Carbon Pulse

Last year saw rapid progress for CCS and CCUS projects across Asia Pacific, with the ability to start dealing with CO2 imports making strides in key regions like Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia, consultants said Thursday.

Voluntary carbon market volume and value globally declined in 2023 for the second year in a row from its 2021 peak, as intense media scrutiny held back buyers, according to research released on Thursday.

China has released an energy conservation and carbon reduction action plan it says will cut CO2 emissions from energy consumption over the next year by 130 million tonnes.

The spot NZU price has climbed nearly 7% in recent days as the coalition government announced little in new funding on climate initiatives in its latest budget Thursday, focusing instead on funding tax breaks and public service spending.

Policy work by Australian state and federal governments has allowed investors to be more confident to spend cash on climate solutions in the country, a survey released Thursday found, despite global economic headwinds and a perceived lack of investment opportunities in the country.

Brexit has reduced EU ETS-reportable sailing distances by liner services on the North Atlantic by 24% relative to a scenario in which the UK had stayed in the bloc, Danish shipping analysts have estimated.

Zimbabwe’s giant Kariba REDD+ project is set to receive carbon credits via another standards body after its owner withdrew it from Verra’s VCS programme amid protests about a protracted investigation.

A Toronto-based carbon and precious metals royalty and streaming company announced first quarter results for 2024 on Wednesday, with portfolio updates on their offset joint venture interests and a C$200 million ($146 mln) investment pipeline in nature-based offset projects.

Carbon Pulse rounds up May’s developments in Latin American and Caribbean carbon markets, seeing South American countries push forward under Article 6 implementation agreements, compliance carbon pricing systems broaden their base of certification schemes, and new announcements of large-scale nature-based projects.  

Developed countries finally surpassed the target of providing $100 billion annually in climate finance for developing countries in 2022, two years after the original deadline, according to a new climate finance assessment from the OECD.

Extra funding for flood defences and a network of climate action hubs are among the Scottish government’s response to the urgent need for adaptation to warming temperatures, with the country experiencing hotter summers and more coastal erosion, said a government representative on a webinar.

Europe can remove around 300 million tonnes of CO2 a year by simply protecting, restoring, and encouraging growth in its old forests, a new study has found.

Experts at the UNFCCC assessing a REDD+ submission from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), found that the country's emissions reporting was "partially transparent and partially consistent" with expected standards, identifying areas for capacity-building and future technical improvement.

Australia-headquartered asset manager New Forests is preparing to potentially generate biodiversity credits by gathering nature metrics across 37,800 hectares in three African countries, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Germany approved a draft bill Wednesday allowing carbon capture and storage (CCS) for emissions-intensive industries that cannot be electrified, excluding coal-fired power plants, and also plans to create a legal framework to develop carbon pipeline infrastructure.

Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell has dominated the voluntary carbon market (VCM) over the past six months, retiring 14% - or one seventh - of all credits retired between Nov. 2023 and April 2024, Carbon Pulse analysis has shown.

European carbon prices were little changed on Wednesday morning as the market digested the latest Commitment of Traders data that showed investment funds had cut their net short position to the lowest in seven months, while compliance companies slashed their short positions.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a new paper on Tuesday arguing that climate action delivers “sizable energy security benefits” for Europe while highlighting risks related to carbon pricing policies in coal-reliant Eastern EU countries.

Conservation efforts have largely failed to protect seafloor invertebrate animals, including worms, clams, and shrimps, which play a critical role in mediating the health of the ocean, a paper has said.

The Philippine government and a French land-based carbon project developer signed an agreement Wednesday to restore 90,000 hectares of degraded forest in the northwest of Samar Island’s natural park, in partnership with a local bamboo firm.