The '15th Five-Year Plan' Quantitative Implementation Outline for Carbon Peak Release and the Five-Year Anniversary Expansion of the Carbon Market | ESG Daily Report, July 10

Core Content: The national carbon emissions trading market marked its fifth anniversary on July 16. With the formal inclusion of three major industries—steel (232 enterprises), cement (962 enterprises), and aluminum smelting (97 enterprises)—the number of key emission entities surged from approximately 2,200 to over 3,700, covering roughly 8 billion tons of emissions—more than 60% of China’s total carbon emissions. Cumulative trading volume exceeded 900 million tons, with transaction value surpassing RMB 61.9 billion. The four sectors—power generation (2,087 enterprises), steel, cement, and aluminum smelting—account for about 60% of national emissions. The paid allowance mechanism is being comprehensively rolled out, marking a transition of the carbon market from a ‘power-generation–dominated’ model to a new phase of ‘multi-sector coordinated emission reduction + institutional deepening.’ Business Value: The fifth anniversary of the carbon market coupled with the expansion into three new sectors represents a pivotal turning point—from ‘pilot-phase coordination’ to ‘institutional maturity.’ Over 3,700 key emission entities signify that carbon compliance obligations have expanded beyond the power sector to cover the entire industrial chains of steel, cement, and aluminum smelting. The advancement of the paid allowance mechanism implies that carbon compliance costs will gradually shift from ‘fully free allowances’ to a hybrid model of ‘free + paid’ allowances; steel and cement enterprises must now budget 5–15% of their carbon cost for purchasing paid allowances. Original Link: baijiahao.baidu.com/s?... Benchmark Practices Google, McKinsey, and Tencent signed a 10-year long-term natural carbon removal agreement (offtake deal) for 635,000 tonnes of CO₂ with an agroforestry project in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Release Date: July 8, 2026 Core Content: Thryve.Earth, a Singapore-based natural carbon removal (NCR) project developer, announced a 10-year long-term carbon removal offtake agreement with Google, McKinsey, and Tencent, totaling over 635,000 tonnes of CO₂. Google and McKinsey committed jointly to procure 335,000 tonnes through the Symbiosis Coalition; Tencent separately committed to 300,000 tonnes—the company’s first overseas carbon removal procurement. The project is located in the agroforestry zone of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and ranks among the world’s largest long-term natural carbon removal (NbS) procurement agreements. Business Value: The joint commitment by three global tech and consulting giants signals a shift of ‘natural carbon removal’ from ‘niche pilot projects’ to ‘large-scale procurement.’ Tencent’s inaugural overseas carbon removal purchase of 300,000 tonnes indicates that Chinese internet enterprises’ carbon credit investments are expanding from domestic CCER programs to the global NbS market. The 10-year contractual structure mitigates project development risk and provides stable revenue expectations for agroforestry carbon removal initiatives in tropical countries like Indonesia—making the model replicable across Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America. Original Link: esgtoday.com/google-mck... Chinese Policy Zhejiang Province’s Implementation Plan for Enhancing Quality and Efficiency of Carbon Market Enterprises (Zhe Envi. Iss. [2026] No. 24)—the first provincial-level specialized plan. Release Date: July 1, 2026 (published online at ccn.ac.cn on July 9)

UK Met Office: 2024 Global Atmospheric CO₂ Concentration Growth Rate Sets New Record

Energy storage includes pumped hydro storage and new-energy storage; lithium-ion batteries dominate the new-energy storage segment. As installed capacity rises, fires at global energy storage plants have become increasingly frequent—over 70 incidents occurred globally between 2023 and April 2024, predominantly in South Korea and the U.S. Professor Sun Jinhua of the University of Science and Technology of China noted that large-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage stations consist of numerous batteries connected in series and parallel; thermal runaway and electrical faults significantly increase fire risk. 07 Meta and Engie Forge Strategic Alliance: 460 MW of Renewable Energy Powers Texas’ Future Engie North America, a subsidiary of France’s Engie Group, has entered a new renewable energy supply agreement with Meta, the social media giant. Under the agreement, Engie will supply Meta with 200 MW of renewable energy and associated environmental attributes from the Anson2 solar project in Jones County, Texas—the facility is scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2025. This marks the second agreement between the two parties in 2024; in November 2024, they had already announced a 260-MW renewable energy agreement involving Engie’s Sypert Branch solar project in Milam County, Texas. Dave Carroll, Chief Renewable Energy Officer and Executive Vice President of Engie North America, stated: ‘We are delighted to expand our collaboration with Meta, increasing renewable energy supply to support Meta’s growth and align with its net-zero commitment. This also reflects Engie’s dedication to developing and operating projects tailored to customer needs—and we look forward to further cooperation to meet U.S. electricity demand and accelerate the energy transition.’ Meta has set a target to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2030 and ranks among the world’s largest corporate buyers of renewable energy. It achieved 100% renewable energy coverage for its operational energy needs in 2020 and expects, by 2025, to add 9.8 GW of wind and solar capacity to the U.S. grid through projects it supports. Urvi Parekh, Meta’s Global Head of Energy, remarked: ‘We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with Engie to advance clean energy transition through joint projects. Since 2020, Meta has maintained net-zero emissions across its global operations—a milestone made possible through strong partnerships like ours with Engie.’ Upon commissioning, the Anson2 project will expand Engie’s North American renewable energy portfolio to approximately 8 GW, spanning solar, wind, and battery storage. 08 Google Signs the Largest Bio-Based Carbon Removal Agreement in History Google has signed the largest biochar-based carbon removal agreement ever recorded, purchasing 100,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits each from Varaha in India and Charm Industrial in California—totaling 200,000 tonnes by 2030. Biochar is produced by heating biomass under oxygen-limited conditions and can sequester carbon in soil for hundreds of years while simultaneously enhancing soil fertility. Founded in 2022, Varaha focuses on partnering with smallholder farmers to remove atmospheric carbon. Its Gujarat-based factory commenced operations in 2023, producing biochar from invasive woody mesquite trees. Smallholder farmers participate both in collecting raw materials and applying biochar to farmland. Beyond carbon removal and soil enrichment, the project also helps combat mesquite tree invasion.

Google Agrees on Biggest Carbon-Removal Deal Yet, Aims to Scale New Model

5 days ago

Google partners with Terradot on a 200,000-hectare Brazilian project to cut rice-farming methane and capture CO2 via rock weathering, targeting 1 million tons of credits each by 2030 and 2040.

reuters

2026-09-16

Google Agrees on Biggest Carbon-Removal Deal Yet, Aims to Scale New Model

Google Agrees on Biggest Carbon-Removal Deal Yet, Aims to Scale New Model

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