Carbon Pulse

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

Massive tree-planting carbon offset projects, including those growing single species, are inadvertently degrading tropical ecosystems and biodiversity by focussing solely on carbon sequestration.

The Clean Energy Regulator and soil carbon project developer Agriprove have rejected concerns from scientists around the issuance of soil Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) as more credits from the project type have been issued. 

California regulator ARB presented further modelling of allowance budgets for its cap-and-trade programme until 2045 and opened discussion of accounting for emissions from electricity imports in unlinked jurisdictions with CO2 pricing, in materials released Tuesday ahead of the agency’s forthcoming pre-rulemaking webinar this week for its climate regulation.

Stakeholders discussed leveraging US hydrogen hub funding to enable technology agnostic production pathways, incentives, and other demand strategies, at a conference on Tuesday.

Occidental Petroleum, through its subsidiary 1PointFive, and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) on Tuesday unveiled an agreement to commence a jointly-funded preliminary engineering study for a 1 million tonne/year direct air capture (DAC) facility in the UAE.

Spot credit prices under the Alberta Technology Innovation and Emission Reduction (TIER) programme in September edged marginally above August prices, while newer vintage units widened their premium to older-dated credits, said a report published Tuesday.

A Canadian carbon credit firm on Tuesday declared an offtake agreement with a British Columbia-based non-profit construction association to abate emissions within the construction industry.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) allowed the state's budget bill to go into effect on Monday, blocking the state from implementing a power sector cap-and-trade programme, following years of efforts from environmental groups motioning for state participation in RGGI.

EUA prices are set to track higher over the remainder of the carbon market's current trading phase, reaching more than €150 by 2030 amid a tightening annual cap that will require cross-sectoral culling to free allocation, while attention will switch to deciding the EU’s 2040 climate target and decarbonising industry, according to analysts.

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).

Both candidates to be the next EU commissioners for the European Green Deal and for climate action failed to secure the required two-thirds majority of lawmakers to be confirmed by the European Parliament's environment committee (ENVI) on Tuesday.

An Abu Dhabi-based energy company has partnered with the emirate’s Environment Agency to plant 700,000 mangroves through 2030, supporting both the UAE's net zero ambitions and the wider goals of the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC).

A forward-crediting platform for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects has launched Tuesday with nearly 1 million credits available for buyers, the firm announced in a press release.

Ahead of a high-level pledging conference this week, observers have warned that the utility of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) is under threat unless critical reforms are made, due to weak commitments from rich nations in the latest call for cash and a sluggish project approval process.

The Scottish government has announced an open call for projects aiming to support current and future nature markets, which it hopes will drive equitable financial investment in natural capital, among broader calls for UK-wide policy cohesion to help promote the emerging biodiversity market.

A French asset manager is launching a multi-thematic climate fund targeting companies that adopt and disclose decarbonisation strategies aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Growing awareness of natural capital opportunities such as carbon and biodiversity credit-generating projects is an important factor driving up land values, particularly in supply-constrained markets such as the UK, according to industry sources.

Establishing a worldwide system of biodiversity networks sharing harmonised data is critical for society, an academic has said.

A carbon credit ratings agency has for the first time awarded a score to a project that has yet to issue any credits, as it seeks to expand its role from the secondary to the primary voluntary carbon market.