Carbon Pulse

Corporates can claim carbon neutrality under the guidelines of the International Organisation for Standards (ISO) by offsetting their emissions with carbon credits that have failed to meet the CCP integrity label of the ICVCM, an ISO spokesperson confirmed this week.

A twice-weekly summary of our biodiversity news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. All articles in this edition are free to read (no subscription required).

Microsoft has concluded its biggest deal to date for nature based carbon credits, agreeing to buy afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR) units from a Brazilian startup that has ambitions to replant parts of the Amazon with native species, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Norwegian politicians have won a preliminary parliamentary majority for a proposal to open up deep-sea mining in the Arctic region, triggering outrage from environmentalists, although the plans have yet to be given final approval.

A new flow of money was announced on Tuesday to help the Global South step away from oil and gas, from a growing number of members of international coalition Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance (BOGA).

While COP28 negotiating parties grapple with language surrounding the phaseout versus phasedown of fossil fuels, industry delegates demonstrated limited enthusiasm to reduce production of oil and gas amid activist calls for otherwise during the summit’s thematic Energy and Industry day.

The UAE has joined a group of around 180 countries, cities, regions, and organisations aiming to accelerate the phaseout of coal-fired power and transition to clean energy, as the COP28 host helps to strengthen a common call to end the era of new coal power.

Singapore-based Climate Impact X (CIX) is set to launch a set of standard spot contracts based on the Core Carbon Principle (CCP) mark of integrity from the ICVCM, as it seeks to establish the key benchmark for the voluntary carbon market.

A Chinese company has teamed up with the Lao government to assess the feasibility of a REDD+ project in the Southeast Asian country, local media reported.

A Montreal-based carbon removals developer has partnered with a UK-based direct air capture (DAC) company to deploy its technology in Canada.

The Ugandan government launched its Energy Transition Plan (ETP) at COP28 on Tuesday, aiming to boost energy security, environmental protection, and attractiveness to private sector investors in the East African nation.

A voluntary biodiversity credit market would come with a number of risks, and nations should instead require corporates to pay towards climate adaptation and nature measures, a representative for the African Development Bank (AfDB) said on the sidelines of COP28 Tuesday, as the bank hopes to get the adaptation mechanism it has pushed for years to get approved at the talks.

The EU Commission has signed a forest partnership with Honduras to restore 1.3 million hectares of degraded forests by 2030.

European carbon came under more pressure on Tuesday morning, falling below a "formidable" price support as sellers continued to dominate, while energy markets fell for a second day as weather remained mild and renewables output was healthy.

Deforestation and peat loss driven by the expansion of agricultural production is generating a vast carbon footprint that requires stronger action from world leaders particularly in importing nations, according to a report published on Tuesday.

Madagascar has received nearly $9 million from the World Bank for emissions reductions worth 1.76 mln tonnes of CO2 from REDD+ forestry activities in 2020, according to an announcement this week.

A meaty Global Stocktake (GST) negotiation text was published overnight - a document seen by some as a litmus test for success at COP28 - with all options seemingly still on the table and battles lines starting to be carved out, particularly over who wants what regarding the contentious question of a fossil fuel phaseout.

Bahrain’s biggest oil company on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with one of the largest shipping companies in the world for developing a carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain.

The Australian government has announced it will seek to update the so called ‘water trigger’ assessment on unconventional gas projects, as part of efforts to pass its Nature Repair Market in the Senate.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Bezos Earth Fund have become the first to pledge financial support for a Pacific Island initiative made Sunday to conserve or implement sustainable activities across more than 1 billion hectares of ocean.