Carbon Markets Burst Back to Life ??

January 2023 Newsletter Issue #143

Little fish were sweet in December, and early January as we found a lot of the CTX small broker resellers taking advantage of the lower prices on some credits. Servicing Small and Medium Enterprises to offset their footprint with what we call ‘micro trades’ (100 – 1,000 tonnes). It was a busy time for the CTX admin team, and meant developers saw a steady flow of trades – albeit smaller – so some nice Xmas and New Year cashflow. Unlike other markets where there are 1,000’s multiples (the minimum), CTX caters for small and larger trades so we have numerous plus 100,000 trades and many over 10,000 as the Verra VCS Index for 1st February below shows:?

CTX CERs (‘deliverable’) are a margin favourite for reseller broker. It's seen with 52 weeks average quantity of over 22,000:?

Our weekly Carbon Media report shows the pricing for market participants in a format that is similar to our competitors. For now, only CTX members will see the details. Moving forward, this report will be going to Carbon Pulse, CarbonCredits.com, and the new Carbon Herald for publication.?

Stock Exchanges – White Label CTX Tech Is Ready???

When CTX members log in via the Aviation Page on our website, they are re-directed to the Aviation Carbon Exchange (A.C.E.) ?. This is the logo clients will see while they trade on the CTX global platform. GEM and CTX are engaging with multiple Stock Exchanges to deliver this under a fee sharing contract. If you hold an account with any major trading houses globally, email us at [email protected], and?we can start the process of connecting your account for future trades.??

Carbon Credibility - A Real Question? Or Competition of Forces???

Money rules Media, but what are the facts? In December 2022 and January this year, multiple mainstream and social media articles have appeared revolving around the credibility 'of Carbon Credits and Offsetting. It is amazing how new entrants who benefit financially from these questions seem to get coverage. When you drill deeper, you see that they have ‘investors’ or ‘related parties’ whose interests align with a new outcome or the agenda they propagate.?

For example, if you created a project ‘rating’ system, and it needed growth to support the tens of millions invested, you might subtly question the validity of current standards that you don’t rate. Or look at the projects that have not been rated or those that have been rated badly. Of course, you would ‘endorse’ some new ‘regulator’ bodies that would insist that unrated projects perhaps weren’t worth ‘anything’? Perhaps spend loads of investor funds to ensure the projects they’d invested in are rated. Seems like they went to the Gates playbook for Covid??

Let’s say that a competitor to current Credit Standards needs to undermine credibility of, for example, Verra VCS? What if their investor is a ‘not for profit’ – fenced off but controlled by a fund that also owns and controls a competitor of VCS??Could they seed a story in Main Strawman Media to undermine them??

Seems they did… The Guardian and others took the bait.?

What if a major Investment Bank has long term aspirations to own and control the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) they think will be worth trillions? It’s small (in global terms) weak, disjointed and under resourced, so why not pay (hire) some previously unknown international advisory firm with an official sounding regulator type name, pay them to create a new body to grow the VCM and they employ a major consultant firm, and engage the usual global control suspects (cue BG)? Then reel in the sectors main players on the grounds of being ‘independent’, pretend the market can have a voice in a plan they’d already have formed to globally control and own the market??

Couldn’t that happen? I give you the TSVCM. And the outcomes are now emerging in this long play plan.?‘Conspiracy Theory’ - you cry? On the back of the global world’s greatest ‘I told you so’ in history??Well, we don’t ask you to do anything other than trust your own eyes and use a platform that shows you what you are buying. Do your own homework.?

In financial markets, in every investment portfolio, professionals advise diversity. We think it applies to Carbon Offsetting as well. Don’t buy things you do not like or lack faith in. If you think (we do not!) that certain project types aren’t credible, then do not buy them. Only CTX buyers or brokers can build portfolios of offsets across multiple Credit Standards, countries, project types, and suitable to any budget.???

If you require more details, just click on the Information Button and see the project documents in the Registry. Our advice is to please question any media-driven information as to its origin or agenda – surely the last three years proved that??

At CTX, we like to drill down to the ultimate source and facts. And in case you missed it, on the CTX platform, the symbols you can see on live listings help you find the facts.??

Projects of The Month

1. Gold Standard

CookStoves - Rwanda (Africa) Biomass Conservation?

Project ID:?GS 2397 (9 SDG’s)

The small-scale voluntary project activity (VPA) aims to disseminate over 35,400 improved cookstoves (i.e., the technology) that are more efficient and use less wood for household cooking and heating than the traditional stoves. Another objective of the project is to promote improved kitchen and firewood management practices e.g., use of less firewood, use of dry firewood, using a pot lid while cooking and soaking legumes before cooking (i.e., practices) to households in the rural Districts of Rwanda.?

The improved technology and practices are intended to replace less efficient technologies and practices, and result in biomass conservation as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere from the burning of solid biomass. The improved household stoves reduce fuel consumption by improved combustion and improved heat transfer. The stoves raise the cooking pot to the hottest point above the flame. The improved household cookstoves target predominantly low-income households using non-renewable biomass energy on traditional / unimproved / low-efficiency stoves.?

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2. Universal Carbon Registry

26 MW Biomass co-generation Energy?

Project ID: UCR177 (3 SDG’s)??

This is a bagasse-based Co-Generation (Cogen) Power Project in India. It aims to decentralise generation of exportable surplus power, mainly from renewable source of fuel. The integrated project comprises of a sugar mill for the manufacture of high-quality sugar, thereby making available required bagasse for the Cogen power plant in crushing season.?

It utilises biomass as a fuel for power generation and heat, a move that is voluntary and not mandated under current environmental laws of India. Since this project activity generates green energy in the form of power and heat, it has positively contributed towards the reduction in (demand) use of finite natural resources like coal, gas and oil, minimising depletion and in turn increasing its availability to other important purposes. Therefore, this project activity helps to environment sustainability by reducing GHG emission in the atmosphere.?

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3. UNFCCM CDM

Methane Capture to Energy (CMM)

Project ID: 1880 (2 SDG’s)?

Coal mine methane (CMM) emissions refer to the process whereby methane is released during coal mining activities and represent a potential source of energy. The recovery and use of CMM emissions have benefits for the local community as well as the global environment. Before CMM can be used, it must be captured by ventilation and drainage systems and then brought to the surface. The purpose of the sub-project was to introduce goaf wells and long horizontal borehole drilling technologies to the Chinese coal mines.?

This project developed a technology to extract Post-Mining CMM from surface goaf wells by improving the technology in order to extract a higher methane rated concentration gas, combined with a technology to blend the low concentration methane (CMM) and high concentration methane (post-mining methane (PMM)) to achieve a stabilised supply of gas with adequate methane concentration. This Project contributes to the reduction of GHG by combusting methane in the CMM and substituting these fossil fuel-based energy sources.?

Extraction and utilisation of CMM brings a lot of benefits including the assurance of coal mine safety, a solution for a regional environmental issue by decreasing emission of air polluting substances, and the promotion of local economy, including, without limitation, increasing the opportunity of employment.?In addition, the use of this unused domestic energy contributes for the sustainable development in China from the perspective of energy security.?

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CTX Members – if you have any questions, please email [email protected].?

Thank you all for your contributions to help save?the planet for our future generations.