Carbon Pulse

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 the updated status of several carbon market and climate-related California bills, and the Vermont legislature overriding a veto of a bill to draft clean heat standard regulations.

EU member states made scant progress over the past fortnight in handing this year's free EUA allocation to heavy industry, according to data released late Friday.

Gabon is in talks with the Nature Conservancy (TNC) to facilitate a $500 mln debt swap for a marine conservation project in the country arranged by Bank of America, according to a media report. 

UK-based SSE Renewables has given the green light for a 150MW battery energy storage system (BESS) at the site of a former coal-fired power plant.

Representatives of companies operating in Ukraine's agricultural, energy, steel, cement, chemical, woodworking and processing industries announced on Friday that they have commenced research towards implementing a carbon pricing system in the country once its brutal conflict with Russia ends.

France has announced a new tax credit for green investments and cash incentives for purchasing new electric cars made in Europe, while President Emmanuel Macron called for “a European regulatory pause” late on Thursday during a speech about reindustrialising the economy.

A carbon credit rating agency has upgraded a Verra-accredited afforestation project in Chile following a review, noting a low chance of over-crediting because of the project’s conservative approach to carbon accounting.

European carbon prices on Friday clawed back much of the previous session's losses as strong demand in the final auction of the week before a reduced programme next week triggered more short-covering, sources said, while energy markets continued to weaken.

Land equivalent to an area half the size of Australia has been abandoned over the past five decades, though policymakers and conservationists have spent little time trying to understand how that impacts biodiversity and how such territory can contribute to the world meeting its targets under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), according to research published this week.

Allowance prices in China’s national emissions market edged up over the past week amid sustained liquidity, though bearish sentiment lingers as participants are still awaiting more guidance from the government.

A US-headquartered offset developer has teamed up with a Shell subsidiary to finance one of the largest household energy efficiency lighting projects in the world, the company announced on Friday.

Australia has opened a third pilot exit window for carbon abatement contract (CAC) holders with the Emissions Reductions Fund (ERF) to sell their Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) on the secondary market, the Clean Energy Regulator announced Friday.

New Zealand should establish a biodiversity credit market to help drive sustainable land use and increase resilience, concluded a report released Friday by the government-appointed inquiry panel into the devastating impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle in February.

A government commissioned inquiry into the devastating damage caused by forestry slash in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle has urged Wellington to expand the scope of the ETS to consider how it encourages monoculture exotic tree plantings.

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

China’s CO2 emissions grew by 4% in the first quarter of the year, reaching a new record and putting the world’s largest GHG emitter on track for a new high in annual emissions this year, according to research released on Friday.

ESG marketplace Xpansiv has no plans on amending the specifications of its existing CORSIA-aligned offset contract in light of UN body ICAO’s vintage decision for the next phase of the global aviation carbon credit programme, and instead intends on launching a new contract with the required changes, the company told Carbon Pulse.

A California-based climate technology firm announced the world’s first blockchain-based forward-crediting platform for durable carbon removals, joining ongoing efforts to help scale the nascent industry.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices largely trended downward this week in the lead-up to next week’s joint auction, while Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) trade came to a near halt as participants awaited further programme clarity from the scheme's own forthcoming sale. 

Multi-stakeholder group the Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative (VCMI) launched a new toolkit on Thursday aiming to help host country governments navigate the complexities of interacting with the voluntary carbon market (VCM).