Carbon Pulse

A more ambitious climate target in Mexico’s updated Paris Agreement commitment is actually worse than its previous insufficient target due to higher baseline emissions and selective accounting, a watchdog group said Monday.

Voluntary offsets tumbled last week, sinking to year lows Wednesday that coincided with reports of Vanguard, the world’s second largest asset manager, pulling out of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM).

Just 12 of the 130 banks headquartered in the UK have endorsed the framework set out by the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), according to research published Monday, with another study finding that the top 25 European banks fail to implement ambitious climate policies across their business.

The board of the EU's Global Gateway came together for the first time on Sunday, assessing the first year of the bloc's response to China’s Belt and Road foreign investment initiative and seeking ways to involve the private sector.

EUAs rose to their highest in more than three months on Monday as traders continued to position ahead of Wednesday's options contract expiry, and watched for signals on the EU's intentions on funding the energy transition ahead of talks on the REPowerEU initiative, while energy prices weakened as gas reserves appeared ample despite the cold snap.

Another €100 billion in public funds will be needed by the EU to address a gas supply gap next winter, the IEA said on Monday in a report presented alongside European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen that further raises the potential for a fresh raid on EU ETS revenues.

Setting a price corridor would be the most effective way to control the price trajectory of EUAs and reduce the influence of speculators, while changes to the MSR would enable the market to overcome emerging supply challenges amid rising costs of hedging power generation, according to a report published Friday.

The UN's shipping branch will adopt a revised greenhouse gas strategy at its next meeting in July, its secretary general announced on Monday as the current negotiating session kicked off in London aiming to craft a detailed plan for decarbonising the sector.

French luxury goods firm Kering and beauty goods retailer L’Occitane have pledged €140 million to a new fund that will mobilise investments from the luxury fashion and beauty industries to protect and restore nature, focusing in particular on empowering women.

The government of China’s biggest coal-producing region has passed provincial regulations for the development of "clean coal", with a special focus on data quality, amid the province's continued coal expansion.

Sequestration of CO2 will be a “key component” for Australia to meet its emissions reduction targets, with nature-based methods already able to provide lower cost and scalable solutions, while engineered technologies such as direct air capture (DAC)  able to make a longer term impact with policy and investment backing to reach commercial maturity, according to a report released on Monday.

The number of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) issued inched downwards in the Clean Energy Regulator’s latest update, as the country’s gas industry has expressed outrage over the government’s plan to cap coal and gas prices in a bid to stave off soaring energy prices.

One of South Korea’s biggest asset managers has penned an MoU with Singapore exchange Climate impact X to broaden its presence in the voluntary carbon market, both internationally and as a provider of credits for Korean buyers.

The directors of an Australian renewable energy company have formed a new carbon project development business with a focus on nature-based projects to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).  

The Philippines government will be reviewing the introduction of regulations to facilitate the development of a carbon market in the country, local media reported on Monday.

The Australian government has launched a consultation on its proposed mandatory climate disclosure requirements, designed to significantly increase transparency, fight greenwashing, and boost investor alignment with net zero emissions goals. 

The vast majority of Australian banks and superannuation funds have yet to set nature-related targets, and only a small minority of them plan to do so, according to a survey released Monday carried out by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF).

A group of global institutional investors launched the Nature Action 100 (NA100) at the UN’s COP15 biodiversity negotiations on Sunday, calling on the financial sector to help address nature loss through engagement and decision making which incorporates portfolio companies’ impact on biodiversity.

Delegates met for the fourth day of official negotiations at the UN COP15 biodiversity talks on Saturday, where the pace of progress is accelerating to agree the text that will form the post-2020 global agreement – but only if "progress" is measured in “bracket count", according to some groups of observers.

A new tool that tracks and rates $31 trillion in global financial flows for their biodiversity impact was launched on the sidelines of the UN's COP15 biodiversity summit on Saturday, touted as a first step for broad-based financial realignment towards nature-positive outcomes.