The US EPA has published a draft rulemaking aimed at cutting CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants, with President Joe Biden’s administration confident that the plan will comply with the Supreme Court’s regulatory limits. The plan would use carbon trading and carbon capture and storage technologies to reduce output. Meanwhile, the European Parliament has given approval to preventing EU companies from relying solely on carbon credits when advertising their sustainability. This move has been supported by the voluntary carbon market as it seeks to increase transparency.
In the EU, industry and policymakers have raised concerns about limited access to critical raw materials and the instability of supply chains that could disrupt the decarbonisation of the heavy truck sector. Despite this, the European commissioner in charge of climate, Frans Timmermans, told reporters that the EU would exceed its renewable targets, so long as bottlenecks in permitting were overcome.
In Asia, China’s CO2 emissions increased by 4% in the first quarter of 2021, putting the country on course for record annual emissions. A Swiss company is developing a system by which farmers and land stewards could earn biodiversity credits for sustainable farming practices. Lastly, the Vatican City has been rebuked by a committee established to pressurise governments into complying with the Paris Agreement, after failing to produce a climate plan. Two other unnamed governments have also been reprimanded.
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