Argus Carbon Markets & Regulation Conference

• A short presentation on Portugal’s journey towards decarbonization  
• What carbon reduction technology is Portugal investing in and why?  
• How does Portugal plan to interact with the voluntary carbon market? What opportunities exist for local entities and business to get involved?  

Speakers:

Mr. Nuno Lacasta, President of the Board of Directors, Portuguese Environment Agency 

• How are utilities preparing for the gradual phase out of free allocation allowances and the implementation of CBAM? 
• From the perspective of a big utility, what do you make of the voluntary carbon market? Have you considered voluntary off-sets as viable strategy in the race to net zero?  
• What other carbon reduction technologies have been considered as part of your sustainability strategy? 

Speaker:

Lee Hodder, VP Strategy and Chief Sustainability Officer, Galp

• Overview of EUA pricing history and how the implementation of new legislation will impact the carbon market from a fiscal perspective 
• In early March the market experienced EUA pricing around €100 per ton, will this significant price increase encourage ETS participants to invest in carbon reduction technology? What progress has the market seen so far? 
• Some industrials anticipate this price hike to affect the competitiveness of the EU’s manufacturing sector, how can regulators and market participants work together to mitigate these concerns?  

Speakers:

Mark Lewis, Head of Climate Research, Andurand Capital Management 

Jori Ringman, Director General, Confederation of European Paper Industries  

Samuel Norton, Senior Carbon Trading Analyst, Vattenfall Energy 

• How are countries outside the EU preparing for CBAM? Are there new emissions trading systems on the horizon? 
• Currently CBAM covers 5 sectors (cement, iron/steel, aluminium, fertilisers and electricity), will CBAM expand into other markets?  
• There is a lot of scepticism surrounding the voluntary carbon market in the EU, but it may be an essential tool in getting Europe, and ultimately the world, to reach its climate goals. Therefore, shouldn’t off-sets be considered under CBAM? If not, why?  

Speakers:

Nataliya Askerova, Communication Coordinator, EFET 

• Updates on the North American carbon markets with a particular focus on California, Washington, and Oregon 
• What can Europe learn from California’s openness to collaborate with the voluntary space as a compliance market?   
• How did these three states develop their cap-and-trade programs? What are some lessons learned? 

• Overview of the EU Commission and Parliament’s provisional agreements on EU ETS   
• As free allocation allowances begin to phase out and the EU implements CBAM, concerns continue to grow in big industry sectors. What is the EU’s position on this? What are some of the benefits that CBAM offers for both industry and Europe’s climate goals?  
• What can the market expect for 2040, or Phase 5, in terms of the EU ETS? Any new sectors or potential collaboration with the CCUS space?  
• How does the commission plan to support and manage the logistical integration of new markets? Like the maritime sector for example?

Speaker:

Mette Koefoed Quinn, Head of Unit B1, ETS Policy Coordination and International Carbon Markets, EU Commission 

• Hydrogen has the potential to help heavy industry reduce carbon emission, but is hydrogen power accessible to the market in terms of supply and logistics?  \
• Unfortunately, hydrogen is not an option for every heavy emitting sector, what alternatives have let’s say the cement industry been investigating? Biomass? CCUS? 
• How as the EU Innovation Fund developed over the past year? What new projects have joined? Is there a particular focus on a certain type of carbon reduction tech (CCUS, Solar, Biomass….)? If so, why?  

Speakers:

Joana Fonseca, Senior Analyst, Hydrogen Europe 

• EUA prices have reached a record high this year, has this incentivized your organization to begin to investigate and/or invest in alternative carbon reduction technologies? If so, what are they?  
• High EUA prices should be incentivizing heavy emitters to invest in new technologies, but the clock is ticking. How do you companies plan to finance these projects and accelerate the scalability of these carbon reduction technologies?  
• Hydrogen power seems to be a popular alternative for heavy emitters, but how accessible is it now? Additionally, not every sector (like Cement) can rely on hydrogen what alternatives exist for them?

Speaker:

Riham Wahba, Senior Market Analyst, Vertis Environmental Finance 

• An example and overview of a viable European based CCUS project  
• What could the implementation of removal credits in the EU ETS look like? As it stands CCUS projects are in high demand but low in supply, would removal credits even be accessible to most or all market participants?   
• What obstacles prevented removal credits from being considered in the current legislative updates to the ETS?

 Speaker: 

Johan Borge, BECCS Development, Stockholm Exergi 

Travis Caddy, Associate, Evident 

Ennio Prizzi, Policy Officer, Bioenergy Europe  

Dr Mostyn Brown, Manager, AFRY 

• What different roles can financial intermediaries play in both compliance and voluntary carbon markets?  
• From the perspective of a financial institution what do you make of the voluntary carbon market today?
• One of the many roles that a financial intermediary can take on is that of an advisor. From this perspective, what are some of the biggest concerns your clients have in terms of decarbonization strategies? Is off setting an integral piece of that strategy? If not, why?

Confirmed Speaker:  

Courtney Lowrance, Managing Director, Sustainability and Corporate Transitions, Citi

• Overview of developing and established carbon markets in APAC 
• How have governments tackled the task of developing and setting up carbon markets in this region? 
• China is the biggest compliance market in APAC, but they’ve been slowed down due to the pandemic. What should we expect from China over the next couple of years? 

• Detail the process of developing a voluntary carbon off-set project.  
• What are some of the lessons learned while developing a nature based voluntary off-set project? How do you ensure environmental integrity on the ground? 
• Take the audience through the accreditation process as a project developer.

Speaker:

Eva Pintado, Technical Manager, Permian Global  

• Your article “Revealed: more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest certifier are worthless, analysis shows” cause an immense amount of controversy in the voluntary carbon space. What is your stance surrounding phantom credits and genuine carbon reductions today?  
• You quoted Barbara Haya, director of the Berkley Carbon Trading project saying that the “offset market is broken,” do you agree or is there time and space for improvement? 
• Do you think there is hope for the voluntary carbon market? Do you see it being integral to the fight against climate change? 

Speakers:

Patrick Greenfield, Reporter, The Guardian

Ed Mitchard, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder, Space Intelligence 

• How has the standard setting process evolved? What tangible steps are standardization organizations taking to ensure environmental integrity as the market continues to scale up?   
• Over the past couple months, the Redd + project/credit market has been heavily criticized, what are some of the challenges in this space?  
• What kinds of projects are corporates investing in now? Are nature based VCOs still seen as a reliable resource when planning net zero strategies?  
• Green energy is a phrase that is typically used to describe projects that are considered VCOs, as a buyer how do you ensure that the energy is green from start to finish?

Speakers:

Senior Representative, VERRA

• What is the difference between an I-REC and an off-set? Where and how do they overlap in their overarching aims?  
• Can I-RECs and off-sets work together to create a sustainable future in Europe and the world?  
• Who are buying and/or investing in REC’s? What is the future of this market?  

Speaker:

Oleg Dobrovolsky, Regional Director Middle East & Central Asia, I-REC Standard Foundation