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The oil major’s net zero plans have made it a sector leader but have yet to win over investors while fossil fuels are booming

Grand corporate strategies are launched in weighty declarations by chief executives who fancy themselves as visionaries. That was how Bernard Looney, the then chief executive of BP, did it back in February 2020 when he said the company would get serious about cutting greenhouse gas emissions and investing in renewables. “The direction is set. We are heading to net zero. There is no turning back,” Looney told his City audience.

By contrast, the watering down of ambition tends to happen in increments. Thus, when Looney last year scrapped BP’s aim to reduce hydrocarbon output by 40% by 2030, versus 2019’s level, in favour of a 25% cut, he claimed the change was a case of “leaning in” to the same strategy, just in the new circumstance of a world that was worrying more about energy security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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The Mexican state of Queretaro, with one of the highest carbon taxes in Latin America, has carved out an exception to its 20% offsets rule for firms facing steep competition and will consider international exchange rates when determining annual price increases, a senior official told Carbon Pulse on the sidelines of the Latin America Climate Summit in Colombia Wednesday.

Gold Standard has released the second iteration of its climate framework designed to help organisations contribute to global climate efforts, with key updates including a focus on climate adaptation and further support on how companies should tackle their unabated emissions.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Thursday approved a temporary halt of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scheme to reduce interstate air pollution, which legal experts say could set national precedent that eases the threshold for similar stay requests of federal environmental policies.

Representatives from the government, business and academic sectors agreed that at least part of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) revenues should be recycled to non-EU countries impacted by the mechanism, during a online webinar hosted by a think tank on Wednesday.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is developing its first standard for reaching net-zero emissions, which could allow companies to use offsets to meet decarbonisation targets, it announced on Thursday.

Invasive Species Council demands audit of all defence sites after red imported fire ants detected at Swartz Barracks outside Queensland containment zone

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Defence bases pose a “huge risk” when it comes to stopping the spread of invasive fire ants in Australia, with experts suggesting there has been “a massive surveillance failure” on the commonwealth-owned properties.

Fire ants have been detected at eight defence sites in Queensland. Seven are within the state’s 700,000-hectare fire ants containment zone which stretches from the Gold Coast to Caboolture.

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The former CEO of project developer C-Quest Capital (CQC) has denied the allegations of wrongdoing made against him, calling them part of a plot by a major investor to seize control of the company.

EU member states continue to drive deforestation from their direct imports, with the bulk of clear cutting associated with cocoa and oil palm products.

A joint European-Japanese mission captures a space view of the internal structure of a cloud.

A joint European-Japanese mission captures a space view of the internal structure of a cloud.

The UK will need “hundreds of billions” of pounds of largely private sector investment to reach its net zero target by 2050, a senior politician from the Labour party has said, downplaying the role of government funding in the energy transition, a week before the political party is likely to be elected into government.

Abandoned coal mines in the EU have emitted an estimated 298 million cubic meters of methane per year since 2015, or the equivalent that leaked from the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline between Russia and Germany in 2022, according to research published on Thursday.

An Italian network has launched a national initiative to steer companies and financial institutions in integrating biodiversity into decision making, with 90 organisations already enlisted.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has added over 1,000 species of plants and animals to its Red List of Threatened Species, bringing the total to 45,000.

Only an estimated 1,000 individuals remain in the wild but conservationists remain optimistic.

European carbon allowances traded in a comparatively narrow range on Thursday morning – as indeed most of the energy complex did – as activity appeared to slow with some participants pointing to the start of the holiday season.

The Turkish ETS is unlikely to launch on Oct. 15, as had been previously announced, due to delays with the country’s climate law, say sources.

A group of Taiwanese companies on Wednesday formed a strategic alliance for participation in the voluntary carbon market, with one member announcing plans for a forestry project in Indonesia.

The California-based company will build a "tugboat" to execute the end-of-life disposal of the ISS.