Brazil sets CCS/CCUS regulatory framework

Spanish Market: Emissions
13/08/26

Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree Wednesday creating the regulatory framework for carbon capture, storage and utilization (CCS/CCUS) activities.

The regulations take effect immediately, putting CCS/CCUS activities under the responsibility of Brazil hydrocarbons regulator ANP, which will oversee research, assessment of storage areas and operations. It also sets rules for monitoring and activity closure. It will be up to ANP to approve projects.

The regulations are part of Brazil's fuel of the future law, which is regulatory framework to advance the country's renewable fuels strategy and decarbonization across multiple sectors. Brazil's CCS market has long called for these regulations, which should enhance legal certainty and predictability for investments in CCS technologies. Brazil is counting on CCS to reach net zero emissions by 2050, according to the government.

Approval of the rules is "a significant milestone for the sector, as it helps provide the necessary legal certainty for CCS projects to move from the drawing board to implementation and scale up, and for new investments to be made", said Isabela Morbach, co-founder of advocacy group CCS Brasil.

The government estimates that its forestry and energy sectors need to have net-negative emissions in the coming years to help offset emissions from hard-to-abate segments.

The rules require that the mines and energy ministry, supported by energy research bureau Epe, develop a national infrastructure plan to guide the implementation of CCS/CCUS. The plan will be reviewed once every two years.

The regulations call for infrastructure sharing among different projects, fostering the creation of multi-user hubs. The rules also recognizes six technological pathways for CCS/CCUS.

Under the regulations, operations may conclude only after the stability of the stored carbon has been verified, following a minimum monitoring period of 20 years.

But the long-term liability for carbon storage is a point of concern, Morbach said. The approved regulations diverge from international trends by placing full responsibility of storage on the operator not only during operations, which is expected, but also after closure.

"The international trend is to provide, whether through legislation or regulation, for the transfer of this long-term liability", she said.

The decree establishes that the carbon must remain stored for at least 50 years.

Lula on Wednesday also signed decrees regulating markets for sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen.

By Lucas Parolin

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12/08/26

New Jersey board proposes lower RPS target for 2029

Houston, 12 August (Argus) — New Jersey regulators proposed cuts to the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in the 2029 reporting period, more than a year after they first signaled they were considering the adjustments. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on Wednesday kicked off a process that could result in it lowering the Class I obligations for utilities during the 2029 energy year to 45pc, from the current 47pc. The compliance period spans June 2028-May 2029. The board will next publish a notice of proposal in the New Jersey Register , which will start a 60-day public comment period. In addition to modifying the 2029 RPS minimum, the proposal would officially codify previously approved changes to the 2026-28 targets. The BPU last year held the 2026 objective at 35pc of retail sales, rather than allowing it to rise to 38pc as scheduled, and earlier this year cut the 2027 and 2028 goals to 35pc and 40pc, respectively, from their original 41pc and 44pc mandates. Renewable energy certificates (RECs) traded sharply higher on the news, after uncertainty about the extent of the BPU's proposed changes weighed on prices during Tuesday's session. Futures transactions for the 2029 RECs occurred as high as $29.15/MWh on Wednesday morning, $1.45 higher than Argus assessed the vintage Tuesday. The BPU has previously sought feedback on larger adjustments to the RPS program, such as opening Class I eligibility to out-of-state solar projects, which would have much greater impacts on the supply and demand balance throughout the region. The ambiguity around the extent of the board's intentions had spooked some participants, driving credits lower. Thus, despite the BPU signaling it could adopt lower targets for the 2029 reporting period, market confidence rebounded upon learning the proposed changes would be relatively narrow. The BPU first floated changes to the 2027-2031 RPS targets in May 2025, when it froze the 2026 requirements. At the time, the board directed its staff to investigate the requirements for those years, part of a larger push to diminish costs borne by ratepayers after a series of record-high capacity auctions in the PJM region, a 13-state grid territory that includes New Jersey. Staff in March floated amendments to the 2027-29 periods, with the BPU ultimately adopting the reduced 2027-28 targets in May. But the agency postponed a decision on the 2029 modifications at the time, wanting to further consider the matter. The RPS peaks at 50pc in 2030. Getting literal about 'solar farms' The BPU on Wednesday also approved 16 projects that collectively represent 52MW of solar capacity for the state's "dual-use" pilot program, which is designed to support agrivoltaic projects in which active farmland coincides with solar generation. The projects, which individually range from less than 1MW to 5.5MW in size, will ultimately generate credits for New Jersey's SREC-II credits program. While SREC-II credits do not count toward the RPS in-state photovoltaic carve-out, they do count toward the broader Class I requirements. The board endorsed the pilot program's first solicitation last year, attempting to bolster the state's renewable energy fleet without ceding prime farmland in the process. The pilot will run for 36 months, with the board setting specific capacity targets for each program year for an overall allocation of 200MW. The awards granted to the first batch of projects land between $106.91-$228.58/MWh. By Patrick Zemanek Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EIA raises renewable diesel output view

11/08/26

EIA raises renewable diesel output view

Houston, 11 August (Argus) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) today raised its projections for renewable diesel production and net exports while trimming domestic demand expectations. EIA raised its forecast for renewable diesel production in 2026 to 241,000 b/d, the agency said Tuesday in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook , up by 5,000 b/d from July's forecast. The production outlook for next year was unchanged at 294,000 b/d. The outlook for domestic renewable diesel demand this year was trimmed by 9,000 b/d to 208,000 b/d, while the 2027 forecast was reduced by 4,000 b/d to 291,000 b/d. EIA increased its expectation for net renewable diesel exports this year to 30,000 b/d, up by 13,000 b/d from July's projection and equal to the level recorded in 2025. Next year, renewable diesel imports and exports are expected to be balanced, compared with 5,000 b/d in net imports projected last month. US biodiesel domestic demand is expected to average 101,000 b/d in 2026 and 115,000 b/d in 2027. The 2026 forecast was cut by 1,000 b/d from EIA's July outlook, while the 2027 outlook was unchanged. Biodiesel output is expected to reach 101,000 b/d in 2026 and 109,000 b/d in 2027, both unchanged from the previous report. Biodiesel imports and exports in 2026 are also expected to be balanced, a decrease of 1,000 b/d in net imports from last month's projection. The agency expects 6,000 b/d of net biodiesel imports in 2027, unchanged from the previous report. EIA's forecast for US production and consumption of "other biofuels" — including sustainable aviation fuel — were unchanged from last month's outlook at 42,000 b/d this year and 53,000 b/d next year. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) maintained its forecast for US soybean oil use for biofuels in its July World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, holding at 8.07mn metric tonnes for the 2026–27 marketing year. US soybean crush margins have remained volatile since the start of July, peaking at $3.268/bushel (bu) on 22 July before soybean oil futures prices dove lower. Crush margins were last calculated at $2.745/bu on 10 August. Current-year D4 Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits were last assessed at 221.5¢/lb on 10 August, down substantially from an all-time high of 255.875¢/RIN reached on 7 July, lowering production margins for US biofuel producers. The US requires refiners to blend various types of biofuels each year or cover their obligations by purchasing RIN credits from others that do. By Thompson Corpus Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Economic loss from extreme weather fell in 1H: Swiss Re

11/08/26

Economic loss from extreme weather fell in 1H: Swiss Re

London, 11 August (Argus) — Global economic losses from extreme weather events in the first half of the year were 10pc lower than the 10-year average, but this "masks rising natural catastrophe risk", Swiss reinsurance firm Swiss Re said today. Economic losses globally from natural catastrophes, such as storms and wildfires, stood at $100bn in the first half, down by 34pc on the year, and 16pc lower than the 10-year average, Swiss Re data show. Global insured losses from natural catastrophes were $42bn, the lowest for the first half since 2020, the company said. Insured losses in January-June were less than half of those in the same period of 2025, which were driven by wildfires and severe storms in the US, including wildfires in California in January. But "a less costly first half of the year does not mean the risk has gone away", Swiss Re head of catastrophe perils Balz Grollimund said. "Europe's recent wildfires highlight how hotter and drier conditions are making large wildfires more likely and, with more homes, businesses and infrastructure built in risk-exposed areas, also more costly", he added. Wildfires had by 10 August burnt almost 543,000 hectares in the EU, nearly treble the long-term average, European Commission data show. The recent record heat in much of Europe "created an environment more conducive to wildfires", Swiss Re said. Although wildfires have only incurred a relatively small share of insured losses in Europe to date, it is the "fastest-growing weather peril globally", Swiss Re said. Its research estimates that insured losses from wildfires in Europe have increased by 8-11pc annually in real terms since 1970. Western Europe experienced its hottest July on record , data from EU earth-monitoring programme Copernicus show. The extreme heat and widespread drought has pressured the bloc's power systems and disrupted deliveries made by river . Europe is the fastest-warming continent, heating twice as quickly as the global average since the 1980s. "Strengthening resilience and reducing underlying risk will… be increasingly important in maintaining the affordability and availability of insurance", Swiss Re said. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US Senate starts recess without permitting deal

10/08/26

US Senate starts recess without permitting deal

Washington, 10 August (Argus) — The US Senate left town on Saturday for a five-week summer break without finishing its work on a bipartisan infrastructure permitting bill, complicating the path to enacting the legislation this year. Getting the bill done before the August recess was the "best chance" for it to become law, Senate Environment Committee chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) said in June. But on 8 August, the Senate recessed after voting 90-6 for a funding bill that would avoid a shutdown in seven weeks. Senate negotiators have yet to release any text of the permitting bill, and they only have three weeks in session before the midterm elections on 3 November. Oil and renewable industry officials see an increasing likelihood that any votes on the permitting bill will not take place until after the midterms. If Democrats win control of either chamber, Republicans see slim chances to pass a permitting bill in the lame duck session or the next two years because of friction between Democrats and President Donald Trump. "It's going to be almost a dead issue from my perspective, in terms of thinking that the House is going to be able to do something constructive if the House flips," US senator Alan Armstrong (R-Oklahoma) said on 29 July. Congressional negotiators say they are not giving up on permitting, although they are floating the idea of narrowing the bill's scope to focus on issues with bipartisan agreement. Timing will not be an issue if the final bill has broad enough support among Republicans and Democrats, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) said in a podcast interview POLITICO published on 3 August. He attributed delays with the bill to the Trump administration rather than his Republicans counterparts. "It has been the White House that consistently throws up new challenges, and that just makes it harder for us to sell any product to our caucuses," Heinrich said. Democrats have spent the last year warning the White House that taking further steps to undermine wind and solar development would make it more difficult for them to support a permitting bill, with little apparent success. The administration halted work on offshore wind projects that were under construction until they were blocked in court. The US Department of Defense was recently ordered by a federal judge to restart reviews of wind farms that had been frozen for a year. A recent proposal by the administration to weaken enforcement of the National Historic Preservation Act was "not helpful" to permitting legislation, Heinrich said. Republicans who are pushing for a permitting deal say it would be short-sighted of Democrats to scuttle a deal just because the administration has been blocking some projects. Armstrong, who was the executive chairman of pipeline company Williams before being appointed to the Senate, said a permitting bill would address the issue Democrats want to resolve. "Our industry's had its toes stepped on plenty of times," Armstrong said on 29 July. "I totally understand the emotions of that, but this is about legislating in a way that we don't have to tolerate that." The White House appears poised to unilaterally make changes to permitting policy even absent any legislation, although oil and renewable industry officials say those changes would not offer the certainty they need to invest billions of dollars in new infrastructure. As early as this month, the administration plans to finalize changes to make it harder for states to block "section 401" water permits for pipelines and to propose new rules for offshore wind permitting, according to a regulatory dashboard. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

New Zealand eyes Australia-aligned CBAM

05/08/26

New Zealand eyes Australia-aligned CBAM

Sydney, 5 August (Argus) — New Zealand might explore a future carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) aligned with Australia in case the Australian government decides to introduce such a scheme, climate change minister Simon Watts said at a conference on 5 August. As part of its upcoming safeguard mechanism review , the Australian government will consider introducing a CBAM that could initially cover imports of cement and clinker and potentially expand to products such as hydrogen, steel and ammonia , as well as derivatives such as urea and ammonium phosphate. Such commodities face risk of future carbon leakage from imports, which could lead to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions being relocated from Australia to overseas, according to the findings of the carbon leakage review published in February. "I would expect that if there was ever any policy change in this area, that would be something that would be in conjunction with Australia," Watts told delegates at the Carbon Forestry 2026 conference in Rotorua on 5 August. The New Zealand government has been "actively monitoring" policy developments in the area and remains "open-minded", Watts said. "I think it's probably going to be something that will come later next year, looking where the Australians are," he added. Watts was responding to a question on whether a CBAM would be a better approach than government support to specific industries, as it did with a recent grant of up to NZ$60mn ($35.2mn) for Golden Bay Cement (GBC) to continue cement manufacturing at its Whangarei plant. Operator Fletcher Building was considering closure of the GBC clinker facility in Whangarei in favour of switching to a cheaper import-only model, mainly because of emissions costs. The grant would preserve "a strategically significant domestic capability without creating a precedent for wider support or undermining the integrity of the ETS," the government said. New Zealand emissions unit (NZU) spot prices collapsed in November after the government announced it would decouple the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) unit volumes and price control settings from the country's nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris agreement. Prices reached low NZ$30s/t CO2e early this year but have since recovered , closing at NZ$55.70/t CO2e on 5 August . Apart from Australia, other jurisdictions actively exploring CBAM-style border measures include Canada and the US, the Climate Change Commission (CCC) said in a report in April. "While New Zealand exporters have limited direct exposure to currently planned CBAMs, this could change as these mechanisms spread to more countries, sectors and products," the CCC said. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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