Carbon Pulse

The methane leaks from the Nord Stream pipelines may escape EU emissions coverage amid uncertainty surrounding the alleged sabotage, experts suggested this week, meaning GHGs estimated as equivalent to the annual emissions of Denmark may evade accountability.

Nasdaq’s carbon removals platform Puro.earth has opened a consultation on a methodology to earn carbon credits from accelerating the process of CO2 being stored by rocks, while it also this week announced a new removals insurance partnership.

EU carbon prices wiped out early gains to stand broadly unchanged at midday Tuesday as the market was pushed in different directions by reports that suggest EU institutions remain at odds over how to fund the REPowerEU initiative.

EU finance ministers on Tuesday endorsed a unified stance to partly finance the REPowerEU strategy by sourcing the greatest chunk of the €20 billion from the Innovation Fund and the remaining portion from frontloaded member state auctions, in turn finally discarding the idea of MSR-held sales.

German utility RWE on Tuesday confirmed plans to end its lignite-based power generation in 2030, reaching a deal with Berlin to align with the government’s coal phaseout date even as the company receives state funding to bring coal operations out of reserve in the meantime.

Traded volumes in Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) surged in the September quarter, while the carbon credit price came off as the market waits for the outcome of the government review and Safeguard Mechanism reforms.

Efforts to decarbonise the power sector by shifting away from coal-fired generation are at risk due to an apparent pivot towards gas, with nearly 90 GW of gas plant capacity in the global development pipeline being coal-to-gas conversions or replacements, according to a report released on Tuesday.

An industry body has called on the Australian government to prepare its carbon market for greater activity and demand, while at the same time emphasising it should be treated as just one integral piece of the larger puzzle of cutting emissions.

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

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit prices continued to slide on Monday, dropping 14% over the week, as market participants considered action from regulator ARB that is necessary for an improvement in supply-demand fundamentals.

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM) completed its 60-day public consultation last week on setting the bar for VER quality, receiving public submissions including a scathing submission from the largest carbon offset programme administrator Verra.

Quebec GHG output in 2021 partially rebounded from earlier stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to overshoot the limits of the state’s WCI-linked cap-and-trade programme once again, according to provincial data published Monday.

The voluntary carbon market’s chances of success are slim but it is useful for early mover companies to get ready for the advent of compliance markets, a US government official told a carbon conference on Monday.

This role will engage and interact with new and existing buyers in the booming Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) in a variety of capacities from initial  outreach, to contracting and follow-up for repeat purchases to ensure a smooth sales process.

Standard nature-based spot and nearby futures continued to slip lower over the past week, battered by the deepening economic gloom and headlines warning of sharply higher interest rates, although fresher vintages held steadier as large volume sellers shied away from the market.

Key European lawmakers are expected in an interim vote late on Monday to stick to a compromise that would part-finance the REPowerEU strategy with €20 billion worth of carbon allowance sales solely sourced from frontloaded member state auctions over three years.

The European Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) compromise on funding for the REPowerEU initiative is  the “least bearish” of the options being discussed by co-legislators, according to analysts assessing the impacts on the EU ETS.

The World Bank $17.2 billion climate finance public sector portfolio could be off by as much as $7 bln or 40%, according to a report published by an NGO on Monday as COP27 hosts Egypt urged rich nations to make good on their climate aid commitments at next month's UN summit. 

EUA prices consolidated at lower levels on Monday morning as the market eyed the evening's meeting of the European Parliament's environment committee (ENVI) at which lawmakers were expected to adopt a position on funding measures for the REPowerEU initiative.

South Korea will open negotiations with the EU that carbon cuts achieved under its emissions trading scheme will be recognised under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), while also rolling out plans to improve its domestic MRV system to align with international standards.