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South Africa's National Treasury is planning to release proposals for regulating carbon markets in the country in the coming months. The government department intends to publish a consultation paper on the industry around the time of its Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in October. While other African countries have been working to regulate the production and trade of carbon credits, South Africa is unique in that it is both a producer and consumer of these offsets. The Treasury's paper will address the legal nature and treatment of carbon credits, ensuring they are not duplicated or reissued, and will align with international frameworks and South Africa's own carbon tax. [Extracted from the article]

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has proposed a new approach to addressing Scope 3 emissions, which account for over 70% of a company's carbon footprint. SBTi suggests including new metrics that evaluate a company's procurement and revenue generation in relation to global climate goals. The goal is to measure how a company's operational expenditure and revenue align with net-zero emissions targets. SBTi acknowledges that tackling supply chain emissions is challenging, but believes that focusing on suppliers' direct emissions is crucial. The proposed approach is part of SBTi's efforts to enhance Scope 3 target setting and align with the goals of the Paris climate accord. [Extracted from the article]

Tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are hiding their true carbon footprints by purchasing credits tied to electricity use that inaccurately erase millions of tons of emissions, according to a Bloomberg Green analysis. While these companies claim that the increase in emissions is due to carbon-intensive materials used to build data centers, experts argue that the massive amount of energy required for AI is a significant factor. Companies are buying unbundled renewable energy certificates (RECs) to claim emission reductions, but these credits do not reflect actual emissions reductions in the atmosphere. Some academics argue that carbon accounting rules need to be updated to accurately reflect greenhouse gas emissions. [Extracted from the article]

A recent article from Bloomberg discusses the challenges of achieving net-zero emissions and the importance of carbon removal in reaching this goal. The article highlights the need to cut emissions and remove residual pollution from the atmosphere. The University of Oxford researchers have developed a "carbon removal budget" to address the issue of quantifying carbon dioxide removal. The authors argue for responsible allocation of this finite resource and suggest that industries that can more easily cut emissions should prioritize those efforts. The article also discusses the constraints and costs associated with carbon removal technologies. The authors estimate a carbon removal shortfall of 49 gigatons of CO2 between 2025 and 2100 in a scenario where warming is kept to 1.5C. However, there is potential for a small surplus of 12 gigatons of CO2 if warming is allowed to reach 2C. The article emphasizes the importance of reducing emissions and conserving the initial carbon budget, as it is easier to reduce emissions than to remove them from the atmosphere. [Extracted from the article]

Microsoft's pursuit of artificial intelligence (AI) is jeopardizing its goal to remove more carbon than it emits by the end of the decade. The company's carbon emissions have increased by about 30% since 2020 due to the energy-intensive nature of AI products and the need for new data centers. Microsoft plans to spend over $50 billion on expanding its data centers to meet the rising demand for AI products. While some employees have expressed concerns about the company's work to enhance oil extraction, Microsoft believes that the benefits of AI outweigh its environmental impact. Microsoft's competitors in the AI race, including Google, Meta Platforms, and Amazon, have also seen their emissions increase. Microsoft claims to be 100% powered by renewables, but researchers have found that the company's use of renewable energy credits masks a larger growth in emissions. To address this issue, Microsoft aims to increase efficiency and reduce the need for data centers. The company is also investing in sustainable aviation fuels and seeking partnerships to develop greener steel, concrete, and fuels. Microsoft faces challenges in accessing green power due to a lack of transmission lines, and it plans to increase lobbying efforts to address this issue. If emissions remain high in 2029, Microsoft may consider bulk purchases of carbon removal credits. [Extracted from the article]