Carbon Pulse

Global energy-related emissions could begin a structural decline from 2025 after likely peaking last year, despite surging electricity demand from data centres and a wider push to electrify more sectors of the economy, according to new research from BloombergNEF.

EU carbon permit prices rose on Wednesday after weekly Commitment of Traders data showed investment funds had liquidated almost all of the net EUA length they had accumulated since February, further raising the prospect that prices might start to float higher and test a key technical level, while UKAs steadied as positions data showed speculators had built up record net length.

London is pitching to become the hub of the global carbon market, with stakeholders in a new report calling on the UK government to pull levers for scaling demand, including a roadmap to integrate voluntary and compliance carbon markets, as well as plans to allow removal credits to compensate for hard-to-abate North Sea oil and gas emissions.

UK electricity generation from biomass is set to halve from 2027 after the government cut subsidies for Drax, marking a step toward phasing out large-scale biomass and cutting power sector emissions, a new report released Wednesday has found.

The European Commission has added further simplifications to the EU's anti-deforestation regulation, reducing what international trading partners perceived as an administrative burden.

The UK government is under pressure from ecologists, charities, and a politician to address the potential impacts of the UK Planning and Infrastructure Bill on critical ecosystems.

Governments must ramp up efforts to address the impact of spiralling sovereign debt on biodiversity, as the looming US economy slowdown is likely to place even greater pressure on nature across the Global South, a webinar heard this week.

The UK ETS market balance is likely to remain marginally long in 2025 before it enters a period of substantial annual deficits, as the anticipated introduction of a supply management mechanism soaks up surplus allowances fro 2026, according to an analyst.

Big Oil’s shift back to fossil fuels and away from greener alternatives has been undermined by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs war, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) slashing this week its global oil demand growth for this year and next as it warned the currently supply overhang could balloon.

The once-distant idea of a global market divided up by border carbon fees is coming increasingly into focus, as countries ready themselves for the full force of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) next year.

Ratings agency BeZero Carbon and carbon infrastructure provider Xpansiv have expanded their partnership to link ratings and market data across voluntary and compliance carbon markets, the two announced Wednesday.

Researchers at a US-based carbon non-profit have lauded the novel approach adopted to carbon removal in a new wastewater alkalinity enhancement methodology, which they say could lead to a new future for crediting in the nascent market.

The European Commission on Wednesday adopted a draft decision allowing Finland to unilaterally expand the scope of the EU's Emissions Trading System for road transport and heating fuels (ETS2) to new sectors.

The Turkish government withdrew the country's draft Climate Law from discussions in parliament on Tuesday, putting on hold a policy that would introduce a national emissions trading system, amid opposition, according to local media. 

South Korea should not rely on carbon credits from international projects to achieve climate goals, as the country is considered highly likely to fail its target of securing millions of Paris-aligned units by 2030, according to a recent report. 

The UK's struggle to protect its ailing steel industry also presents an opportunity to transition the sector towards modern electric arc furnaces supplemented by imported iron, argued a think tank in a new report.

Most parties to the Paris Agreement have officially signalled interest in using Article 6 carbon market mechanisms to meet their national emission reduction targets, new Carbon Pulse analysis of updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) shows.

Corporate efforts to reduce Scope 3 emissions are being slowed by a combination of systemic and sector-specific barriers, according to research, which found that nearly half of companies surveyed 38% have seen their value chain's climate impact recently increase.

France has expressed “serious concerns” about the risk of high prices on the EU’s upcoming Emissions Trading System for road transport and heating fuels (ETS2), and put forward detailed proposals to reform the scheme before its planned 2027 kick-off date in order to avoid a public backlash.

Indonesia’s carbon market saw a drop in trading activity in March, with international involvement completely absent and overall volumes falling compared to the previous month, according to data from the IDX Carbon exchange.