over project delivery risk, market-representative pricing, and fragmented liquidity in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), it announced on Thursday.

California offset issuance over a two-week period dropped by more than 50% week-over-week for the second time in a row, with year-to-date levels cratering compared to the same period in 2022, data from state regulator ARB published Wednesday showed.

Members of the European Parliament expressed concerns on Wednesday about the risks of greenwashing linked to carbon farming, during a public hearing with experts.

Global tech giants are continuing to support the nascent voluntary carbon removals market, with Microsoft and Google on Wednesday both announcing investment and initiatives.

EUA prices are likely to rise in the coming two years as utilities catch up on forward hedging following last year's energy crisis, magnifying the impact of a supply shortfall as the market begins to anticipate the impact of cuts in free allocation, according to executives at a European investment firm.

EU proposals to tackle greenwashing launched on Wednesday would force companies active in the bloc to disclose where they acquire their carbon credits and whether the units are backed by recognised methodologies, seeking to open up the little-regulated voluntary carbon market (VCM).

Almost all sampled cookstove projects have been given low scores by a carbon credit rating agency, echoing an academic report that claimed rife over-crediting even as proponents said the work mischaracterised current practices and downplayed other benefits.

A total of more than $63 billion was raised from the sale of carbon allowances across 28 emission trading systems (ETS) in 2022, according to a report published Wednesday, with soaring prices in the EU's carbon market driving revenues to a new record.

European benchmark carbon prices gyrated around the key €90 level for most of Wednesday morning as traders eyed the expiry of the March options contract early in the afternoon, though some weakness was seen after exchange data showed a sharp reduction in investment funds' long positioning last week.

The voluntary market for biodiversity credits is emerging on the back of increased pressure on corporations to report on their impact on nature and set their own targets, but government regulations can help drive demand and ensure a well-functioning market that buyers can trust, according to the Commonwealth Bank.

A province holding three-quarters of the peatland in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has signed a jurisdictional nested REDD+ agreement with a Singapore-headquartered project developer.

The New Zealand government has launched a new review of its emissions trading scheme to figure out if and what changes are needed to encourage business to transition away from fossil fuels and support GHG removals.

A French-headquartered global energy firm has penned a long-term deal to buy up to 11.5 million carbon credits sourced from projects in Cambodia and Bangladesh, which the parties in the deal said was the first major sale of offsets using the Gold Standard’s digital verification methodology.

Nasdaq-listed financial services firm StoneX Group has signed an agreement with AirCarbon Exchange (ACX) to create a digital carbon marketplace in the US as part of the StoneX platform, the two companies said on Wednesday.

An Australian investor and philanthropist has launched an initiative designed to bring businesses and NGOs together to advocate the removal of regulatory and policy barriers that block green investment, as environmental groups are being scrutinised for their ties with big business and politics.

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

Investors have taken up greater short positions in the power sector RGGI carbon market because of its growing allowance bank, an analyst told the North American Carbon World (NACW) conference in Anaheim on Tuesday.

California Carbon Offsets (CCOs) with direct environmental benefits to the state (DEBs) will retail for more roughly double the price of credits without this distinction by the end of the decade, analysts said Tuesday.