Carbon Pulse

EU member states barely handed out any free 2023 carbon allowances to heavy industry this month, according to data released late Friday.

A summary of legislative, regulatory, and policy action on carbon, clean fuel standard, and clean energy markets at the US federal and subnational levels this week, including Minnesota budget language to study a clean transportation fuel standard.

Two more companies have agreed to drop their climate neutrality claims on certain products they sell this week, opting to settle rather than face rulings by German courts in cases brought by an NGO alleging that the carbon credits backing the claims lack sufficient credibility.

The first futures contract for California Carbon Offsets (CCOs) with direct environmental benefits to the state (DEBs) and no invalidation risk changed hands on Nodal Exchange Friday morning, according to a press release from product developer IncubEx, coming in at the steepest price point yet for WCI-eligible credits.

Pressure is mounting on Nigeria to start its carbon credit scheme with the nation's lawmakers this week calling for the federal government to act immediately following a motion of urgent public concern. 

Signs of recovery for EU steel are likely to remain restricted to the short-term, analysts told Carbon Pulse, with macroeconomic headwinds and energy cost risk, as well as long-term decarbonisation policy, seen keeping sectoral demand and therefore emissions limited.

European carbon prices stabilised on Friday morning as selling pressure eased after a week that has seen prices drop by more than 8%, while energy prices extended their losses for a fifth day amid sustained selling with demand still lower than expected.

Danish renewable energy firm Orsted and UK-based marine consultants Bluedot Associates have teamed up to develop a biodiversity framework to apply to the planned offshore floating wind power leasing round the UK is planning in the Celtic Sea.

Allowance prices in China’s carbon market inched down marginally over the past week with a plunge in trading volume, while the offset market saw relatively sustained liquidity amid renewed market confidence.

An Indigenous carbon industry network has called for clearer rules for how co-benefits on carbon credits sold in the market are labelled, and that carbon method design must value Indigenous intellectual property rights.

The European Parliament is set to back measures to force EU companies to disclose their carbon footprint and take steps to reduce it as part of corporate sustainability requirements to be voted on next week.

A major Thai oil and gas company has joined forces with a local bank to launch an investment scheme with the goal of using the proceeds to spend on high quality carbon credits and GHG reduction activities.

India’s tiger protection programme has brought with it significant carbon benefits in the form of avoided deforestation, and shows that allowing carbon crediting can pay for a substantial part of the costs associated with species conservation projects even when they take place in a protected area, according to a study published this week.

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

A unanimous US Supreme Court ruling delivered on Thursday narrows the federal government’s authority in regulating bodies of water and could have larger implications for protection of wetlands across the country, according to analysis from an environmental publication.

Agricultural technology startups Grow Indigo and Dvara E-Registry on Thursday announced a partnership aimed at fostering climate-smart agriculture and creating new income opportunities for smallholder farmers in the Madhya Pradesh region of India.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices increased through a quiet week as participants awaited WCI Q2 auction results released Thursday, while there was a continued lull in activity ahead of next week’s Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) auction.

The World Meteorological Congress has given the green light to a new “landmark” global greenhouse gas monitoring initiative that aims to plug critical information gaps, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced Wednesday.

The Q2 California-Quebec current vintage carbon auction settled at its highest point since Q2 2022, nearly matching secondary market levels, according to government data published Thursday.

Rising carbon prices in Europe would have a “rather limited impact“ on the euro zone economy, though the increase would not be enough to drive the emission reductions needed to meet the bloc’s 2030 climate target, the European Central Bank has found.