Carbon Pulse

The lawmaker steering carbon market reforms through the European Parliament is planning to propose changes to the EU ETS mechanism meant to prevent price spikes, according to reports.

EU carbon allowances regained some of the territory lost in Tuesday's late sell-off as traders bought the price dip, while natural gas markets weakened for a third day in a row as milder temperatures dampened the outlook for demand.

Japanese oil and gas operator Inpex released a long-term plan on Wednesday in which it will focus on five key “net zero businesses” the company has identified to help meet its emissions targets for 2030 and 2050.

Only three companies submitted bids at South Korea’s monthly carbon allowance auction on Wednesday, as market oversupply and the several months left to annual compliance keep interest at bay.

Offset developer and consultancy South Pole has secured funding from two new minority investors to help maintain its rapid expansion and strengthen its presence in the US and across Asia.

New Zealand carbon allowances broke the NZ$80 barrier for the first time ever in Wednesday trade, as a mix of compliance and speculative demand continues to push the permits into new record territory.

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

An investor-led group unveiled on Wednesday the methodology behind its set of benchmarks widely used by financiers to assess whether corporate climate pledges align with Paris Agreement goals.

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California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) prices fell off this week after two utilities announced credit solicitations and traders continued to digest the impact of bearish programme data from the third quarter of 2021.

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US-headquartered bourse CME Group on Tuesday announced it will inaugurate a futures contract for CBL’s Core Global Emissions Offset (C-GEO) next month, adding the standardised renewables and tech-based offering to its growing suite of carbon credit products.

European carbon prices reached their third record high in the last five sessions on Tuesday as the broad energy complex reacted sharply to news that French utility EDF had downgraded its 2022 nuclear generation estimates, putting more pressure on fossil generation to pick up the shortfall.

British utility SSE reported 14% year-on-year drop in ETS-covered gas-fired power generation for the final nine months of 2021, it said in quarterly results on Tuesday, while renewables output fell by almost a fifth as unfavourable market conditions and low summer winds hampered production.

Oil major BP has upgraded its climate targets for 2030 and 2050 and pledged a larger slice of capex for its "transition growth" businesses as the company announced on Tuesday bumper profits of $12.8 billion for 2021, its highest level in eight years due to the surge in oil and gas prices.

Blockchain infrastructure provider Toucan Protocol has released the criteria for offsets to qualify for its soon-to-be-launched Nature-based Carbon Token (NBT), with up to 95% of nature-based Verra credits set to be eligible.

New Zealand carbon allowances rose to record high levels again on Tuesday, as buyers keep lifting available offers ahead of what is expected to be a highly competitive quarterly auction next month.

An Australia-headquartered company has signed a long-term, fixed price offset deal with Shell to cover the majority of carbon emissions from two of its oil fields off the shore of Brazil.

Australian oil and gas company Santos has “booked” 100 million tonnes worth of CO2 storage capacity in South Australia’s Cooper Basin, in a move the company claimed on Tuesday is the first such action taken by an operator that complies with established global industry guidelines for CO2 storage management and resource assessments.

China’s announcement this week that its steel sector will peak its carbon emissions by 2030, and not 2025 as previously reported, is a major setback and indicates a lack of ambition, according to observers.