Carbon Pulse

The global clean energy transition is supported by ambitious pledges from oil majors to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, but a new study suggests these corporate commitments may not result in a significant shift away from fossil fuels thanks to a heavy reliance on carbon offsetting.

Colombia's efforts to combat climate change through deforestation policies face a critical test, with a further 1.3 million hectares of forest at risk of being converted to agricultural land by 2040, warns a new report.

Courts worldwide have been facing more and more cases against companies accused of ‘climate-washing’, researchers revealed in a report published Thursday.

California Carbon Offset distributions increased over the past two weeks to climb closer towards 2022 levels at the halfway point of the year, as millions of credits lost their invalidation risk recently, according to government data published Wednesday.

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) can play an important role in decarbonising the US economy, but more incentives are needed as existing policies don’t sufficiently support accelerated deployment.

Companies should consign “carbon neutrality” claims to the dustbin, the Voluntary Carbon Markets Initiative (VCMI) advised on Wednesday as it launched guidelines for buying carbon credits that it hopes will inject heavy doses of confidence and capital into the voluntary carbon market and end accusations of greenwashing.

The EU is willing to join international talks to weigh whether climate geoengineering interventions could be viable in tackling climate change, the bloc's climate and foreign policy chiefs said on Wednesday while cautioning that such initiatives should not divert global efforts to cut emissions.

Japan’s J-Credit scheme regulator on Wednesday cleared a first project for generating credits from cutting methane emissions from rice paddy cultivation, with several market participants positioning themselves to utilise the methodology, which was approved in March.

Multiple voluntary carbon market (VCM) participants have submitted responses to a UN consultation regarding removal activities that may be credited under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, urging differentiation between types to take into account varying permanence, reversal risk, and storage implications.

Infrastructure consultants AECOM have launched a metric for biodiversity assessment (BA) in Singapore to help calculate the impact on nature of site developments, and plan to expand the tool for the use of developers and civil servants across Southeast Asia.

Sumitomo Forestry, a major forestry company in Japan, has begun building an AI model for the management of tropical peatlands through the collaboration between its climate tech joint venture and a Japanese startup.

European carbon prices see-sawed on Wednesday morning, retracing some of Tuesday's gains as sentiment appeared to weaken along with gas and power, before rallying to stand little changed at midday as gas and power prices recovered early losses, while Commitment of Traders data showed that investment funds reversed their net position last week.

Pharma giant AstraZeneca has announced it would invest $400 million to plant over 200 million trees by the end of the decade as part of its plan for reducing carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

India on Wednesday released draft rules for a market-based mechanism that will help the country meet a wide range of environmental goals by crediting activities ranging from tree planting and water conservation to waste management, air pollution reduction, and sustainable agriculture.

China has reviewed preliminary results for the construction of a registry and trading system designed for the nation's long-suspended voluntary carbon credit scheme, marking a step closer to the revival of the domestic offset market.

Singapore and the Dominican Republic have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on collaboration under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the island state’s eleventh such carbon trading agreement.

Consultancy firm PwC has walked back findings from a report it wrote last year claiming a biodiversity market in Australia could unlock A$137 billion ($91 bln) in finance by 2050.

An Australian investment manager has successfully completed a funding round on a new equity fund focussing on natural capital and abatement, electrification and the circular economy, thanks to a contribution from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has completed concept designs and acquired approval in principle (AiP) for a liquefied CO2 (LCO2) project from two major maritime classification societies, it announced on Wednesday.

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