Carbon Pulse

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced Wednesday recipients selected for $1.5 million in prize money among several ongoing competitions to develop commercial-ready CO2 direct air capture (DAC) technologies.

Opposition to proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) regulations from environmental justice (EJ) communities, if left unsettled, places significant pressure on how quickly a final rule could take effect, a former ARB LCFS branch chief told a webinar Wednesday.

A US venture capital (VC) firm announced Tuesday the close of a $306 million fund that it said will focus on planetary and human health, with an emphasis on decarbonisation and re-industrialisation.

US Steel’s recently announced carbon capture project at its integrated Indiana steel mills will have an insignificant impact on overall GHG output and ongoing pollution concerns, non-profit groups said Wednesday.

A New York-based developer of nature-based carbon projects announced on Wednesday the sale of its first batch of Improved Forest Management (IFM) offsets for $34 each.

Ongoing carbon permit sales under REPoweEU, combined with increasing renewables penetration and lower demand from the power and industrial sectors, mean EUAs will likely feel increased price pressures for another 18 months, a conference heard Wednesday.

A California-headquartered fossil fuel firm announced its third and largest venture capital fund to date of $500 million, focused on clean energy technologies to improve its core business and drive lower carbon options.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a phase out of fossil fuels at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank on Wednesday.

The EU's green claims directive is having a tangible, negative impact on demand for voluntary carbon credits, and scaring corporates away from the market, participants told an event Wednesday.

The European Commission is looking at whether residual emissions in the EU ETS could be offset with carbon removals, as it weighs up different options for either integrating removals into the existing market or creating a new one, a high-level official said on Wednesday.

Commitments made at an international ocean conference in Athens have sparked optimism for the future of marine conservation, though concerns remain over the effective implementation of the laws against illegal activities, conservationists have said.

Regulatory measures on agricultural emissions, from New Zealand to South Africa, could serve as inspiration for policymakers in Brussels as the EU considers if and how to include the sector in its next ETS revision — although some clauses may apply, according to speakers at the IETA European Climate Summit.

The global economy is already committed to an income reduction of 19% until 2050 due to climate change, even if CO2 emissions were to be drastically cut starting from today, according to a study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between California and Norway signed Tuesday, establishes a framework of voluntary cooperation on areas including clean energy, zero-emission transportation and ports, carbon removal, and climate-smart agriculture.

The European Commission will prioritise Article 6 and voluntary markets as part of its international outreach efforts, in addition to compliance carbon markets, a senior EU official said on Wednesday.

Implementing an EU-wide biodiversity monitoring platform could cost up to €40 billion over the next decade, with each euro invested estimated to pay off up to 10 times, a researcher involved in the project said Wednesday.

The Scottish government has set out exploratory plans for how it will create a flow of investable natural capital initiatives, including biodiversity credits.

An invesment management firm has launched a new energy transition exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking several compliance carbon markets.

European carbon allowance prices retreated on Wednesday morning as gas prices weakened after four days of gains with the benchmark EUA contract giving up a big chunk of Tuesday's steep rally, while an inconclusive set of Commitment of Traders data saw some question the conviction of speculative traders in the bearish trend.

A direct air capture (DAC) company is expanding its remit to enable clients to purchase a range of different voluntary carbon removal credits, including from nature-based projects, as part of a portfolio service designed to complement its technology development provision.