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Biofuel credit (RIN) values under the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) plummeted on Monday to the lowest level since early 2021, as traders pointed to continued bearish programme fundamentals around the bean oil-heating oil (BOHO) spread, and potential impacts of sanctions stemming from this weekend’s reignited conflict between Israel and Gaza.

Most of us see only the dry treeless plain and spectacular sea cliffs. But beneath the surface there’s a precious world of caves and unique species that could be lost without better protection. Jess Marsh, Research Fellow, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University Clare Buswell, Adjunct Lecturer, History, Archaeology, Indigenous Studies and Geography, Flinders University Liz Reed, Senior Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide Susan White, Adjunct Research Fellow, Environment, La Trobe University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

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Gears are shifting in voluntary carbon market volumes despite prices of many of the standardised contracts flatlining at very low digit levels, sources told Carbon Pulse on Monday.

An index for nature-based solutions (NBS) is set to be expanded to cover 2021 REDD vintages, as part of an expansion push by two founding members at a brokerage who have switched to a new firm, as they eye hiring more staff and widening coverage.

UK-headquartered budget airline EasyJet confirmed on Monday it had formally signed up to Airbus’ carbon removal credits scheme, through which it will buy credits to offset the emissions of its planes and operations.

A European climate tech investor, specialising in decarbonising agriculture, has received €1 mln from the founder of a clothing startup, as it looks to scale up its voluntary carbon market activity.

Those behind a programme for supporting biodiversity-related initiatives located in African countries are disappointed with the financial viability of applications received so far, one of its leads has said.

The UK's flagship nature market, soon to be mandatory for developers in England, has major gaps in onsite governance with enforcement nearly impossible for a large proportion of the biodiversity units to be generated, a new academic study suggests.

The Zambian government has progressed to an advanced stage in the development of a climate change bill that will include a framework for regulating carbon credit activities in the country, according to a statement made by the environment ministry, as it aims to imminently seal an agreement for credit sales as part of a Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement (ERPA).

The Council of EU member states is rushing to complete work on a series of energy and climate bills this week, clearing its decks for what could be more difficult discussions next week. 

EPA says too many pesticide formulas exist to check all for the safety of ingredients that could harm humans, plants and wildlife

Ingredients labeled as “inactive” in pesticide formulas are potentially poisoning the environment, crops and animals, but the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rebuffed calls to examine their toxicity and risks.

Agency rules do not require the EPA to account for inactive ingredients when it evaluates pesticide formula safety despite the fact that industry labels dangerous substances like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as inert.

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A Vancouver-headquartered carbon credit developer announced Friday the close of the final tranche of its non-brokered private placement offering, with proceeds intended in part to help expand operations in West Africa and Latin America.

The UK’s Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) on Monday unveiled its ‘gold standard’ Disclosure Framework to guide large corporations around presenting their climate transition plans, in alignment with globally recognised reporting frameworks and standards.

European carbon prices made modest gains on Monday morning amid a sharply higher energy complex after a weekend of rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and renewed threats of Australian LNG strikes, as a persistently gloomy macroeconomic outlook appeared to dampen the impact of short-term security concerns.

Analysis shows at least $2.8tn in damage from 2000 to 2019 through worsened storms, floods and heatwaves

The damage caused by the climate crisis through extreme weather alone has already cost $16m (£13m) an hour for the past 20 years, according to a new estimate.

Storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts have taken many lives and destroyed swathes of property in recent decades, with global heating making the events more frequent and intense. The new study is the first to calculate a global figure for the increased costs directly attributable to human-caused global heating.

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Findings regarding clouds above Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama highlight how microplastics are highly mobile

Microplastics have been found everywhere from the oceans’ depths to the Antarctic ice, and now new research has detected it in an alarming new location – clouds hanging atop two Japanese mountains.

The clouds around Japan’s Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama contain concerning levels of the tiny plastic bits, and highlight how the pollution can be spread long distances, contaminating the planet’s crops and water via “plastic rainfall”.

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Japan's main bourse is set to begin trading domestically issued carbon credits later this week as the world's third-biggest economy will finally see a domestic emissions market established, though possible liquidity drainage and unclear definitions of high-quality credits mean expectations are sober, observers told Carbon Pulse.

He says measures are unaffordable: official figures say otherwise. He says costs will fall on the poor, but that’s a choice made by his government

Keir Starmer faces a challenge at party conference that no UK opposition leader has faced in more than 30 years. He will have to defend his climate policy against a bitter and sustained attack.

Since the late 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher became the first UK prime minister to vow to tackle the climate crisis, a cross-party consensus on the issue has endured. In the last eight general elections, there has been no serious debate over whether to try to cut greenhouse gas emissions, only over how.

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It seems that Australia’s a-ha moment has now arrived in the clean energy transition - the realisation that having natural ability alone doesn’t make you a winner.

The post Turning green to gold, Australia has to make its own luck in the race to renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.