COP29: Standardized International Carbon Trading System Approved
COP29, the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, concluded on November 22, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan.
During the meeting, COP29 achieved consensus on rules governing a UN-backed global carbon market. These rules establish a framework for creating, trading, and registering emission reductions and removals as carbon credits. This market will allow major emitters to purchase cost-effective carbon credits from projects in developing countries.
Climate finance was another major focus of COP29. An agreement was reached to triple financial support for developing countries, increasing the previous target of US$100 billion annually to US$300 billion annually by 2035. The agreement also charts a pathway to scale up total financing —drawing from both public and private sources— to US$1.3 trillion per year by 2035.
EU: Forced Labor Ban Clears Final Hurdle
On November 19, 2024, the Council of the EU adopted a regulation prohibiting the placing on the Union market, or the export from the Union market, of any product made using forced labor. After being signed by the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council, the regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force on the day following its publication. It will apply three years after the date of entry into force.
Germany: Frankfurt Airport Tests Sustainable Asphalt Based on Cashew Nuts
Frankfurt Airport is using organic cashew-based bitumen to build and test a 200-meter-long section of road located on the airport apron. The airport’s operator, Fraport AG, is exploring new, innovative approaches for the use of construction materials in collaboration with the startup B2Square. The manufacturing process involves blending naturally occurring hydrocarbon resin with an organic extract obtained by pressing cashew shells. The resulting material is then mixed with aggregate to make sustainable asphalt. This marks the first time that organic cashew-based bitumen has been used at an airport anywhere in the world.
Uganda: High-Yield Peanut Varieties to Combat Food Insecurity
On October 16, 2024, Uganda’s National Semi-Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI) unveiled three peanut varieties designed to improve food security, according to ASARECA. Designed with the specific challenges of Uganda’s semi-arid regions in mind, the NARO Nut 5R, 4R, and 3R varieties have higher yields and are more resistant to environmental stressors such as drought. At a time when Uganda’s agricultural sector is confronting the effects of climate change, the new varieties have the potential to improve smallholder farmers’ incomes while also enhancing the agricultural viability of the country’s drylands.
USA: Federal Funding for Commodity Storage Assistance and Soil Health
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the creation of the Commodity Storage Assistance Program, which will provide US$140 million to help specialty crop producers gain access to packinghouses, grain elevators, or other facilities necessary for the marketing of agricultural commodities. The program targets producers experiencing reduced commercial storage access due to 2024 natural disasters.
In addition, the USDA has awarded US$2 million to a soil health management system designed to boost the Oregon hazelnut industry’s resilience to climate change. Under the new soil health management system, developed by the University of Oregon, cover crop seed mixes keep agricultural soils cooler during increasingly hotter seasons without interfering with the harvest. The funds, awarded under the USDA’s Conservation Innovation Grants program, will allow the system to be applied at 20 hazelnut farms across the state.
USA: Ferrero Funds Grants for Hazelnut Research
On November 14, 2024, Ferrero Hazelnut Company announced that it would fund a total of US$340,000 in grants to support two universities’ efforts to advance sustainability and efficiency in the US hazelnut industry. Specifically, a grant of US$180,000 to Oregon State University will support multiple ongoing projects, including biological control of invasive species, diseases, and fungi as well as integrated weed management within orchards, all with the goal of reducing herbicide use. A grant of US$160,000 will be donated to Rutgers University over four years as part of a long-term disease study, which supports the development of hazelnut varieties that can resist Eastern filbert blight through genetic improvement.