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UN progresses Pacm carbon market methodologies
UN progresses Pacm carbon market methodologies
Berlin, 22 May (Argus) — The Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (Pacm) regulator made further progress on underpinning methodologies at its meeting this week, adopting one and continuing work on those most anticipated by project developers. Pacm's supervisory body as expected formally adopted the methodology covering NO2 abatement from nitric acid production at its meeting at UN climate arm the UNFCCC's headquarters in Bonn, Germany. The body expects to pass a total of 6-7 methodologies by the end of the year, which would cover around 60-70pc of activities currently seeking to transition from Pacm precursor the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and which have received or are expected to receive host country approval. "The carbon markets won't wait for Pacm," a host country delegate said at the meeting, warning that project developers may go elsewhere if they feel that progress is too slow. Another delegate challenged the rationale of asking project developers to propose methodologies while being unable to process and adopt them before 2028. For Africa in particular, clean cooking methodologies are of crucial importance, and the methodology on grid-connected electricity generation of renewable sources is similarly urgent, a delegate from the region said. Both a clean cooking methodology aimed at rural areas and a renewable grid-connected electricity methodology are scheduled to be passed by the supervisory body in July. A large share of CDM projects in countries such as Brazil, Chile or India aiming to transition to Pacm are wind or solar projects. "We are looking at having the methodologies with the highest mitigation potential, and where people are standing there ready to apply them," the co-chair of the body's methodological expert panel said. A further three methodologies are scheduled to be passed at the supervisory body's October meeting, covering savannah fire management, the recovery and plasma-based destruction of residual hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in containers, and the revised Pacm methodology on flaring or use of landfill gas. The fact that the flaring gas methodology is already under revision not long after its adoption in October was criticised by some host country delegates. But the supervisory body's vice-chair at the meeting underlined the evolving nature of the work, with new methodologies possibly triggering changes to underlying standards or the tools used to calculate project economics. The clean cooking methodologies will for instance be the first to trigger the issue of "reversal risk", the vice-chair said. The body hopes to finalise how to deal with this risk before the UN Cop 31 climate summit in Turkey in November. There are 39 submissions for proposed new methodologies, the secretariat said at the meeting, although this includes overlap and re-submissions. A tool to analyse and calculate the "lock-in" risk of a project was adopted at this week's meeting, relevant to projects introducing cleaner technologies that nonetheless emit greenhouse gases — such as landfill gas flaring or rice cultivation — and for which a maximum emissions intensity and lifetime need to be set. And the supervisory body [passed the hotly debated tool](https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2793558 ) to calculate fraction of non-renewable biomass values. The body said it will seek a mandate for advisers to update and improve the values, some of which had been viewed as too strict. Final decisions are expected at the next meeting in July on a revised Article 6 registry procedure — to facilitate the transfer and trade of Pacm credits — and the voluntary credit cancellation platform . By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Q&A: Australia's ACCUs could support biofuels
Q&A: Australia's ACCUs could support biofuels
Sydney, 22 May (Argus) — Australian wood-fibre processor and exporter Midway was selected this week to lead the development of a new reforestation and afforestation carbon-crediting method that might include pongamia trees, which could lead to harvesting of oil seed to be used in biofuel production. Carbon projects manager John Lawson spoke with Argus on the sidelines of industry member organisation Carbon Market Institute's (CMI) Carbon Farming Forum in Fremantle, Western Australia, where assistant minister for climate change and energy Josh Wilson made the announcement . Edited highlights follow: What are the next steps and the expected timeline for this method development? We have a project team stood up and ready to go, and we have already started engaging a lot of industry expertise and interest to contribute to this through targeted input and workshops. We're meeting with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water next week to finalise what the specific milestones are for them and what they want to see, and then we'll be able to have a view as to what we think we can deliver. But we're targeting a 12-to-18-month timeline to get the method to a finalised state to the department. Is there any estimated carbon abatement potential for the method? Some of the work we need to do is to shore some of that up, as pongamia is a completely novel activity. It will depend a bit on how complex the method ends up being, and what the rules are. But a reasonable, conservative rule of thumb might be 100 [Australian Carbon Credit Units] (ACCUs) per hectare, and we've heard people talking about anywhere from 80,000 to 150,000 hectares as potential, which could see significant investment. So, we're talking about millions, if not tens of millions of potential [CO2] abatement. How different would it be from the expired reforestation and afforestation method? We're not proposing to change foundationally what the method is — that is, capturing the sequestered carbon in these forests. It's about creating more flexibility for plantation foresters by expanding what types of forests can be considered under the method to include seed oil crops and other harvest operations, and then have some corresponding changes to the abatement calculations. We're looking to try and simplify some of the measurement and verification approaches. There's potential to expand the type of both mixed species environmental plantings and commercial forestry species under this method. Importantly, this will also create opportunity for some of the activities previously under the farm forestry method, which sunset [in 2024] and wasn't remade. And how different would it be from the existing plantation forestry method? Foundationally, the activity wouldn't be any different, it's just adding a different measurement and verification avenue. Instead of having to use FullCam [Full Carbon Accounting Model] like you do in the current method, it would allow you to do a measurement-based, on-site process. It's important to note that we aren't coming into this presuming that we have all the answers already. What we gave the department is a clear policy position about what we thought the method could be, specifying three areas of focus: adding woody biomass from seed oil crops like pongamia; adding a measured version of plantation forestry; and what we've called a collection of general method improvements. Is pongamia the main driver behind this method? Pongamia seems to be the highest interest species, but that's not to say it's the only species that could be covered under the method. There are opportunities for other species as well. Our view is not to make this a Pongamia-specific activity, it's to make it specific to those types of seed oil crops. It's focused on woody species that support measurable sequestration in the way that the method currently does. The minister announced that Midway will be leading a consortium, but no names were publicly disclosed. How many companies are involved and what types of businesses they are? There's about a dozen companies. The types of businesses that are looking at this are largely emitters, from sectors like transport, mining, energy, LNG. There's very good interest as well from the forestry sector — many forestry developers were interested in providing support. This is a bit outside method development, but would the plan be processing the oil seed in Australia to produce biofuels like renewable diesel? What we're aware of from the people we've spoken to — and we obviously have our pilot project with Rio Tinto — is that the intention is for those seeds to be harvested and processed locally. Just to think about the supply chain logistics, it makes more sense to do that domestically. And there's certainly a lot of interest and need for biofuels in Australia to help with safeguard mechanism compliance , which is another great benefit of what we're proposing under the method. This is one way to capture and recognise real carbon sequestration that does exist in the trees, but it also commercially helps to fund these plantations that ultimately provide even greater benefit in reducing supply chain emissions through the biofuel from the oilseed — in the mining industry, or in large freight logistics, or other activities that have to switch from diesel and other fossil fuels. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UN backs ICJ climate ruling, key oil nations opposed
UN backs ICJ climate ruling, key oil nations opposed
Edinburgh, 21 May (Argus) — The UN general assembly has adopted a resolution welcoming an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on the obligations of countries to protect the environment from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with only eight countries opposing — including the three largest oil producers the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia. Pacific island nation Vanuatu put forward the resolution to the UN general assembly, saying "the ICJ advisory opinion confirms that the protection of the climate system is a matter of legal obligation not political discretion". It was adopted on Wednesday, 20 May, with 141 votes in favour, including the world's largest GHG emitter China, eight against and 28 abstentions. Belarus, Iran, Israel, Liberia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the US and Yemen voted against. The ICJ last year determined in an advisory opinion that all countries have an obligation to contribute to cutting emissions. This is not legally binding but could open door for more climate litigation . ICJ advisory opinions "carry significant legal and moral authority — helping to clarify and develop international law by defining states' legal obligations", the UN said. The UN resolution adopted calls on UN member states "to take all possible steps to avoid causing significant damage to the climate and environment, including emissions produced within their borders, and to follow through on their existing climate pledges under the Paris Agreement". Adoption "sends a strong message that tackling the climate crisis is a legal duty under international law, and not just a political choice," the UN said. The US opposed the resolution, with its representative saying the country has many concerns about the court's opinion. The US noted the resolution includes "inappropriate political demands relating to fossil fuels". Countries such as India, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Algeria said the resolution failed to address the obligations on the provision of finance to developing countries, saying the focus was "disproportionally" on mitigation. India, Iraq and Algeria abstained. Russia said the resolution is an attempt to make ICJ opinion "mandatory in nature". It added the resolution "selectively cites the conclusion of the advisory opinion" and the outcomes of the UN climate conferences Cops, ignoring finance and adaptation — adjusting to the effects of climate change where possible. Algeria said the resolution is excessively "highlighting and rewriting" decisions from previous Cop outcomes. The text urges members to implement measures to keep the global temperature increase to 1.5°C, including tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency by 2030, transitioning away from fossil fuels and phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies which were agreed at Cop 28 in Dubai. The UAE voted in favour of the resolution. Brazil, the Cop 30 president, also adopted the resolution, while Turkey, which will host Cop 31 in Antalya later this year, abstained. Australia, which will preside on negotiations of Cop 31, supported the resolution but said it should not be "interpreted as our agreement with every element of the advisory opinion". By Caroline Varin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
SAFCo issues Singapore's first SAF tender
SAFCo issues Singapore's first SAF tender
Singapore, 21 May (Argus) — The Singapore Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company (SAFCo) has issued the first tender for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) delivered to the country, market participants said on 21 May. The tender is for a trial volume, as Singapore prepares to implement a 1pc SAF blending target from 2027 — delayed from the previously planned 2026 launch due to impacts of the US-Iran war. SAFCo has requested tender offers based on the Argus Corsia hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) fob Strait of Malacca price, market participants said. Argus launched the assessment in March, and last assessed the price at $2,630/t on 20 May . Singapore's civil aviation authority and nine companies in February agreed to trial SAFCo's processes for centrally procuring SAF and administering related environmental attributes (EAs), to ensure processes are clear for stakeholders ahead of the country's SAF target coming into effect. Sellers must be able to show ability to deliver fuel into Changi — either through membership of Changi Airport's fuel storage and infrastructure joint venture Changi Airport Fuel Hydrant Installation (Cahfi), or by working with a member to supply SAF volumes into the airport. Cafhi comprises shareholders from the oil majors Exxon, Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, and Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC), while Singapore-based SAF producer Neste is a also minority shareholder enabling it to blend and deliver SAF directly to the hydrant. SAFCo is a non-profit company wholly owned by Singapore's civil aviation authority, set up in October 2025 to aggregate levy funds, centrally procure SAF and administer SAF certificates to help the country meet its decarbonisation targets. By Lauren Moffitt Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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