Biomass body woes over finance law CO2 criteria
The European biomass industry has expressed concerns that newly proposed EU technical criteria defining 'sustainable' biomass could dissuade investment in the technology.
The European Commission is soon expected to launch a public consultation on the environmental impact of industry. The consultation will be followed up with fast-track technical legislation by the end of this year, after which the European Parliament and member states will have limited room to make changes.
Biomass industry body BioEnergy Europe says a final report by sustainable finance experts appointed by the commission moves away from the sustainability criteria in the EU's 2018 renewables directive. According to the report, to be classed as sustainable, biomass activities would need to meet a 80pc greenhouse gas (GHG) savings threshold when compared with average emissions of fossil fuels. This threshold is increased every five years to reach net zero by 2050.
This contradicts the renewable energy directive under which "this 80pc GHG saving must be delivered by heating and electricity applications starting in 2026", BioEnergy Europe's policy director, Giulia Cancian, said. "Another issue is the conversion factor."
In a technical annex, the commission's experts, for "ease of conversion", settled on a relative fossil fuel comparator of 100g of CO2e/KWh. But the renewable directive's fossil fuel comparator for bio-electricity is 132gr CO2e/kWh, while that for heating is 58g CO2e/KWh, Cancian said. "We should consider the renewables directive as a starting point," she said.
BioEnergy Europe points to other inconsistencies in the report's demands for sustainable biomass and those in the 2018 directive.
The criteria for establishing a verified forest GHG balance and 10-year forest management plans that demonstrate the maintenance or increase of carbon sinks are not consistent with the renewables directive, and no certifications to date can ensure such compliance, BioEnergy recently told the commission.
The European Parliament is set to vote on its political agreement with EU member states on the overarching sustainable investment legislation on 17 June.
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Japan boosts wood pellet imports in March
Japan boosts wood pellet imports in March
Tokyo, 26 April (Argus) — Japan's wood pellet imports in March rose from a year earlier, with Indonesian supplies hitting a record high of almost 60,000t. Japan imported 531,500t of wood pallets in March, up by 47pc from a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the country's finance ministry on 26 April. This was also higher by 9pc from February. Imports from Indonesia jumped to 59,353t in March, more than a fivefold increase from 10,796t a year earlier. This significantly exceeded the previous record high of 35,516t in January. But Vietnam remained Japan's top supplier at 247,054t, up by 63pc on the year. Japan received 102,478t of wood pellets from the US in March, with no cargoes delivered in March 2023.Imports from Malaysia also almost tripled to 22,261t from the previous year's 7,591t. Higher March imports sent Japan's total imports in the April 2023-March 2024 fiscal year to around 6.1mn t, up by 29pc from a year earlier. PKS imports But Japan cut imports of palm kernel shell (PKS) in March, down by 30pc from a year earlier. Imports from Indonesia fell by 23pc to 184,384t, while Malaysian supplies declined by 51pc to 40,462t. The start-up of a new biomass-fired power plant in March helped increase Japan's total imports. Japanese renewable power developer Renova in March started commercial operations at its 75MW Ishinomaki Hibarino biomass-fired power plant in northeast Japan's Miyagi prefecture, which burns an undisclosed volume of wood pellets and PKS. But domestic utility Jera's 1,070MW Taketoyo No 5 coal and biomass co-fired power unit in Aichi prefecture has been off line since a fire in January. Fellow utility Tokyo Gas' 51.5MW Fushiki Manyofuto biomass-fired plant in Toyama prefecture also continued to face technical issues after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Hokuriku area in January. By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Start-ups to help Total keep output stable in 2Q
Start-ups to help Total keep output stable in 2Q
London, 26 April (Argus) — TotalEnergies said it expects its oil and gas production to hold broadly steady in the second quarter as planned maintenance is partially offset by rising output from new projects in Brazil and Denmark. The company expects to average 2.4mn-2.45mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) in April-June, compared with 2.46mn boe/d in the previous three months and 2.47mn boe/d in the second quarter of 2023. Production is being supported by the restart of gas output from the redeveloped Tyra hub in Denmark late last month and the start of the 180,000 b/d second development phase of the Mero oil field on the Libra block in Brazil's Santos Basin at the beginning of the year. TotalEnergies first-quarter output was flat compared with the previous three months but 2pc lower than a year earlier as a result of Canadian oil sands divestments. The company reported a robust set of first-quarter results today, broadly in line with analysts' expectations. Profit for the first three months of 2024 was $5.7bn, compared to $5.6bn in the same period last year. Adjusted profit — which takes into account inventory valuation effects and special items — came in at $5.1bn, down by 22pc on the year but slightly ahead of the consensus of analysts' estimates of $5bn. Adjusted operating profit from the firm's Exploration & Production business was down by 4pc year-on-year at $2.55bn, driven in part by lower natural gas prices. The Canadian oil sands asset sales weighed on the segment's production but this was partly compensated by start-ups. As well as Mero 2, the Akpo West oil project in Nigeria started production during the first quarter. TotalEnergies' Integrated LNG segment saw a 41pc year-on-year decline in its adjusted operating profit to $1.22bn in January-March. The company said this reflects lower LNG prices and sales. But while its LNG sales for the quarter fell by 3pc in year-on-year terms, its LNG production was greater by 6pc. TotalEnergies achieved an average $78.9/bl for its liquids sales in the first quarter, an improvement on $73.4/bl a year earlier. But the average price achieved for its gas sales was 43pc lower on the year at $5.11/mn Btu. In the downstream, the company's Refining & Chemicals segment's first-quarter adjusted operating profit was $962mn in January-March, down by 41pc on the year but 52pc higher than the preceding quarter. TotalEnergies attributes the quarter-on-quarter rise to higher refining margins and a rise in refinery throughput . For the second quarter, it expects refinery utilisation rates to be above 85pc, compared with 79pc in the first quarter, boosted by the restart of 219,000 b/d Donges refinery in France. Total's Integrated Power segment continued to improve, registering a quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year increased of 16pc and 65pc respectively in its adjusted operating profit to €611mn. Net power production increased 14pc year-on-year to 9.6 TWh, while the company's portfolio of installed power generation capacity grew 54pc to 19.5GW. Total's cash flow from operations, excluding working capital, was down by 15pc on a year earlier at $8.2bn in the first quarter. The company has decided to raise its dividend for 2024 by 7pc to €0.79/share and plans a $2bn programme of share buybacks for the second quarter. By Jon Mainwaring Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
MDBs, parties must deliver on finance: Cop 29 president
MDBs, parties must deliver on finance: Cop 29 president
Edinburgh, 25 April (Argus) — Cop 29 president-designate Mukhtar Babayev pointed to insufficient action from multilateral development banks (MDBs) despite encouraging discussions, and urged all countries to play their part to deliver on climate finance negotiations this year. Climate finance discussions will be an important part of climate negotiations this year, having been "one of the most challenging climate diplomacy topics over the years", Babayev said today at the 15th Petersberg climate dialogue in Berlin — a forum for multilateral discussions. The meeting is a key milestone in climate discussions, paving the way for Cop 29 negotiations. The topic will be key as countries must decide on a new global finance goal to replace the $100bn/yr by 2020 pledge to developing countries made in 2009 and missed by developed countries. Babayev said he was working with a range of actors including MDBs, which have a "special role" as "multilateral public finance contributed the single largest part of the [$100bn/yr] target". Babayev said progress from the MDBs was essential, but while he "had many encouraging engagements during the World Bank and IMF spring meetings in Washington last week , we heard a great deal of concern and worry that we did not yet see adequate and sufficient action". "That must change," he said. He also warned that there is no single initiative able to unlock and increase climate finance flows to trillions of dollars, and instead pointed to "many interconnected elements" that countries will need to consider to set this new finance goal — the so-called NCQG. He added that the NCQG working group has already identified many options. "We know that [there are] strong and well-founded views on all sides," he said. "We are listening to all parties to understand their concerns and help them refine official landing zones based on a shared vision of success so we can deliver a fair and ambitious new goal," he added. "We need everyone to play their part so that we can build up unstoppable momentum where everyone is confident that their contribution is fairly matched by the contributions of others". Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said industrialised countries need to live up to their responsibilities. "Financial contributions from developed countries and multinational development banks will remain the basis of our efforts," she said, confirming that Germany has a €6bn climate goal for 2025. But she also said that "the world has changed" since the UN climate body the UNFCCC established a list of climate finance donors in 1992. The list has just 24 countries, plus the EU, as contributors. "In 1992, the two dozen countries that provided international climate finance made up 80pc of the world's economy. Now, that share is down to 50pc, and the share of all other countries has more than doubled," she said. She urged other countries in the G20, including China, "to join our effort". She pointed out that the donor base was broader for the loss and damage fund — to tackle the unavoidable and irreversible effects of climate change. Cop 28 host the UAE, which is not part of the 1992 list of donors, was the first contributor of the new fund created in Dubai last year. Babayev said that finance will not be the only important topic discussed at Cop 29 and that work must be done to get "the loss and damage fund up and running". Finalising the Article 6 negotiations will also be a key issue. "We cannot leave everything to market mechanisms," he said. By Caroline Varin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US-led carbon initiative misses launch date
US-led carbon initiative misses launch date
Houston, 23 April (Argus) — The Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA), a global initiative to use voluntary carbon market revenue to speed the decarbonization of developing countries' power sectors, has missed its planned Earth Day launch but continues to prepare for doing business. At the Cop 28 climate conference in Dubai last year, the initiative's leaders said they hoped to formally launch the program on 22 April 2024 . That didn't happen, but the program's leaders last week announced that the US climate think tank Center for Climate and Energy Solutions will serve as the ETA's new secretariat and that former US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry will serve as the honorary chair of an eight-member senior consultative group that will advise the ETA's design and operations. The ETA plans to spend 2024 "building" on a framework for crediting projects they released last year. ETA leaders said the initiative could ultimately generate tens of billions of dollars in finances through 2035. The ETA also said the Dominican Republic had formed a government working group to "guide its engagement" as a potential pilot country for investments and that the Philippines would formally participate as an "observer country" rather than as a direct participant immediately. The ETA is still engaging Chile and Nigeria as potential pilot countries too, the initiative told Argus . The ETA is being developed by the US State Department, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Bezos Earth Fund and would be funded with money from the voluntary carbon market. The initiative's ultimate goal is to allow corporate and government offset buyers to help developing countries decarbonize their power sectors through large projects that accelerate the retirement of coal-fired power plants and build new renewable generation. As of now, the ETA's timeline for future changes and negotiations with countries and companies is unclear. The program's goals are ambitious, especially at a time when scrutiny of some voluntary carbon market projects from environmentalists has weighed on corporate offset demand. By Mia Westley Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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