Directive (EU) 2023/959 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 amending Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a system for trading greenhouse gas emission allowances within the Union, and Decision (EU) 2015/ 1814 on the establishment and operation of the market stability reserve for the greenhouse gas emissions trading system in the Union (More on eur-lex.europa.eu)

Reduction of emissions by 5 to 21 %: this is the empirically measured effect of carbon pricing schemes in the first years of their operation. The research team now identifies these findings for 17 real-world climate policies, making the state of knowledge more comprehensive than ever before. The team uses artificial intelligence to compare existing surveys, making them comparable using a new concept of calculation. (Ulrich von Lampe, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, more at phys.org)

Carbon credits are becoming an increasingly popular way for landowners to contribute to the fight against climate change and potentially make money at the same time. A carbon credit represents a ton of carbon dioxide or an equivalent amount of other greenhouse gases that is reduced, eliminated or sequestered.

By managing land in ways that capture more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, landowners can create credits that they can then sell to companies that want to offset their emissions. explore the how to use and get carbon credits for your land and help fight climate change. (TIM FUJIO, more at settingmind.com)

The world of climate change is one of moderate, science-based debate – for the most part. However, there are a few conversations that are guaranteed to reduce any encounter to angry tears. One is the use of so-called carbon offsets – voluntary credits that companies can buy to prove that they have reduced someone else's emissions rather than their own. While this market is full of problems, the dogmatic opposition is confused. (Opinion Lex, more on ft. com)

Summit Carbon Solutions (SCS) and Gold Standard are pleased to announce a significant milestone on the path to decarbonisation. After a rigorous two-year process, she was Biomass fermentation with carbon capture and storage (BFCSS) methodology , developed by SCS with significant support from Anew Climate, has been approved by the gold standard and is now available for use.

The methodology will enable the issuance of Gold Standard verified emission reduction carbon credits for BFCSS. The document includes criteria for determining project eligibility, as well as a monitoring and quantification protocol to accurately measure and verify biogenic CO2 removed by capture and storage. It adheres to the Gold Standard's strict requirements for environmental integrity, safeguards, stakeholder engagement and sustainable development. (More on goldstandard.org)

On 1 June 2024 at 10:00 CET, the European Commission will publish the total number of allowances in circulation (TNAC) in the EU carbon market in 2023. The TNAC plays an important role in the functioning of the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). . Determines whether quotas are withdrawn or released from the MSR.

The upcoming TNAC publication will be the first after the revision of Decision 2015/1814 (MSR Decision) and Directive 2003/87/EC (ETS Directive) in 2023. (More on climate.ec.europa.eu)

The new methodology is the first of its kind from the main standard and will enable the issuance of carbon credits for the decentralized processing of organic waste. The approach, announced today, means carbon credits can be issued to reflect the emissions reductions associated with processing food waste on site and avoiding waste going to landfill. Developed by Lomi the Smart Waste™ for food recycling in consultation with Carbonomics, the methodology "Reducing Landfill Methane Emissions through Decentralized Organic Waste Processing" has been approved by the Gold Standard Technical Advisory Committee and is now available for use. (More on goldstandard.org)

The voluntary carbon market is a mechanism used for private financing of climate projects that has become increasingly widespread in recent years. This discussion explains how the voluntary carbon market works and discusses the main points of criticism directed at the mechanism. In particular, these are:

Quality of climate projects: Many climate projects do not meet the quality criteria needed to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Corporate climate strategies: In many cases, corporate climate targets are not transparent and are incompatible with the 1.5 degree Celsius target of the Paris Agreement. In particular, excessive use of carbon credits could lead to companies neglecting to implement measures to reduce their own greenhouse gases.

Regulation: The voluntary carbon market is currently virtually unregulated. The lack of binding quality criteria exacerbates existing problems.

The future of the voluntary carbon market is uncertain. Structural as well as supply-side and demand-side factors will determine how this mechanism and its contribution to climate action will evolve in the future.

(German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, more on Leopoldina leopoldina.org)

On 5 June 2023, revisions to the EU Emissions Trading System ('ETS') Directive were adopted by Directive (EU) 2023/958, Directive (EU) 2023/959 and the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification Regulation ('MRV' ) for emissions from maritime transport by Regulation (EU) 2023/957 entered into force. Member States were supposed to transpose the aforementioned directives by 31 December 2023 regarding changes to the existing ETS. These changes apply from 1 January 2024. (More on climate.ec.europa.eu)

The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) recently unveiled comprehensive new guidance aimed at helping businesses use carbon credits to meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. The "Guidelines for the Highly Integrated Use of Carbon Credits", unveiled at the annual IETA European Climate Summit, contain clear recommendations for their application in corporate environmental strategies. (More on green.earth)

The International Carbon Registry (ICR) provides a GHG program and electronic registration for climate projects and the issuance of ICR Carbon Credits (ICC) for climate projects that comply with ICR and ISO 14064-2 requirements. In this way, ICCs represent high-integrity carbon credits from projects around the world, as they are based on internationally recognized standards and jointly agreed upon carbon principles.

At the International Carbon Registry, we are proud of our commitment to quality and transparency. We work closely with our clients to ensure that every project we register meets the highest standards of environmental integrity. We believe this is how we can build trust and confidence in the voluntary carbon market and help transition to a more sustainable future.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Iceland, the International Carbon Registry is a global organization dedicated to addressing the challenges of climate change. Our team of experts is passionate about making a real, measurable impact and helping our clients achieve their sustainability goals.

ICR operates a quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001:2015. (More on carbonregistry.com)

How high-quality carbon credits could accelerate the adoption of low-emission hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels and direct air capture. Achieving net zero requires the rapid development of technologies such as low-emission hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and direct air capture and storage (DACS). The IEA and GenZero report examines how carbon credits can stimulate their deployment.

A massive scale-up is needed: low-emission hydrogen production must jump from almost zero today to 70 million tonnes by 2030; The share of SAF in final aviation energy consumption must increase from almost zero today to around 11 % by 2030; and annual CO removal ₂ through DACS must reach almost 70 Mt CO in 2030 ₂ from almost zero at present. (More on Iea.org)

The Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, as part of the upcoming call No. 2 for the decarbonization of industry from the funds of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic, invites industrial entities involved in the scheme for trading greenhouse gas emission quotas to submit project proposals for the decarbonization of their operations to the e-mail address dekarbonizacia@enviro.gov.sk.

The fight against climate change continues to gain momentum, with 73 carbon pricing mechanisms operating worldwide as of April 1, 2023. Together, these systems account for a significant 23.04 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. The weighted average price for offsetting a metric ton of carbon dioxide is between $4 and $5, a number that fluctuates with market dynamics. However, the EU ETS boasts the steepest carbon price in 2023, reaching an impressive $5.6 per metric ton. (AstuteAnalytica India Pvt. Ltd., more at finance.yahoo.com)

As the world struggles to combat climate change, scientists agree that protecting what remains of Earth's vast rainforests is a key priority. When forests are lost, less carbon can be absorbed from the atmosphere. And when trees are burned to clear land for agriculture, the release of huge amounts of CO2 further accelerates global warming.

The importance of forests in the "compensation" of greenhouse gas emissions has long been recognized. Many forest landowners, including a growing number of national governments, offer carbon credits as compensation for forest conservation and emission avoidance. (News Desk., more at thenews.com)

The land sector plays a key role in achieving the EU's 2050 climate neutrality target by sequestering CO ₂ and its deposition in soil and biomass. However, the land sector is also extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and can be a source of emissions, especially if land is degraded. This is why the EU supports innovative approaches such as carbon farming to promote sustainable and resilient practices in the agriculture and forestry sectors. (More on climate.ec.europa.eu)

The EU carbon removal certification framework aims to step up carbon removal activities and combat greenwashing by enabling businesses to demonstrate their performance in this area.

About removing carbon and growing carbon

In a feature for the Guardian, biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield and Nyasha Chingono, a freelance reporter from Zimbabwe, report on "carbon cowboys" - groups that "select and sign large tracts of land in the developing world" for nature's carbon markets. The article focuses on a series of schemes carbon offsets in the districts surrounding Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. Most people "have no idea that their villages have been at the center of a multimillion-dollar carbon boom," the article says: "These communities are part of a massive, lucrative Kariba conservation project that covers an area almost the size of Puerto Rico. it is among the largest in the portfolio of forest compensation systems approved by Verra, the world's largest certified entity. Since 2011, this project alone has generated more than €100 million (£85 million) in revenue from the sale of carbon credits equivalent to Kenya's national emissions in 2022 to Western companies. (carbonbrief.org, More at theguardian.com)

On 20 February 2024, the European Union (EU) announced a temporary political agreement to create a Europe-wide framework for the voluntary certification of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects. A significant step forward in government regulation of the CDR sector, this announcement has the potential to help legitimize and strengthen the industry. It may also indicate increased regulation of CDRs in other regions, including the United States.

Framework
The regulatory framework, first proposed in 2022, divides CDR activities into four categories:

1. Permanent carbon removal : activities that store atmospheric or biogenic carbon for several centuries, such as bioenergy production with carbon capture and storage (CCS) as well as direct air capture and storage (DAC).
2. Temporary carbon storage in long-life products : activities that sequester atmospheric and biogenic carbon in products or materials, such as wood-based building products or biochar.
3. Temporary carbon storage from carbon agriculture : activities such as forest and soil restoration and wetland management.
4. Reduction of soil emissions in carbon farming : land management practices that reduce carbon and nitrous oxide emissions, such as no-till practices and reduced fertilizer use.

(KEVIN Y. CHEN, More at foleyhoag.com)