Carbon Pulse

An Australian carbon trade company has signed an agreement with a Fijian NGO to nurture the country’s emerging carbon industry, alongside the national government, and is seeking interest from stakeholders to join a development working group.

The latest World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations failed to reach an agreement on strengthening rules to curb harmful fisheries subsidies in what observers say is a major setback for marine biodiversity conservation efforts.

HSBC and Standard Chartered are working to develop a novel approach aimed at financing and accelerating the phaseout of coal power plants by introducing transition carbon credits, advancing existing efforts by governments and other private sector players.

Countries should impose an immediate moratorium on the sinking of seaweed into the deep ocean as a method of carbon sequestration, researchers have urged, highlighting the lack of scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness and raising concerns over potential environmental, economic, and ethical consequences.  

The 6th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) wrapped up with the approval of 15 resolutions – including the first-ever on land degradation – and calls for expediting efforts towards achieving global biodiversity targets, though disagreements frustrated hopes for bolder commitments.

A new report has shone a light on the complex road ahead for the global energy transition, revealing a dual narrative of rapid acceleration and significant challenges in the form of various "handbrakes".

A West Virginia Senate bill looking to tax buyers of nature-based carbon offsets generated in the state failed to be approved by the upper chamber on Wednesday following debate over property rights and carbon credit speculation.

Emitters and speculators added to California Carbon Allowance (CCA) net holdings, closing out of Auction Clearing Price (ACP) contracts post the first permit sale of the year, while financial players continued their profit-taking run in RGGI Allowances (RGAs), weekly data from the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed on Friday.

Ontario is providing an additional C$60 million ($43.3 mln) for its provincial forest biomass programme, it announced Friday, while also revealing the recipients of the latest tranche of project funding.

Spot credit prices under the Alberta Technology Innovation and Emission Reduction (TIER) programme dropped in February ahead of retirement season for 2023 compliance, with the provincial government expecting maximum offset usage, according to a report published late Thursday.

Two business advocacy groups filed an amicus brief Thursday in support of oil giant ExxonMobil’s lawsuit against shareholders who called for the firm to set a Scope 3 emissions target, in a push for federal courts to set a precedent regarding shareholder advocacy.

The EU has broken the deadlock on its plans for a coordinated withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), an international trade agreement denounced by climate activists for protecting fossil fuel investments and hampering the transition to net-zero emissions.

Members of a UN body tasked with shaping carbon crediting under Article 6 will begin work immediately on several tools, including on baselines, additionality, and leakage, and open a consultation on methodological elements, in a bid to constructively push ahead on operationalising the international mechanism.

A new portal enabling aviation industry firms and individuals to purchase voluntary credits to offset carbon emissions is now live, a spokesperson for The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) confirmed to Carbon Pulse.

Swiss data company RepRisk is working on widening the coverage of a tool, which shows the proximity of companies to biodiversity-sensitive sites, to include firms in the power sector, an executive has said.

Extraction of natural resources, including crops, wood, and minerals, is set to increase by 60% by 2060, with devastating effects on biodiversity, unless bold actions are taken, a report has found.

Britain is aiming to introduce an allowance supply adjustment mechanism (SAM) to its carbon market from 2026, a senior UK government official told Carbon Pulse.

A Czech utility is considering shutting two lignite-fired power plants in the Czechia next year, citing the growing uncompetitiveness of the fuel, according to media reports on Friday.

A voluntary carbon developer, fresh from issuing Sub-Saharan Africa's first ever-green bond designated for the cookstove market, has seen its electric clean cooking project listed by Gold Standard, the company announced Friday.

Retirements of credits from the four largest voluntary carbon registries reached nearly 18 million last month and were almost equal to issuances in February, maintaining the momentum seen in January, data from the Carbon Pulse VCM Portal shows.