Carbon Pulse

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

Australia has raised five potential policy options in a review process to address carbon leakage, including a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and integrating flexibility levers of the Safeguard Mechanism into a broader suite of policies.

The 439 million smallholder farmers globally are spending as much as $368 billion collectively of their own income each year on tackling the impacts of climate change, including on pest control, soil improvements, and biodiversity conservation, which significantly dwarfs the $230 mln pledged for the Adaptation Fund at last year’s COP27 and highlights the increased levels of climate support required by the sector that produces around a third of the world’s food, according to a study published Tuesday.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) released on Monday a set of proposed clarifications and modifications to a suite of climate programmes.

The US Department of Treasury on Monday provided an analysis of how federal policies to address climate change can uplift the economy.

The restoration and protection of global forests could sequester approximately 20 years’ worth of fossil fuel emissions, a new study has found.

Compliance entities in both California Carbon Allowance (CCA) and RGGI Allowance (RGA) markets moved their positions to this year's vintage as speculators did the opposite, while both groups added to their Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) net length, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Monday.

Carbon markets must learn how to deal with the application of new practices and norms in clean cooking, and ensure we take the lessons from past actions without judging them against criteria that had yet to be invented, writes Owen Hewlett of Gold Standard.

*PREMIUM LISTING - With the rapid growth in carbon markets driving a new wave of project development, Verra is seeking a Senior Program Officer to support the oversight of Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs) performance and the quality of their audits under Verra programs. This is a new position in the Auditing and Accreditation Team within Verra’s Program Management Department.

The European Commission has released a study examining how to price greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector and provide financial incentives for climate action.

RGGI allowances (RGAs) inched upwards in the past week to break a record settlement price for the benchmark contract for two consecutive days even as volumes took a dive, while market participants remained positive about prices hovering below the Cost Containment Reserve (CCR) trigger levels.

EU co-legislators late on Monday found an informal agreement on a bill seeking to reduce the bloc’s dependency on third-countries in sourcing raw materials indispensable for the development and building of clean technology.

Approximately 4% of companies bound by Germany’s domestic nEHS carbon pricing programme failed to report emissions in year two of the initiative, according to a report issued by the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) on Monday.

The implosion of REDD credibility continued to dominate the voluntary carbon market last week with prices sliding again following news of certifier Verra suspending issuance of two connected Kenyan projects over allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by senior staff.

The US and Canadian Great plains lost 1.6 million acres (some 650,000 hectares) in 2021, partially due to federal policies that inadvertently favour conversion over protection of land for the production of biofuel, a recent report said.

Voluntary carbon standard accreditation body ICROA is toughening criteria for certifiers looking for its endorsement amid an explosion of interest, the group told Carbon Pulse.

The Albanian government is preparing to adjust to the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) by increasing its tax on coal, as part of a 2024 budget draft that the finance ministry recently presented to the country's parliament.

The world’s first orbital sensor capable of identifying CO2 emissions from individual industrial sites was launched from the US into space this weekend.

The ecological restoration of natural forests should be prioritised over plantations in climate action due to their staggering carbon storage potential as confirmed in updated estimates, according to a global study involving hundreds of researchers that was published on Monday.

A key political advisor to the UK government has stressed she is committed to fulfilling the country’s nature-related targets, including biodiversity credit action, the same day as a reshuffle of the country’s top ministers saw the environment secretary resign.