Carbon Pulse

A consortium of offset developers is hitting back at a recent analysis alleging pervasive over-crediting by cookstove projects within the voluntary carbon market (VCM), pointing to what it calls doubts about the study's reliability, in an open letter seen exclusively by Carbon Pulse.

California regulator ARB is staying on course with the 2030 carbon intensity (CI) benchmark proposed in draft amendments last year, but is mulling adjustments to the one-time CI step-down for 2025 among other considerations based on stakeholder feedback.

A Washington DC federal court ruled Tuesday in favour of defendants of a Clean Air Act (CAA) waiver to California, reinforcing the state's longstanding authority to set its own standards that are stricter than those at the federal level.

A Colorado-based energy firm and a Nebraska environmental group announced a “landmark” community benefits agreement on Tuesday that ensures a proposed CO2 pipeline can proceed unopposed, setting a precedent for similar projects dealing with local opposition.

A California Senate committee unanimously passed through funding from the cap-and-trade programme revenues on Tuesday to facilitate a tax credit to farmers for composting practices that enhance CO2 sequestration.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has decided that voluntary carbon credits may be used to offset corporate Scope 3 emissions, the body said Tuesday, it what should provide a significant boost for offset demand.

International competitors of the European steel industry may bypass the bloc’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) fees by building specific low-carbon facilities whose products will be reserved for the EU market, the head of a regional association said on Tuesday.

Traders are debating the merits of engaging with the nascent CORSIA Phase 1 (2024-26) voluntary carbon market, weighing promises of inexpensive regulatory compliance against large uncertainties, according to experts on a webinar Tuesday.

The volume of allowances on offer inched up for the second RGGI auction of 2024, with a conspicuous zero balance in the scheme’s Cost Containment Reserve (CCR) that was exhausted at the Q1 sale, a notice showed Tuesday.

The pressure to bridge the gap between conventional and clean fuel for the shipping sector is shifting to EU member states, a panel at the European Parliament heard on Tuesday, while key industry stakeholders also stressed the need to reserve climate solutions for hard-to-abate sectors like maritime and aviation.

Work by the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets (ICVCM) to label credits with the Core Carbon Principles (CCP) stamp will only go so far in determining the quality of supply, as project-level assessments will still be required to help buyers identify good projects, say market stakeholders.

A draft outline of the EU’s next “strategic agenda” for 2024-2029, seen by Carbon Pulse, puts defence and security at the top of the EU’s political priorities, while climate policy is refocused on strengthening the bloc's industrial and strategic independence.

French data company CDC Biodiversite will this week launch a free version of its biodiversity footprinting tool Global Biodiversity Score (GBS) with limited features.

The Portuguese Ministry of Environment and Climate Action has established a technical committee to evaluate carbon methodologies and the performance of the voluntary carbon market (VCM), according to a decree published Monday in the Official Gazette.

The Office of the Ombudsman in Colombia has issued an official notice about several sectors, including REDD+ voluntary carbon projects, warning of the risk of violations of Indigenous and local community rights, as well as extortion by illegal armed groups.

Growing compliance demand driven by the Safeguard Mechanism and corporates looking to meet ESG requirements is creating a ‘positive narrative’ on carbon pricing and carbon markets in Australia, although ongoing risks and challenges remain, according to a report published Wednesday.

A carbon removals developer has secured 26 million Norwegian krone (£1.9 mln) in funding to study the feasibility of building a direct air capture and storage plant in Norway, it announced on Tuesday.

A UK-France biodiversity credits panel has published a more detailed version of its call for views on biodiversity credits, as the initiative prepares to launch an Indigenous-focused consultation.

A UN agency and a Brazilian NGO on Tuesday announced a new initiative to promote payment for environmental services (PES) for deforestation-free supply chains, focusing on the Atlantic Forest biome in Brazil – a region critically endangered by deforestation activities.

Switzerland’s failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions violates its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the Strasbourg's Grand Chamber ruled on Tuesday in a landmark decision.