Carbon Pulse

Nordic tech firms including music streaming service Spotify and e-payment company Klarna are set to contribute a further $5 million in 2023 to a fund set up as an alternative to carbon offsetting.

UCLA's Institute for Carbon Management has developed what it’s called a first-of-its-kind ocean-based carbon capture system that removes CO2 from seawater, a process than can then lead to more of the gas being absorbed from the atmosphere.

European carbon prices snapped their two-day losing streak on Friday morning, posting a modest gain in very light trading, while energy markets were once again weaker as the market absorbed the impact of comfortable gas supplies.

The price for Chinese carbon allowances bounced back over the past week after the previous week's dip, though only on the back of a handful of largely symbolic transactions, while the offset market saw improving liquidity aided by heated discussions around the relaunch of the national programme.

Australia's Clean Energy Regulator has published ERF carbon projects' carbon estimation areas (CEAs) as now required by law as part of amendments made to the Safeguard Mechanism legislation, however crucial data that could help determine the effectiveness of the projects have been left out for the time being.

Governments need to work together towards providing greater transparency in defining the emissions intensity of hydrogen to facilitate the market and regulatory signals required at a global level to boost investment in the sector, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged in a report.

The Queensland government has opened the third round of its Land Restoration Fund (LRF), with A$50 million available to go towards carbon farming project across the state.

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A US-based startup has launched an ‘operating system’ aimed at streamlining the carbon credit management process and enabling suppliers to scale their operations effectively.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices climbed this week as traders pointed to a continued supportive macro environment and options activity, as well as the influence of surging Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) values that stepped past the new scheme’s second reserve price trigger.

Environmental commodities trading firm STX group has closed a syndicated borrowing base credit facility worth up to €150 million to help expand its operations.

Allowances in the new EU carbon market for transport and building heating emissions could exceed the intended price ceiling, experts have warned, arguing that European lawmakers may have created false expectations.

Slow progress from policymakers on clarifying the role of novel carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies will limit significant progress in the near-term, particularly in the EU where certainty on how such solutions can help meet the bloc's climate targets is not expected before the end of the decade.

Businesses seeking to minimise their impacts on biodiversity can simultaneously look to enhance ecosystems that function beyond their value chains, a webinar heard Thursday, pointing out an emerging agreement on what a “nature positive” business strategy really means.

European companies are stepping up their investment in climate action in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and are expected to continue that trends, according to a European Investment Bank (EIB) report published on Thursday. 

The European Parliament will next week meet in Strasbourg to vote on several ETS-related reform bills, aiming to sign off on provisional deals to put shipping, buildings and road transport under carbon pricing, impose a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), and launch a Social Climate Fund. 

UK-based Oxygen Conservation has acquired two large Scottish estates totalling 23,000 acres to develop a major rewilding project, using a £20.6 million bank loan in what’s being called Britain’s largest-ever nature-based commercial debt deal.

There should soon be a discussion on whether the EU can meet 2040 emissions targets on its own or need to import mitigation outcomes such as removals, a European Commission official told an event Thursday, though stressing that this was not necessarily a view held across the EU executive.

Tech giant Microsoft has signed an agreement to buy some 5,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits from enhanced rock weathering (ERW) project developer UNDO.

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