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EU pledges €20mn to Brazil's Amazon fund

  • : Emissions
  • 24/07/23

The EU has signed a letter of intent with Brazil's Bndes development bank to donate €20mn ($21.7mn) to the Amazon fund as part of broader efforts by Europe to support sustainable development in Brazil.

The fund is the world's largest to use the REDD+ framework, which aims to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable forest management. It has R3.9bn under management and has supported 114 projects to date.

The European Investment Bank also agreed to finance €300mn in Brazilian energy transition, green economy and digital transition projects under "very favorable" conditions, it said.

The Amazon fund resumed operations last year, after suspending operations for four years during the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro. It attracted R726mn ($130mn) in 2023.


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25/01/30

EIB's transition, climate finance hit €50.7bn in 2024

EIB's transition, climate finance hit €50.7bn in 2024

London, 30 January (Argus) — The European Investment Bank (EIB) lifted its finance for the energy transition, climate action and environmental sustainability to a record €50.7bn ($52.8bn) in 2024 — 57pc of the bank's total financing last year. The EIB lifted its "green" financing by 14pc on the year . The bank signed €88.8bn in new financing in 2024, with the majority — €68.2bn — going to EU members. The projects financed in 2024 are expected to result in 21GWh of renewable power generation, as well as 107,370km of installed or upgraded power lines, the EIB said. The bank has an existing target for more than 50pc of its total annual financing to go to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. It surpassed this goal in 2021, 2022 and 2023, with 51pc, 58pc and 60pc, respectively, going towards climate action in those years. The EIB also aims to support €1 trillion of climate and sustainability investment by 2030 and remains "well on track" to reach this goal, it said. The EIB is the EU's lending arm, owned by EU member states. It is classed as a multilateral development bank (MDB). Countries often call on MDBs to do more to address climate change, as the institutions have significant leveraging power. The bank expects to lift its signed financing to €95bn this year, with plans to support renewable energy, grids and interconnectors, green hydrogen and storage and reduced emissions in heavy industry. "Far-reaching technological changes, the increasing costs of climate change and demand for more investment in defence, housing and global needs are the expected focus for 2025 to 2027," the EIB said today. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UK sets out '1.5°C-aligned' climate plan to 2035


25/01/30
25/01/30

UK sets out '1.5°C-aligned' climate plan to 2035

London, 30 January (Argus) — The UK has released its third national climate plan, reiterating its commitment to Paris climate agreement goals, and to its 2035 target of an 81pc cut in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, from 1990 levels. UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced the 2035 target at the UN Cop 29 climate summit in November last year. Countries and jurisdictions that are signatories to the Paris climate agreement commit to submitting new national climate plans — known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — every five years, to UN climate body the UNFCCC. The agreement includes a ratchet mechanism, whereby climate targets should become more ambitious over time. Today's NDC — the UK's third — covers 2031-35. The document consolidates plans already in place, and flags upcoming strategies. The government plans for "clean sources" of power to make up 95pc of the country's generation by 2030, cutting carbon intensity of electricity generation to "well below" 50g CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per kWh in 2030. Carbon intensity was 171g CO2e/kWh in 2023. And the plan notes that the UK was the first G7 country to shut down all coal-fired power , closing its last plant in September 2024. The government has pledged "an initial" $3.4bn ($4.24bn) towards decarbonising heat and improving household energy efficiency over the next three years, and will introduce the delayed clean heat market mechanism in April. The scheme will require boiler manufacturers to ensure a proportion of their sales are "low carbon options". The plan sets out the government's manifesto pledge to phase out sales of new cars "relying solely on internal combustion engines" by 2030, and notes that it will consult on issuing no new oil and gas licences to explore new fields. The government also promises "an updated cross-economy plan to meet our climate targets in due course", as well as a new industrial decarbonisation strategy by 2026. The NDC is in line with advice from the UK's independent advisory Climate Change Committee , and with the country's legally binding sixth carbon budget. The latter includes international aviation and shipping emissions, although NDCs do not require this. The UK's third NDC is "a credible contribution towards limiting warming to 1.5 °C and it sits within a range of Paris-consistent equity metrics", the government said. The Paris accord seeks to limit the rise in global temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5°C. The country's Labour government, which took power in July last year, has repeatedly underlined its commitment to the UK's legally binding target of net zero GHG emissions by 2050. The plan took some direction from the outcome of Cop 28 , in December 2023. Countries agreed at Cop 28 to transition away from fossil fuels and to treble renewable energy capacity to 11,000GW by 2030. The NDC also underlined the UK's commitment to spending £11.6bn in international climate finance over April 2021-March 2026, and will outline future climate finance plans in its spring 2026 spending review. UK international climate finance over April 2011-March 2024 reduced or avoided 105mn t of GHG emissions, the government said. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

New Zealand sets 51-55pc emission cut by 2035 target


25/01/30
25/01/30

New Zealand sets 51-55pc emission cut by 2035 target

Edinburgh, 30 January (Argus) — New Zealand has submitted its new 2035 target today, aiming for 51-55pc cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) compared with 2005 gross levels. Countries party to the Paris agreement must submit new climate plans — nationally determined contribution (NDCs) for 2035 — to the UN climate body the UNFCCC by 10 February, as part of the so-called ratchet mechanism which requires them to review and revise plans every five years. The target includes all sectors of New Zealand's economy and all GHGs. The sectors covered comprise energy, industrial processes and product use, agriculture, land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) and waste. The country's second NDC target is expressed as a range "to respond to evolving national circumstances, notably the high proportion of biogenic methane from agriculture in New Zealand's emissions profile," the NDC said. The country's largest source of emissions is the agricultural sector, making up 53pc of total emissions in 2022, according to the environment ministry. With this target, the country's net emissions would reach between 39mn t and 42mn of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) in 2035, according to the environment ministry. The target covers the 2031-2035 time period, but is set as a single-year goal. Single-year goals aim to cut emissions by a single target year, while multi-year goals aim to reduce emissions over a defined period. A multi-year goal is typically more effective when it comes to limiting cumulative emissions, according to the GHG protocol, a GHG cut framework established by the World Resources Institute. New Zealand committed to reduce GHG emissions by 50pc by 2030, from a 2005 baseline. It is also a single year — "point year" — target but is managed using a carbon budget across the NDC period. The country said today the lower range of its 2035 target aligns with its third emissions budget — maximum quantity of emissions allowed in a five-year period — for 2031-35, but the upper end of the range goes beyond "the budget to achieve greater emissions but still remains feasible". New Zealand's emissions budget for 2031-35 is 240mn t of CO2e, according to environment ministry data. New Zealand said the country will publish its third emissions reduction plan for the period 2031–35 in light of the new NDC in 2029, and it will "continue to assess, realign and introduce policies to reduce emissions". This plan would cover the third emission budget period. The country said it aims to achieve its new NDC target through domestic emissions reductions and removals, but may take part in "co-operation under Article 6 during the NDC period". Article 6 of the Paris accord includes two mechanisms aimed at helping countries meet their emissions reduction targets and NDCs through carbon trading . By Caroline Varin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Scottish court rules Rosebank, Jackdaw consent unlawful


25/01/30
25/01/30

Scottish court rules Rosebank, Jackdaw consent unlawful

London, 30 January (Argus) — Scotland's supreme civil court has ruled that approval for the UK's North Sea Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields was unlawful, and has quashed consent for their development. The consent granted for the fields was unlawful because it did not take into account the scope 3 emissions — those that would be caused by burning the fields' oil and gas — the Scottish Court of Sessions ruled today. It ruled that the UK government can take a new decision on the fields, "this time taking into account downstream emissions." Norwegian state-controlled Equinor has an 80pc stake in Rosebank and London-listed Ithaca holds the remaining 20pc. Shell is developing Jackdaw. The companies would have to submit new environmental impact assessments to the UK government for approval, taking into account scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 emissions typically make up between 85pc and 95pc of an oil and gas company's total emissions. Environmental groups Greenpeace and Uplift first separately applied for a judicial review of the government's decision on Rosebank in December 2023 , although the cases were heard together. Greenpeace in July 2022 separately filed a legal challenge against the permitting of the Jackdaw field. All parties to the case agreed that the approvals had been unlawful, but the court heard differing opinions on how to resolve this. A judicial review in the UK is a challenge to the way a decision has been made by a public body, focusing on the procedures followed rather than the conclusion reached. The developers may continue with Rosebank and Jackdaw, but cannot extract any oil or gas from the fields, today's ruling stated. Equinor welcomed the ruling, saying it allows it to "continue with progressing the Rosebank project while we await new consents". The company said it would "work closely" with the UK government and submit a "downstream end-user combustion emissions… assessment in full compliance with the government's new environmental guidance" when it is ready. "Today's ruling rightly allows work to progress on this nationally important energy project while new consents are sought," Shell said in reference to Jackdaw. Judge Lord Ericht said today that "the private interest of members of the public in climate change outweigh the private interest of the developers". Environmental campaigners have had success in courts lately, largely underpinned by a landmark judgment made by the UK Supreme Court in June 2024. The court ruled that Surrey County Council's decision to permit an oil development was "unlawful because the end use atmospheric emissions from burning the extracted oil were not assessed as part of the environmental impact assessment". The UK's Labour government, which took power just days after that ruling, said the outcome meant "end use emissions from the burning of extracted hydrocarbons need to be assessed". The government said in August that it would not challenge judicial reviews brought against development consent granted to Jackdaw and Rosebank. The hearing took place in mid-November . The UK government is expecting to introduce new environmental guidance for oil and gas firms in the spring. It has halted all assessments of environmental statements related to oil and gas extraction and storage activities until this is in place. The then-Conservative UK government greenlit Rosebank in September 2023 and Jackdaw in June 2022 . By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Proven tech focus of 2024 transition investment: BNEF


25/01/30
25/01/30

Proven tech focus of 2024 transition investment: BNEF

London, 30 January (Argus) — Global energy transition investment rose to record levels in 2024, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) says in a report published today, but growth was centred on proven technologies and the amount put into emerging sectors declined. Overall investment in the energy transition reached almost $2.1 trillion last year, BNEF says, an increase of 11pc from 2023 and the highest ever. But the increase was markedly smaller than the 24-29pc annual growth recorded over the previous three years. And investment needs to rise to $5.6 trillion/yr in 2025-30, and $7.6 trillion/yr in 2031-35, to align with achieving net zero emissions by mid-century, BNEF says. About 93pc of energy transition investment last year related to "proven, commercially scalable" technologies, BNEF says, resisting pressure from higher interest rates and policy decisions to rise by 14.7pc to $1.93 trillion. Of these, electrified transport attracted the most investment at $757bn, up by 20pc on the year, followed by renewable energy, up by 8pc to $728bn, and power grids, up by 15pc to $390bn. But investment in emerging technologies fell by 23pc on the year to $154bn. Carbon capture and storage investment halved to $6.1bn, as did clean industry investment to $27.8bn. And hydrogen investment declined by 42pc to $8.4bn. BNEF points to issues surrounding technology maturity, scalability and affordability as key hindrances in emerging sectors, flagging the need for public-private partnerships to derisk investment and encourage growth. The main regional sources of investment shifted in 2024, as mainland China increased its contribution by 20pc to $818bn, investing more than the principal 2023 growth drivers — the EU, US and UK — combined. EU investment fell to $381bn and the UK's to $65.3bn, while the US' held stable at $338bn. By Victoria Hatherick Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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