Carbon Pulse

A carbon credit ratings agency has downgraded the scores of four projects and given the same lowest-possible grade for two newly examined projects of similar characteristics in its latest update.

GHG output under the California cap-and-trade programme bounced back in 2021 as the state emerged from earlier rounds of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data published Friday, with the emissions figure coming in at the lower end of market stakeholders’ expectations.

A market-based forest conservation programme in Brazil appears poised for firmer backing under President-elect's Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva administration given his pledge to end deforestation and his party's implementation of laws to protect the Amazon.

More tree conservation projects could be potentially created in the savannas and shrub lands of sub-Saharan Africa than from the rich rainforests around the continent’s equator, according to one of the founders of a soon-to-be launched free-to-access digital platform that promises to calculate the carbon content of every tree on the planet.

At least 10% of revenues from EU ETS auctions should be allocated to finance climate action in poorer nations, senior MEP Peter Liese said in a briefing on Friday, signalling that the bloc's parliament will push the issue at the upcoming COP27 UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.

A Brussels proposal for carbon removal labelling is due out by month-end, though NGOs have already raised concerns about a leaked draft, questioning its effectiveness and whether it risks undermining EU climate ambition.

Norway, the largest oil producer in Europe, has raised its emission reduction target to at least 55% of 1990 levels by the end of this decade, keeping step with the EU’s goal as it looks to increasingly link its climate policy with the 27-nation bloc.

EU finance ministers will next week discuss a Brussels idea to fund the early running costs of the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) with ETS auction revenue, though they are not expected to reach agreement as they are too divided on the issue, an EU source said on Friday.

The world’s biggest carbon offset developer EKI Energy Services saw its revenue and profit decline in the second quarter, though they still remained above year-ago levels over the first half of the financial term, according to results published Friday.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has said that his country's transition from coal to clean energy and wider transition will require 1.5 trillion rand, or around $83 billion, over the next five years, in an online address Friday.

European carbon recovered solidly on Friday morning and flirted with a key technical level after a second successive strong auction result triggered buying, while energy markets were left unimpressed by a cut in nuclear output forecasts in France.

A Republican takeover in the US Congress on Nov. 8 could create barriers to implementing Democrats’ climate-focused Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and a strong GOP showing at the state level could scuttle North Carolina’s planned RGGI linkage and Arizona’s clean energy plans, experts told Carbon Pulse.

German utility RWE announced a 16% increase in coal, lignite, and gas generation covered by the EU ETS over the first nine months of 2022, it said in preliminary data.

Australian carbon projects delivered some 1.6 million Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to the government between July and October, as officials confirmed the approval of 18 fossil fuel projects would be reassessed.

An Australian legal non-profit that advocates on environmental issues has referred Shell in Australia to corporate and advertising regulators for alleged misleading or deceptive statements about the climate impact of its products and operations, it announced on Friday.

The spot price for Chinese carbon allowances remained unchanged throughout the past week but with improved liquidity, though observers said trading activities might not improve significantly in the near term despite a possible reduction in allowance allocation due to lasting oversupply issues.

The Beijing municipal government will auction 2 million carbon allowances under its pilot emissions trading scheme in late November, with the price floor set at a relatively high level compared to previous years.

A group of high-profile local carbon and investor groups are urging the Australian government to spearhead the next phase of a global forest and land sector use pact.

Oil major Shell has partnered with Chinese national oil company Sinopec, steelmaking giant Baowu, and chemicals company BASF to explore the feasibility of developing an “open source” CCUS project in eastern China that could potentially handle "tens of millions" of tonnes of CO2 annually, the partners announced on Friday.

A major Turkish bank has partnered with an emissions trading platform in the country to help provide access to the burgeoning voluntary carbon market.