Carbon Pulse

European carbon prices were stronger at midday Thursday after a strong auction outcome triggered some buying, while energy prices were weaker after signs that the labour dispute at Chevron's Australian LNG facilities may be nearing a resolution.

Kenya’s Great Rift Valley holds strong potential for scaling up direct air capture (DAC) projects thanks to its abundant low-energy sources and geological resources for storing carbon, according to a partnership of project developers eyeing up the region for the development of large-scale DAC projects.

A 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).

The voluntary biodiversity credits market has reached a “tipping point” following the launch of the final recommendations by Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), according to a report led by an Australian law firm.

Available metrics to assess biodiversity may not be fit for purpose and risk embedding negative biases into investor decision-making, according to a new paper that proposed two “forward-looking” approaches for biodiversity-focused investment decisions.

Taiwan should finalise the rates for a proposed carbon levy scheme by the end of this year with a starting rate of more than $15 per tonne of CO2, as delaying further could make it harder for the island to meet its net zero goals, domestic environmental groups have urged.

An Australian paper has trialled the use of ‘soundscape analysis’ as a low-cost way to indicate farm dam health, with its authors saying it could be an innovative way to track and reward biodiversity change in Australia’s nature repair market.

The New Zealand government has announced it will begin charging an annual fee of NZ$30.25 ($17.90) per hectare on post-1989 forest land in the emissions trading scheme, as well as thrusting a litany of service fees on participants, sparking outrage from forestry groups.

A Tokyo-based offset project developer is planning to work with a smart agricultural solution provider to expand its credit-generating business in Japan, eyeing rice cultivation projects.

Australia has opened consultation on a guarantee of origin scheme for clean hydrogen, as the nation has ambitious hydrogen plans for both a domestic and export industry, with its roadmap for development closing last month. 

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

Potential investors in biodiversity credits must engage effectively with Indigenous peoples or risk sub-par returns, as the wider financial sector moves towards building nature into their decision-making, according to the co-lead of a UN finance initiative.

Homegrown clean and renewable electrification remains the answer for the EU's decarbonisation and security of supply, but more investment and infrastructure upgrades are urgently needed to enable a tripling in electrification rates by 2050, a according to an industry group report published on Thursday.

Futures contracts for carbon credits tagged with its Core Carbon Principles (CCP) moniker could appear soon, a member of the Integrity Council on the Voluntary Carbon Market’s (ICVCM) executive body said Wednesday, as the cross-stakeholder group has introduced working groups that could fast-track some offset categories for labelling.

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

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which oversees Norway’s NOK15.3 trillion ($1.4 trillion) sovereign wealth fund, on Friday published stricter climate action guidelines for companies in which it invests, highlighting that climate risk equates to financial risk but also offers opportunities.

China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) on Friday evening announced it had approved, in principle, a set of administrative measures that will underpin the relaunch of its national carbon offset programme, which has been suspended for more than six years.

In a webinar Friday, a panel of labour representatives cautioned the state against over-zealous regulation in its forthcoming cap-and-invest programme, while urging the protection of workers and jobs.

California and Quebec will offer more carbon allowances at the November auction in comparison to the Q3 2023 sale in August following the inclusion of past vintage units, according to a government notice published Friday.

Compliance entities moved their positions on the California Carbon Allowance (CCA) market to the current year while selling off RGGI Allowances (RGAs) , while speculators rolled their CCA positions to next year and picked up RGAs over the past week, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.