EU must urgently strengthen climate action: MEPs
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have adopted — in an overwhelming majority vote — a resolution to step up the EU's work to tackle climate change.
The resolution, adopted by MEPs on 15 September, is not legally binding but it could indicate future voting direction. There were 469 votes in favour, just 34 against and 44 abstentions.
"Extreme weather conditions are a sign of the need for more ambitious action on climate change mitigation and adaptation… the EU should play a leading role in this process and reinforce its efforts in all sectors," the bloc's parliament said.
MEPs called for the EU to scale up efforts on climate mitigation, to limit global warming to a 1.5°C rise, as well as focus on adaptation. The European Commission should propose a "comprehensive, ambitious and legally binding European climate adaptation framework, with particular emphasis on the EU's most vulnerable regions," MEPs said. The bloc should also focus on its global role, ensuring international climate finance targets are met, they added.
The commission should run an EU-wide climate risk assessment and run a climate resilience "stress test" by summer next year, MEPs said. They focussed on forest fires and droughts, calling for a "permanent EU civil protection force", as well as for an expansion of the voluntary firefighting reserve.
MEPs recommended that member states form "buffer stocks of strategic feed and foodstuffs" and that they introduce irrigation systems that recycle wastewater or use rainwater storage, in a bid to reduce overall water use. And there should be an EU-wide target of land degradation neutrality by 2030, they said.
Parliament declared a climate emergency in November 2019. The EU has committed to reduce emissions by at least 55pc by 2030, from a 1990 baseline, and is working on the so-called 'Fit for 55' package to ensure it reaches this goal.
Votes in parliament this week on the revision of the bloc's Renewable Energy Directive coincided with an emergency package, presented as the EU seeks to rapidly move away from Russian fossil fuel imports.
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Singapore’s GenZero, Rwanda tie up on carbon credits
Singapore’s GenZero, Rwanda tie up on carbon credits
Singapore, 20 September (Argus) — Singaporean investment platform GenZero has signed an agreement with Rwanda and carbon registry Gold Standard to develop Article 6-compliant carbon credit projects in Rwanda. GenZero, a subsidiary of state-owned investment firm Temasek, signed the agreement with Rwanda Green Fund, the country's financing vehicle for attracting and co-ordinating climate finance through investments, and the Rwanda Environment Management Authority, the country's national authority under Article 6, GenZero said on 19 September. The projects under the agreement will cover both carbon reduction and removal activities whitelisted by the Rwanda government for Article 6. Rwanda and GenZero will assess the potential for the Article 6 projects, which will "go through a robust due diligence and screening process," said GenZero, before undertaking certification by Gold Standard. Eligible projects must utilise Gold Standard's methodologies and comply with its requirements to achieve certification. These projects should first meet Rwanda's national carbon market framework, and will subsequently be able to issue credits that come with corresponding adjustments to ensure no double counting. GenZero will also assess proposals for commercial viability, based on the project's mitigation potential, project maturity and financial returns, it said. This "partnership between a government, a standard-setting body and an investor reflects the shared commitment of the partners to catalyse international investment in high-integrity Article 6 projects in countries such as Rwanda, while generating sustainable benefits for the local economy, environment and communities," said GenZero. Singapore and Rwanda signed an agreement in December last year to collaborate on creating carbon credit frameworks and Article 6-compliant credits. Singapore has also signed multiple agreements with other countries such as the Philippines , Ghana and Papua New Guinea , signalling the country's commitment to establishing cross-border trades of carbon credits as part of its decarbonisation efforts. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Indonesia to require SAF for flights from 2027
Indonesia to require SAF for flights from 2027
Singapore, 19 September (Argus) — Indonesia will require flights to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in their fuel mix from 2027, the Co-ordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment announced on 18 September during the Bali International Air Show. International flights departing Indonesia will be required to use 1pc SAF in their fuel mix, or an estimated 60,000 kilolitres (kl), in 2027. This will rise to 2.5pc by 2030, 12.5pc by 2040, 30pc by 2050, and 50pc, or a projected 7.88mn kl, by 2060. The country's SAF roadmap and policy action plan was also announced on 18 September, and will be implemented as a Presidential Instruction by September. Used cooking oil (UCO) and palm fatty acid distillate (Pfad) were cited as prioritised feedstocks, although other potential feedstocks like palm oil-based feedstocks, coconut, and seaweed will be explored as well. Crude palm oil (CPO) was identified as the alternative SAF feedstock that is most widely available within Indonesia, with a current excess supply of 16.5mn t after energy and food use, which can be converted into 13.3mn t of SAF. But SAF produced from CPO is estimated to have life cycle emissions of 77-99 gCO2/MJ, above the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), US and EU standards, limiting its global marketability. Indonesia aims to establish a taskforce to further engage ICAO on this, over a maximum of two years. SAF Action Plan A 2025-29 Action Plan was also announced, with three main policy pillars of demand, supply and enablers which were mentioned earlier in the year . Notable points under the supply pillar includes securing enough domestic feedstocks for SAF production via the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) pathway – which included a proposed domestic market obligation (DMO) for Pfad, and export quota and/or tariff for UCO. Emission-based incentives for SAF and exploring SAF production through other pathways, like alcohol-to-jet, were also mentioned. The country's Ministry of Investment said that the country has potential to produce up to 1.72mn kl of SAF, 8.03mn kl of biodiesel, and 1.76mn kl of bioethanol, based on the Strategic Investment Downstream Roadmap over 2023-2040. Under the enablers pillar, there are plans to appoint a national accreditation body for SAF certification and a domestic SAF certification ecosystem. Under the demand pillar, the country aims to implement pilot SAF offtake agreements for international flights from Ngurah Rai International Airport, and to increase the SAF mandate at Ngurah Rai, the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, and other major airports. It also plans for an SAF usage mandate for corporate and government travellers. South Korea previously announced a 1pc SAF mandate in August for international flights, while Japan proposed stricter rules for domestic SAF producers to cut greenhouse gas emissions from jet fuel use in June, with the discussions to be finalised later this year. By Sarah Giam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Wash. regulators plan for cap-and-trade vote
Wash. regulators plan for cap-and-trade vote
Monterey, 18 September (Argus) — Washington regulators are making a "contingency" plan in the event of a successful repeal of the state's emissions cap-and-trade program. Initiative 2117, which looks to repeal the state's cap-and-trade program and prevent any similar program from taking its place, will be on state ballots for the 5 November election. "We are doing contingency planning in case the ballot measure passes and will update our covered entities when we do have information — and I know this initiative is creating a lot of uncertainty," said Stephanie Potts, senior planner with the state Department of Ecology today at the Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS & Carbon Markets Summit in Monterey, California. The agency also remains focused on continuing to implement the program, "assuming it continues," she said. Washington's "cap-and-invest" program requires large industrial facilities, fuel suppliers, and power plants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 45pc by 2030 and by 95pc by 2050, from 1990 levels. The department is in an ongoing rulemaking process to expand and amend its carbon offset protocols, and also continues work to gather input for linkage with the Western Climate Initiative, a linked carbon market between California and Quebec. Potts said Washington expects to have a linkage agreement in place by the end of next year. The uncertainty introduced by the ballot initiative over the fledgling market's future has tempered carbon credit prices and activity this year. Argus assessed Washington carbon allowances (WCAs) for December delivery at $30.25/metric tonne on 4 March, their lowest price since the program's inception in 2023. The drop in prices at that time coincided with a statement by Ecology outlining how a successful repeal would end the agency's authority over the program. Earlier this year, the state Office of Financial Management (OFM) released a fiscal impact statement on a successful repeal that assumed an effective repeal date would be 5 December. By Denise Cathey and Jessica Dell Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil allocates R514mn to combat fires: Correction
Brazil allocates R514mn to combat fires: Correction
Corrects value of funding in headline and lead. Sao Paulo, 18 September (Argus) — Brazil will allocate R514mn ($94.3mn) to combat fires spreading across the country, presidential chief of staff Rui Costa and environment minister Marina Silva said this week. The funds are considered "extraordinary" and not a part of the country's overall budget because they are part of a special budget authorized by the supreme court to tackle climate change. Brazil is facing severe drought in all states but two, leading to fires in several regions. The flames are likely to cut the country's 2024-25 sugarcane output , while low river levels have roiled logistics . Part of the funds will be allocated to the environment ministry to reinforce monitoring and combating fires, Costa said. The federal police and the national public security force will also receive extra resources to reinforce investigations and battle environmental crimes. The armed forces will also receive some funds to support operations to extinguish the flames. Another portion will be earmarked to buy food for families in the north that are affected by the low water levels caused by droughts. The government will also issue another provisional measure this week to ease the release of resources from the Amazon Fund, Costa said. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, supreme court chief justice Luis Roberto Barroso, head of the senate Rodrigo Pacheco and lower house speaker Arthur Lira all attended the announcement as a show of unity among the branches. Brazil is also considering increasing penalties for environmental crimes, which Silva considers to be "too low" at the moment. "The sentence of two to four years in prison is light," she said. "And some judges go further and completely relax this sentence." Brazil — which is trying to bolster its image as a climate leader — is also considering creating a climate authority and technical-scientific committee to "support and coordinate the federal government's actions to combat climate change." By Lucas Parolin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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