Zimbabwe announces national carbon market strategy: Carbon credit developers based in Zimbabwe will retain 70% of revenues from carbon offsetting projects while the state will keep 30% of credit sales under an environmental tax, Reuters reports. Zimbabwe’s new voluntary carbon market regulations aim to combat what officials described as climate washing. "All existing carbon credit projects deemed null and void shall be given 60 days ... to comply with the provisions," the regulations document said. The new policies will be valid for the first decade of a carbon-credit generating project’s lifecycle, with the share of proceeds being subject to renegotiation from the eleventh year.

ALSO- Mozambique plans to follow suit: Mozambique is preparing draft policies to regulate its carbon market starting 2024, Bloomberg writes, citing an inter-ministerial task team presentation. The new carbon credit policy should present the value potential of the market and attract investors, the country’s Finance Ministry Advisor Pedro Simão told Bloomberg. Mozambique has the potential to produce between 80-90 mn carbon credits annually — 4% of Africa’s total output, according to government figures. The government has not yet determined a revenue split framework between investors and the state.

The US is imposing import duties on solar panel manufacturers who complete the making of their products in Southeast Asia, Reuters reported citing a senior official from the US Commerce Department. The decision comes in efforts to stop manufacturers bypassing tariffs on Chinese-made goods through the loophole of finalizing manufacturing in neighboring countries. The decision has garnered some controversy from solar companies that rely on importing cheap equipment made overseas to make their projects competitive, the newswire said, adding that US local solar manufacturers on the other hand were relieved with the new law that will see their products become more competitive relative to Chinese ones. Late last year, the Commerce Department found that some units of Chinese companies BYD, Trina Solar, Vina Solar, and Canadian Solar were dodging US tariffs on Chinese solar panels by making minor finishes to their products in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, before shipping them to the US market.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

  • Economic toll of natural disasters triples: Flooding in the South West Pacific affected some 8 mn people last year and caused economic damages to the tune of USD 8.5 bn, almost triple the toll from 2021. (World Meteorological Organization)
  • Tata Sons seeking technical partnerships for UK battery plant: Indian conglomerate Tata Sons is in talks with multiple start-ups to receive technical guidance on its GBP 4 bn UK battery plant, which is scheduled to begin mass production in 2026. (Bloomberg)
  • “Unrealistic” global offshore wind expansion target will need bns: Governments looking to raise wind power installations to reach an annual capacity of 80 GW per year by 2030 would require investments of USD 100 bn towards their supply chain by 2026, according research firm Wood Mackenzie. The firm said annual capacity is more likely to grow by 30 GW annually by 2030, requiring USD 27 bn of secured investments by 2026. (Report)
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