Carbon Pulse

Tech firms can give emerging biodiversity markets the 'trust factor' companies need to buy nature credits without fear of backlash, a data specialist told a webinar this week.

Australia has debuted a new national hydrogen strategy as part of its wider Future Made in Australia (FMIA) strategy which it says will cut CO2e emissions by between 93-186 million tonnes per year by 2050, with up to 15 Mt/year of green hydrogen produced at the same time and the Safeguard Mechanism driving hydrogen tech uptake by businesses keen to drop emissions.

A native forest restoration company is in talks with two major standards to launch its first biodiversity credit projects next year, with a big park in the Philippines among the sites under consideration, the firm told Carbon Pulse.

EU carbon prices were relatively stable on Friday morning as the market eased sideways within the same channel they have followed for the rest of the week, as natural gas also moved within their recent range.

Smallholder farmers have released a declaration in advance of UN biodiversity conference COP16 with a rejection of discussions that aim to commodify nature.

The nascent nature credits market is a key solution to the need for economic incentives to restore nature, with its viability proven by carbon, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech on Friday.

Recent policy updates on sectoral expansion failed to boost trading activity in China's emissions market over the past week, which saw permit prices fall below 90 yuan ($12.69) again with shrinking liquidity. 

The Climate Action Data Trust (CAD Trust) and Quantedge Advancement Initiative (WAI) announced a two-year funding partnership Friday to catalyse climate change action and improve carbon market data, the former said.

The government of China's Sichuan province is seeking methodological proposals on the development of forest carbon sinks under the local offset scheme.

The generic spot price for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) reached a 16-month high Thursday off the back of over 1 million credits changing hands throughout the day.

A German biogas energy startup has raised $62 million in Series A funding following an oversubscribed round, enabling it to begin producing power plants and meet pre-orders from farmers and industrials, it announced on Friday.

A major Japanese trading house has secured a preliminary agreement to buy a stake in a large low-carbon ammonia project in the US, it announced Friday.

Discussions surrounding California’s cap-and-trade programme took a backseat as a joint meeting Thursday between regulator ARB and the Environmental Justice Advisory Committee (EJAC) focused largely on shortfalls in proposed changes to the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).

California’s power sector emissions rose above 2023 levels in June and July with a rise in natural gas power generation and a concurrent decline in the share of renewables as the state sweltered under record temperatures. 

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices lacked direction as volatility eased through the week with markets awaiting programme updates from ARB, while Washington’s third quarterly auction cleared in the middle of market expectations.

Australia and Germany have signed a A$660 million (€400 mln) agreement to deepen their cooperation on green hydrogen supply chains and guarantee European buyers for Australian hydrogen producers, the two countries announced Friday.

British Columbia Premier David Eby on Thursday announced that his government would end the province’s carbon tax if the Canadian federal government removes its legal requirement for provinces and territories to maintain one.

New Zealand’s Minister for Climate Change Simon Watts said it wouldn’t be “realistic” for his country to simply pay for the overseas carbon credits it will need to meet its 2030 international climate target.

Peruvian legislation passed shortly after the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has deliberately misconstrued the latter’s due diligence requirements to expand agricultural land titling, thereby encroaching on the Amazon, according to the author of a report on Peruvian land concessions.

The national development of Brazil announced Thursday the launch a R$1 billion ($180 million) credit programme aimed investments in forestry activities that promote native vegetation and capture CO2 from the atmosphere.