Feed aggregator

The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the first EU-wide law aimed a cutting potent methane emissions from the energy sector, including fossil fuel imports. 

The European Parliament agreed Wednesday to postpone by two years a deadline for adopting sector-specific European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), giving companies more time to adapt to the first set of rules.

The European Parliament on Wednesday (April 10) gave the thumbs up to an EU law aimed at cutting CO2 emissions from new heavy-duty vehicles by 90% as of 2040.

The world’s major economies and multilateral development banks must lead the way in redirecting trillions of public and private funds towards climate action in the countries that most need it, the head of the UN’s climate unit said on Wednesday. 

Indigenous Peoples should "explicitly reject" proposals for the biodiversity credit market as they will promote offsetting, a think tank has said.

A European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that pioneers carbon pricing for food and agriculture is essential to reach global decarbonisation goals, argues a report published on Wednesday (April 10).

The European Parliament voted in favour of EU co-legislators' deal on the world's first framework to define carbon removals on Wednesday, bringing the legislation close to the finish line.

A major announcement from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) that now opens the door for offset use as part of validated corporate net zero targets has made waves in the voluntary carbon sector, with proponents of the decision lauding its demand implications for the market, and critics arguing that the move undermines the organisation's role in the broader fight against climate change.

The Italian government’s close relationship with partly state-owned fossil fuel producer Eni complicates Italy’s plan to become carbon neutral by 2050 and threatens its reputation as a credible climate leader.

A total of more than $74 billion was raised from 36 carbon emissions trading systems last year, up from $63 bln the year before, with strong momentum building for new mechanisms in emerging economies, according to research published Wednesday.

Officials finalise a new federal rule for drinking water - designed to protect people from toxic substances.

Simon Stiell calls for reform at development banks to enable governments to provide more climate finance to developing world

The World Bank must take a “quantum leap” to provide new finance to tackle the climate crisis or face “climate-driven economic catastrophe” that would bring all the world’s economies to a halt, the UN climate chief has said.

Simon Stiell warned that there were just two years left to draw up an international plan for the climate that would cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C above preindustrial levels.

Continue reading...

Two-thirds of the carbon credits generated by restoration projects and issued to date are associated with biodiversity-positive methodologies, though carbon standards following the UN Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) have failed to advance their nature requirements, a study has shown.

The most commonly used tools to measure corporate impacts on biodiversity require urgent updates as they do not align well with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), according to a study released this week.

The Malaysian federal government has agreed to integrate the state of Sarawak’s carbon trading bill as part of the federal law which will be presented before Parliament for approval, according to local media reports.

Carbon markets could support carbon capture and storage (CCS) work but hurdles remain, such as return on investment, buyer appetite, and incentivising the entire chain including transport, according to a report released this week.

Brussels has given Berlin the green light to provide €2.2 billion of support for decarbonising industrial production processes, saying it fits under the EU's framework for allowing state aid in times of temporary crisis and transition, the European Commission announced on Wednesday.

European carbon prices fell back after a strong opening as traders absorbed data showing that speculative investors had continued building bearish bets last week, shrugging off the biggest premium in a daily auction for two weeks, while energy markets snapped a four-day winning streak.

EPA takes action for first time in 27 years against ‘forever chemicals’ feared to be contaminating water for over 200 million

The US Environmental Protection Agency has set legally enforceable drinking water limits for a group of the most dangerous PFAS compounds, marking what public health advocates hailed as “historic” rules that will dramatically improve the safety of the nation’s water.

PFAS, known as “forever chemicals”, are ubiquitous in the environment and thought to be contaminating drinking water for over 200 million people across the US. Any exposure to some highly toxic varieties of the compounds is considered a health and cancer risk.

Continue reading...

The inclusion of shipping in the EU ETS is likely to impose €1 billion in costs for the Asian shipping industry, with Singapore bound to take on around a third of that, according to research published Wednesday.