Carbon Pulse

The roll-out of China’s national carbon emission trading scheme (ETS) is unlikely to push up near-term cost levels for thermal power plants, though compliance costs could increase in the long run, according to a report by rating agency Fitch.

The Vietnamese government has signed a decree to dramatically ramp up its climate and energy initiatives that would result in an emissions reduction cut of 43.5% below business-as-usual levels in 2030, on the way to net zero by 2050, a far more ambitious target than outlined in its NDC.

Big Australian bank Westpac outlined on Wednesday new and updated emissions targets to be reached by 2030 for its lending portfolio and has stated that it plans to review the role that carbon offsets can play in the future to meet its longer-term decarbonisation objectives.

New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission has recommended sweeping changes to the settings of the country’s ETS, sending the NZU spot price up by 11%.  

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

The EU’s plan to rapidly reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels faces "significant" problems and practical challenges, including that it goes against member states' environmental principles and it risks falling short in its funding aims, the guardians of the bloc’s finances have warned.

A draft of the highly-anticipated Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) was released Wednesday, seeking to guide the integrity of carbon credits within the voluntary carbon market (VCM) – while also providing a framework of requirements to assess and 'CCP-approve' carbon-crediting programmes and credit types.

Improving the integrity of the voluntary carbon market (VCM) should open the door for offsets to be widely used in compliance markets, particularly for blue carbon and marine environments, a webinar heard Tuesday.

Carbon pricing systems are only slightly more efficient than clean energy standards and subsidies in reducing emissions, and also lead to the overpricing of electricity, a recent working paper suggests.

The EU's 2030 renewable power goal could be just hot air unless deployment of wind and solar capacity is doubled by mid-decade, analysts said in report published Wednesday that found the installation of multiple gigawatts is being delayed by bureaucracy.

Members states under UN aviation body ICAO are making progress towards establishing a long-term net zero target for global air travel this fall, although several major emitting nations are still expressing reservations with the idea.

Compliance payments or offset requirements under the Canadian Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) will not take effect until the next decade, as CO2 pricing and other climate policies will continue to apply until then, according to a framework document published Tuesday.

*PREMIUM LISTING - The Gold Standard Foundation is seeking a Land-Use & Forests (LUF) Innovation Officer to work in its office in Geneva, Switzerland, or remote working from the United Kingdom, Germany, or India.

The voluntary carbon offset ETF from KraneShares will start following a new index for VER futures next week, suggesting the fund may need to alter its existing holdings.

Africa’s largest project originator in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) has concluded a forward sales agreement with a European trading group for the first time as part of plans to double its spot sales deals this year to 10 mln credits, it announced Tuesday.

EUAs made gradual gains throughout Tuesday morning amid active participation from buyers looking to cover short positions after the market appeared to reach a floor, while energy prices made solid advances as EU nations reached a deal on cutting gas demand by 15% over the coming winter.

Indian steelmaker Tata will target net zero emissions by 2045, the company announced in the release of its latest financial results on Tuesday, though offered little detail on how it plans to achieve the goal.

EU member states have agreed to a 15% gas supply cut as part of emergency regulation to curb energy use over the winter in the face of rising uncertainty over Russian supply.

UK utility Drax maintained on Tuesday that it will close its remaining coal power units in March of next year, having been asked by the UK government to extend their lifetime by six months to ease security of supply issues this winter.

Forest Carbon Works (www.forestcarbonworks.org), a company which enables small forest landowners in the U.S. to access carbon offset markets, is seeking an Associate Forester to join our nationwide team. This position is based from your home office, but with regional responsibility in New England and New York. The ideal candidate will be located in Vermont.