Platts to launch Native Species, Latin America Renewable Energy differential, China Renewable Energy differential on hold

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will launch daily assessments of price differentials for Native Species and Renewable Energy voluntary carbon credits on March 11, 2024.

This follows a proposal published in a subscriber note on Jan. 8, 2024, which can be found here.

The prices would reflect the need for added specificity in the global voluntary carbon market, in line with sustained market interest in additional segments of the carbon market.

Platts will launch the following new differential assessments:

Native Species Differential

The Native Species differential assessment will reflect a daily price differential for carbon credits generated from afforestation/reforestation projects involving 100% native species. The differential will be assessed as a discount or premium to the Platts Natural Carbon Capture Current Year price assessment, published in $/mtCO2e.

Platts understands that there is an emerging spread between afforestation/reforestation projects involving native species and afforestation/reforestation projects that do not involve native species. The Platts Natural Carbon Capture assessment reflects the most competitive of the most fungible carbon credits issued by nature-based projects that remove greenhouse gas emissions.

Further specifications of this differential will match those for the Platts Natural Carbon Capture Current Year assessment and are listed below.

• Volume range: 5,000/mtCO2e to 50,000/mtCO2e
• Vintage range: Each of the last five years, including the current year. For example, on March 11, 2024, the Current Year assessment would consider vintages 2019-2023, rolling to 2020-2024 from July 1, 2024.
• Delivery: Current-year delivery and delivery one year forward.
• Co-benefits: Biodiversity SDGs as standard; credits with additional SDG co-benefits may be normalized.

Latin America Renewable Energy Differential

Platts will launch a Latin America geography-based differential for carbon credits generated from renewable energy projects. The differential will be assessed as a discount or premium to the Platts Renewable Energy price assessment, published in $/mtCO2e.

Platts originally proposed geography-based differentials for both Latin America and China on Jan. 8, 2024, in a proposal note that can be found here.

Following feedback received during the proposal period, Platts will postpone the launch of the China geography-based renewable energy differential. This decision reflects the need for further industry feedback on how best to bring additional transparency to global voluntary carbon markets.

Further specifications of the Latin America differential will match those for the Platts Renewable Energy Current Year assessment and are listed below.

• Volume range: 50,000/mtCO2e to 150,000/mtCO2e
• Vintage range: Each of the last three years, including the current year. For example, on March 11, 2024, the Current Year assessment would consider vintages 2021-2023, rolling to 2022-2024 from July 1, 2024.
• Delivery: Current-year delivery and delivery one year forward.
• Co-benefits: Standard SDG benefits for this project type, Credits with additional SDG benefits may be normalized.

Details of the Platts carbon methodology and assessments are available here.

Please send any further feedback to platts_carbon@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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