Carbon Pulse

Brazil's national development bank on Friday signed a deal on concessions for restoration and sustainable forestry projects on almost 73,000 hectares of deforested land, while also agreeing to support two states in their efforts to scale their own carbon markets.

A US non-profit research group has outlined criteria to avoid reputational risks in drafting regulations regarding offset projects on state lands, in comments submitted to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Two legislators in Parana this week introduced a bill that would establish a regulated carbon market in the southern Brazil state.

Compliance entities slashed RGGI Allowance (RGA) holdings and net length in California Carbon Allowances (CCA), while managed money built positions across longer-dated North American carbon market vintages, data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday showed.

Credit retirements from the four main standard bodies in the voluntary carbon market remain on track for a record year despite a wave of bad press around issuing projects, data from Carbon Pulse's VCM portal shows. 

Two former UN leaders highlighted the world risks losing sight of the urgency to tackle climate change over this packed election year, with conflicts and short-termism taking political priority, during an event in London today.

A reforestation project in Sierra Leone has come under fire for allegedly abusing landowner rights before the project was registered with Verra, although the developers say correct procedures were followed.

European hard coal output dropped by 9% in 2023, while lignite production plunged 24% year-on-year as demand for fossil-fired energy tumbled, according to an annual report from Euracoal, the bloc’s coal association.

The annual reduction in EU carbon allowances for 2024-25 through the Market Stability Reserve will be the smallest yet, reflecting a slight decrease in the market's overall supply in 2023, according to a poll of analysts.

A US-headquartered consultancy launched this week to bolster and expedite funding towards nature-based solutions (NbS) and blue carbon, planning to engage in the nascent biodiversity credit market.

The carbon offset controversy at Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has detrimental consequences for the nascent voluntary biodiversity credit markets, which are paralysed by confusion, a legal expert has said.

The UK government has lost a second case brought by environmental campaigners for not doing enough to meet its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Corporates are keen to support customised waste collection and recycling programmes that equate to their waste production footprint and potentially tie back to their own supply chain, with the plastic credit model not suited to all circumstances, say market stakeholders.

European carbon prices consolidated the steep gains made over the course of the last five days, and were headed towards a 9% weekly increase as traders eyed a reduced auction programme next week, while gas prices struggled to keep pace with the continued strength in EUAs.

Insufficient funding as well as vaguely formulated and conflicting targets have largely hampered the integration of biodiversity into decision-making across different sectors, a paper has said, calling for more consistent and coherent policies to be established.

South Korea could see its industrial emissions targets well on track if more policy incentives are provided to boost domestic demand for low carbon steel and cement products, according to researchers.

Airlines within the Lufthansa Group are among 20 carriers currently under investigation by the European Commission over potential greenwashing practices, including the use of voluntary carbon credits.

EV-maker Tesla has obtained approval from the Korean government to generate and trade carbon credits in the country, expanding the coverage of its automotive regulatory credit-based business model beyond the US and China.

A UK trading house will launch a carbon trading platform in New Zealand soon, with several staff members of a major NZ market player joining the newcomer, according to local media.

One of the world’s largest iron ore producers has plans to send 100 million tonnes of green iron to China, using vast amounts of clean hydrogen created in the Australian desert, and says it will ultimately cut 220 million tonnes in CO2 emissions per year in the process.