Carbon Pulse

The EU formally adopted its Critical Raw Materials Act on Tuesday after a vote by MEPs, as the bloc attempts to shore up domestic production of the materials that will be needed for the transition to clean energy.

Singapore’s environment minister has emphasised the importance of standards in drawing up Article 6 implementation agreements with host countries, as voluntary standards and market stakeholders try to figure out how these agreements will work on the ground, particularly in developing nations with weak governance and capacity issues.

Singapore-based Abaxx Commodity Futures Exchange and Clearinghouse plans to launch two physically-settled carbon futures in January after being granted licenses by the Singaporean authorities, company representatives have revealed to Carbon Pulse.

Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer good companies, is being investigated for greenwashing by the UK’s competition watchdog amid a crackdown on corporates making bogus climate friendly claims.

An Article 6.2 deal between Switzerland and Thailand that had achieved the world’s first issuance of ‘internationally transferred mitigation outcomes’ (ITMOs) may not involve additional emissions reductions, according to an NGO report this week.

European carbon was little changed at midday on Tuesday, after early gains inspired by firmer natural gas prices gave way later on, while participants kept a wary eye out for a return to strong selling activity as the December options contract entered its last 24 hours.

Colombia has officially announced its interest in hosting the COP16 UN biodiversity conference next year, with onlookers welcoming the move.

Brazil will open the largest oil and gas block auction in its history on Tuesday, a move campaigners find highly hypocritical as the COP28 summit negotiations struggle to agree on phasing out fossil fuels globally even as the South American nation touts its climate leadership.

Pioneering efforts to store carbon from an industrial emitter base in South Africa, including from the world’s largest single-source CO2 emitter, are set to progress to pilot construction stage following completion of the geological assessment of the local area.

New Zealand’s newly appointed Minister for Climate Change has emphasised the importance of the country’s agricultural sector – the biggest contributor to the country’s GHG emissions – and a stable Emissions Trading Scheme, in his first national statement to COP28 in Dubai.

South Korea has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Laos to strengthen their cooperation on REDD+ forest protection projects, as Seoul has committed to securing more international carbon credits in the next few years for its climate goals.

The Singapore-based initiative, which seeks to promote integrity and transparency in the carbon market, will incorporate data from four major carbon market standards into its public dashboard, it revealed Tuesday at COP28.

It is Day 13 of COP28 – the final day, or so those at Expo City desperately hope, and no one quite knows what to say. The last 24 hours have been a rollercoaster of action and widespread, bitter disappointments among vocal negotiators regarding the global stocktake (GST), Article 6 negotiations, adaptation, and virtually every issue on the table here in Dubai. The venue is eerily empty as country pavilions and observers are forced to vacate the premises, turning what was the equivalent of a small city into a ghost town. Those who remain are girding themselves for a long and strenuous day. Carbon Pulse correspondents have hit the ground running. In our daily blog, we will report relevant or useful updates throughout the day. Timestamps are in local time (Gulf Standard Time, GMT+4).

Australia and the UK have committed £10.5 million ($13.1 mln) to initiatives for companies to research, develop, and launch renewable hydrogen projects focusing on the industrial and transport sectors, they announced Tuesday.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Several stakeholders joined the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) community meeting on the draft Clean Heat Standard (CHS) to condemn compliance obligations for propane suppliers.

Pursuant to a draft request for amended legislation to facilitate linkage with California and Quebec’s carbon market, Washington’s Department of Ecology (ECY) proposed on Monday a slew of further updates to its cap-and-invest rulemaking amendments.

A group of scientists has called for a retraction of research published earlier this year that called into question the climate impact of some  REDD forest protection projects, saying it contained “major flaws.”

A US direct air capture (DAC) technology firm announced Monday that it had used Department of Energy funding to design a system with the potential to capture 1 million tonnes of carbon per year.

The US Department of the Interior has announced new initiatives to employ nature-based solutions through strategies designed to preserve biodiversity, enhance resilience against natural disasters, and support climate adaptation.