EPA's Carbon Clampdown
“ A leading carbon exchange closes two major deals simultaneously to tie the knot between data and finance and to trade renewable energy credits.”
April 29, 2023
EPA's Carbon Clampdown
The U.S. environmental agency will soon require gas-fired power plants to capture their carbon emissions while leading venture capitalist firms form a pact to support climate tech startups move towards net zero.
A leading carbon exchange closes two major deals simultaneously to tie the knot between data and finance and to trade renewable energy credits.
Meanwhile, a joint venture between South Pole and Mitsubishi reveals a massive advance purchase of 200,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits.
Lets dive in!
Firing Gas and Capturing It
The US Environmental Protection Agency will put its foot on the gas, almost literally by imposing tighter rules on gas-fired power plants.
President Joe Biden’s newest climate proposal, soon to be revealed, will require power facilities to curb their carbon emissions by using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
The proposed emissions standards for the power sector is based on a plant’s capacity to reduce its CO2 footprint. Under the new rules, utilities can either build new baseload gas-fired plants with carbon capture in place or opt to use renewable energy to run their facilities.
That would be the case if the proposal wins over the Supreme Court’s decision.
Net Zero from Day Zero
As the world strives to decarbonize, more sectors are joining the net zero race. The latest sector to join forces is the VC world where 23 firms representing $62 billion in assets, have come together to form the Venture Climate Alliance or VCA.
The alliance will support early-stage climate tech startups to reduce their emissions and tackle net zero by 2050 or earlier. Collectively, the VCA members will build climate-aligned businesses for “net zero from day zero”.
Xpansiv Expansion
The top spot exchange for environmental commodities Xpansiv struck two major deals.
They have partnered with T-REX, a financial infrastructure provider for complex fixed-income investments, to directly link environmental performance data to sustainably financed projects through Xpansiv’s Universal Project Numbers (UPN).
They also announced a deal with the International REC Standard (I-REC) and launched the trading of renewable energy certificates (RECs) on its CBL platform.
Adding the new contracts will expand the range of RECs and carbon credits currently trading on the platform as well as improve RECs’ price discovery and liquidity formation.
Biggest CDR Purchase
Carbon dioxide removals (CDR) seem to be the apple of the eye in the fight against climate change; scientists strongly highlight their importance and investors favor their permanence.
The massive advance purchase of 200,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits by NextGen, a joint venture between Mitsubishi and South Pole, is clear evidence.
The purchase is one of the biggest CDR transactions to date with the credits coming from three different projects:
1 Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) project by Summit Carbon Solutions,
2 PointFive's Direct Air Capture and Storage (DACS), and
3 Carbo Culture's high-tech biochar project.
This landmark CDR deal sends a strong signal that corporations are serious in developing the market of high-quality CDR credits