“We need to start investing in projects that protect grasslands if we want to see progress with carbon credits” these are the words of Dr Claire Davis-Reddy, from the International Emissions Trading Association) IETA.
IETA is a non-profit organization that facilitates the trading of information and experience related to greenhouse gas emissions trading.
According to a total carbon split by biomes, most of the national terrestrial carbon stock is located in the grasslands and savannah. Both make up 66% of total carbon.
Natural forests make up 2% of carbon stocks on land.
Currently, the carbon tax in South Africa, is driving the carbon market with an increasing tax rate. But Dr Davis-Reddy said carbon credit demand, is expected to surpass the supply until around 2043. It is the soil organic carbon in both the grasslands and savannah that offer carbon credit opportunities.
The Carbon Tax Act No.15 of 2019, provides for the recycling of revenue for the generation of electricity levy credits. Carbon Offset Regulations were developed and published by National Treasury, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy as well as the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. The implementation of this legislation is in phases, with CHG emitting taxpayers to minimize impact on business and electricity prices. Direct taxing is applicable from combustion, industrial processes and fugitive emissions.
Capital investments of up to USD$220 billion in low carbon markets were permitted by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), according to the UN. Africa has benefitted the least.
Much work lies ahead to address challenges in such markets.
Such as the role the financial sector could play in regulating the carbon market. Dr Davis-Reddy said there needs to be clarity on carbon credits legal nature as well as a domestic register. She said the existing European Union’s Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) could influence
global carbon pricing.
Organizations such as the International Carbon Reduction & Offsetting Accreditation), ICROA in short, is an accreditation programme, to enhance the integrity in voluntary carbon markets, in support of the Paris agreement goals.
There are multiple working groups, including one based globally, such as the article 6.4 Task Force, the authorization task team, the Infrastructure and Registry task force, and others.
An upcoming forum in April, will get stakeholders to review updates in the carbon market supply chain and national policy environment, with the aim of identifying challenges, opportunities and mechanisms that facilitate the market’s expansion.
The forum, to be held in Cape Town, will cover offset market developments, scaling carbon credit supply with global partners ICROA, South-South-North towards climate resilience and the Anthesis Climate Neutral Group.
New carbon market now at the JSE
Anelisa Matutu, who heads up Commodities at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, said carbon markets are now official, in partnership with an American company, Xpansiv.
She manages the newly created separate carbon market called the JSE Ventures.
At that market, companies buy carbon credits under cap-and-trade structures similar to the ones in Europe.
“There is collaboration with other countries.” She said Egypt and Kenya announced their own markets recently.
She said the JSE’s role is to link up buyers and sellers, who can find each other on the
JSE platform. She also said net-zero commitments is the main driver for growth in voluntary carbon markets.
“The nature of demand is important to assess market dynamics (high demand for high quality credits is expected to increase, thus driving prices up, of certain high-quality credits, while others will remain unused).”
She said phase 2 of the carbon tax is expected to be effective by 2026, with changes expected to bring major demand to the market from Eskom, and the threshold on offsets, increasing from 10% to 15%.
The total demand in the carbon tax system is estimated at more than 30 million tons of Co2 per year, by 2030.
Electricity price neutrality will be removed by 2026, bringing Eskom demand of around 20 million tons to the market. The current maximum of 10% offsets is expected to increase to 15% by 2026.
This is expected to drive demand for carbon credits. Carbon credits can be used to offset 10% of companies’ emissions, with the possibility that this level may be increased in the future.
Renewable energy certificates are expected to reduce taxes on scope 2 emissions and support decarbonization of the energy grid.
Matutu said a large proportion of listed companies are major emitters that could benefit from having access to a carbon market. The Top 100 issuers are at 205MtCo2e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent).
Met with suspicion
Organizations suspicious of voluntary carbon markets include WWF. Work by Dr Louise Naude and Prabhat Upadhyaya, dating as far back as 2017, claim the global carbon market has failed to account for all the external costs of carbon emissions and failed to deliver economic efficiency and sustainable behaviour.
The report claims the EU Commissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), has failed to achieve an adequate emissions reductions commensurate with targets required by science.
“This is because of a historically weak carbon price signal, resulting from weak demand for carbon permits and over-allocation of free emission permits.”
WWF has further recommended the exclusion from SA mitigation system, calling for ESKOM to be managed through the electricity supply policy. “There is high emissions uncertainty because of high flexibility in the medium to long-term.”
Picture: IETA, presented by Dr Davis-Reddy at the Webinar on carbon markets, organized by EN365 today.
Cover picture: PlantZA
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