Carbon Pulse

A report has found that emissions from new facilities in the early years of the Safeguard Mechanism could scuttle the government’s climate goals, however it said the scheme would become more resilient towards the end of the decade.

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

An ocean-based carbon removal company has published its monitoring, reporting and verification protocol ahead of the launch of its first project in the nascent sector.

California granted the most compliance offsets since mid-September over the past two weeks following a notable dip during the previous issuance, though a similarly small portion of offsets with direct environmental benefits to the state (DEBs) were distributed, according to data from regulator ARB published Wednesday.

Both California gasoline and diesel consumption in November continued to trail year-ago levels, according to state data published Wednesday, suggesting the sector's carbon market-covered emissions will slightly lag 2021 output.

Xpansiv will hold its first carbon credit auction early next month, the environmental commodities marketplace announced on Wednesday, fixing a date almost three months after launching the service.

California regulator ARB on Wednesday provided further details on its schedule for beginning a formal rulemaking to amend the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), while credit prices plunged from a five-month high as traders digested the impact of the ARB hiking the programme’s carbon intensity (CI) reduction targets.

Months-old companies based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are aiming to bolster their own type of carbon crediting projects on the African continent, hoping to gain momentum for their initiatives as all eyes turn to their country’s role as the hosts of this year’s COP28 UN climate talks.

Africa’s largest project originator in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) has teamed up with a climate intermediary with an initial three-year plan that aims to generate 900,000 credits. 

Proposed legislation in Vermont could see the state adopt a first-in-the-nation clean heat standard that experts say would be a model for other jurisdictions to follow, while lawmakers also mull implementing the first transportation sector low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) in the eastern US.

A carbon credit ratings agency has given a major downgrade to a previously highly-ranked Verra-certified REDD project in Africa amid signs of deforestation in the territory. 

At least 19 GW of new flexible gas-fired power generation capacity and 50 GW of storage capacity will be needed by 2030 to stabilise the grid as the share of renewables increases in the Europe’s electricity mix, according to a study published on Wednesday. 

The British government has published a response to its consultation on a nature and biodiversity positivity regulation that will help to inform a final biodiversity plan for land use and development that includes details on how credits can incentivise support for nature protection.

An enhanced rock weathering (ERW) carbon removals developer expects to cut production costs to around $100 tonnes of CO2 if its plans to scale come to fruition, a level close to current EU ETS values. 

EUA prices dropped back below €100 in an indecisive morning's trading as participants waited for updated Commitment of Traders data that they said would give a stronger steer on market direction, while the fortnightly UK allowance auction in the afternoon was also seen as a potential influence.

Spanish utility Iberdrola announced a marginal drop in 2022 emissions across its EU ETS-covered power generation portfolio in 2022 due to particularly heavy slump in Q4 output from its gas plants, a trend increasingly seen across European energy firms reporting full-year results.

The development of international carbon markets is likely to run parallel with growth in both voluntary and compliance domestic carbon markets in Asia, with the various systems showing signs of convergence in some cases, a webinar on the future of carbon markets in Asia was told on Wednesday.

The fledgling biodiversity market will need a crediting framework that departs completely from carbon, according to two project developers involved.

South Korea's SK Securities is planning to further broaden its presence in the voluntary market as a project developer and provider of offsets for domestic buyers, following its recent purchase of international credits for carbon neutrality goals.

Malaysia’s approach to carbon pricing should integrate the twin objectives of reducing emissions from the energy sector with the protection of carbon sinks in forestry in order to enable the Southeast Asian economy to reach its net zero goals, a report from a local think-tank has recommended.