India's energy transition strategy encompasses greater adoption of a wide range of renewable fuels to go with baseload coal for decades to come, with new policies on CCUS, carbon markets and power reforms set to play a role in the decarbonization of the third largest greenhouse gas emitter of the world.

In this Platts Future Energy podcast, Consulting Executive Director, Energy Transition Gauri Jauhar, Managing Editor, Global Compliance Carbon Pricing Agamoni Ghosh, and Associate Director, Research Mohd. Sahil Ali, join Editor – Energy Transition Ruchira Singh, to discuss the journey so far and the likely future landscape of policies, market development and trends post the mid-2024 general elections.

The price of emissions in the world’s largest compliance carbon market –the EU’s Emissions Trading System– has fallen sharply so far in 2024, driven by economic uncertainty, weaker industrial activity and lower gas prices. S&P Global Commodity Insights' experts Eklavya Gupte, Coralie Laurencin, Michael Testa and Scott Chen discuss the reasons behind this decline, the outlook for EU ETS prices, and what this slump could mean for short- and long-term climate and energy policy.

Related price assessment EADLP00 - EU Emission Allowance Nearest-December

Read further on our: Specifications Guide Carbon Markets

Carbon news & analysis 

Carbon in the Atlas Of Energy Transition

As the dust settles after COP28, with world leaders finally agreeing to shift energy systems away from fossil fuels, scrutiny of the climate impact of energy policy is set to intensify in 2024.

The thorny issue of finance is likely to dominate the climate debate this year, and with economic and geopolitical uncertainty still dominating the headlines, energy markets are in for a bumpy ride.

In this episode of the Platts Future Energy podcast, S&P Global Commodity Insights' experts Anna Mosby, Sara Giordano, Agamoni Ghosh and Eklavya Gupte take a deep dive into some of the key outcomes from COP28 and how they might affect climate policy moving forward.

Further reading: COP28: An in-depth review

There's just over a year to go until the EU introduces its sustainable aviation fuel mandate. S&P Global Commodity Insights' Seb Lewis, associate director for biofeedstocks and biofuels consulting, speaks with Stephen Li, associate director for biofuels research and analysis, and Simone Burgin, associate editor for biofuels pricing. The team discusses the current state of the SAF market and HEFA fuels, developments in advanced biofuels and PtL pathways, feedstocks, and the current state and future paths of SAF pricing. 

Related prices:

Sustainable Aviation Fuel CIF ARA Premium $/mt (AJNWF00) UCO (RED) FOB ARA $/mt (AUCOA00)

Waste feedstocks in the form of Used Cooking Oil and Palm Oil Mill Effluent have been hitting headlines in the biofuels sphere – touted as the next generation of energy feedstocks. Feedstock flexibility appears to be a dominant trend over the next few years, and legislations across many countries look set to propel demand of waste-based feedstocks.

In this podcast, Asia’s managing editor Takmila Shahid, markets editor Nurul Darni, together with Head of Asia agriculture and metals news team, Rohan Somwanshi, and biofuels analyst Chua Wei Jun, discuss the rising appeal of UCO and POME as the coveted biodiesel feedstocks, recent market trends, trade flows and legislations that drive demand for these feedstocks.

The growing use of renewable energy and the phasing out of fossil fuels is creating a large flexibility gap that needs to be filled by clean technologies such as energy storage. Long-term storage technologies are critical to solar and wind power, addressing the challenge of intermittency.

While lithium-ion stands as the incumbent, scaling it for extended durations proves costly. Alternative solutions poised to fill this role will need to demonstrate scalable manufacturing and large-scale deployments to meet soaring demand.

In this special miniseries of the Platts Future Energy podcast, metals engagement lead Jesline Tang and energy storage analyst Susan Taylor join metals markets reporter Euan Sadden to discuss the evolving landscape of alternative long-term storage technologies, their impact on the battery sector, and how they compare to existing lithium-ion battery systems.

For more information, visit https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is seen as an essential enabler of international emissions trading, providing countries and businesses with a key pathway to meet and accelerate their climate goals.

However, many key decisions and rules around the use of Article 6.2 and Article 6.4 need to be clarified at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai in order to move carbon markets forward.

S&P Global Commodity Insights' experts Dana Agrotti, Vandana Sebastian and Eklavya Gupte explore some of the complexities of Article 6 and its implications for both the compliance and voluntary carbon markets.

Related price assessments: CNHDD00 - Platts Household Devices ANBAA00 - Platts Nature-Based Avoidance CNRED00 - Platts Renewable Energy

Related podcasts: ESG Insider: What to expect from COP28, the UN’s big climate change conference, with president Saugata Saha. Future Energy: Carbon credits seek to regain credibility amid growing scrutiny

Video series: What is the voluntary carbon market?

Further reading: Conversations at COP28 (Vandana Sebastian) UN Article 6.4 body fails to finalize carbon trade text, new meetings planned (Eklavya Gupte) Crunch time for UN carbon body to deliver clarity on Article 6.4 (Eklavya Gupte) COP28 presidency working to drive demand for high-quality carbon credits (Eklavya Gupte) INTERVIEW: COP28 director-general says progress on carbon markets needed to accelerate climate action (Eklavya Gupte)

In this series of podcasts, we explore and compare different battery chemistries against the dominant lithium-ion battery sector.  Sodium-ion batteries have emerged as a strong competitor to lithium-ion batteries, particularly in the energy storage sector. Some have even hailed it as a game-changer in the entry-level or low-cost EV segment, and that it could threaten the long-standing dominance of lithium-ion batteries in the EV sector. In this episode, battery metals experts Euan Sadden, Leah Chen and Henrique Ribeiro explore the technical differences between sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries, the pros and cons of sodium-ion batteries, and whether it ultimately plays a competitive or complementary role to lithium-ion batteries.

Further reading Lithium price rally opens door for sodium-ion batteries Lithium demand destruction looms as project delays, cost pressures mount

Related price assessments BATHY04 - Lithium Hydroxide DDP China Yuan/mt BATCA04 - Lithium Carbonate DDP China Yuan/mt BATLH04 - Lithium Hydroxide CIF North Asia $/mt BATLC04 - Lithium Carbonate CIF North Asia $/mt

Against the backdrop of Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and a self-imposed deadline for a US Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum, American steelmakers are stepping up investments in clean energy and working to ensure efforts to produce lower-emissions steel are recognized on the global stage. So how will policymakers view their initiatives, and will end-users be willing to pay more for material with a reduced-CO2 profile? 

S&P Global Commodity Insights' Christopher Davis, regional pricing director for metals in the Americas, talks with head of Americas metals news Justine Coyne and low-carbon electricity analyst Danylo Babkov about these topics and more.

Related prices: Platts European HR Carbon-Accounted Steel Premium Eur/mt (EHRSA00) Platts Northwest Europe HRC Carbon-Accounted Steel Price Eur/mt (EHRSC00) Platts Ni-Co black mass DDP US $/mt (NBNED00)

Related podcasts: How is Europe’s steel industry rising to the challenge of energy transition Decarbonization efforts in India: how ready is the steel industry? How will the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism affect global trade and carbon pricing?

Voluntary carbon markets are facing a critical moment in their short history. Questions about the integrity and effectiveness of many carbon projects have led to a sharp fall in prices and liquidity. However, a series of quality and transparency initiatives are being adopted to restore confidence in offsets.

S&P Global Commodity Insights' experts Eklavya Gupte, Dana Agrotti and Silvia Favasuli discuss the road to recovery for the VCM as it seeks to rebuild credibility and trust.

Related price assessments:

1. Platts Household Devices Current Year CNHDD00
2. Platts Nature-based Avoidance Current Year ANBAA00
3. Platts Natural Carbon Capture Current Year ANCCA00

Hear more on the latest developments in the carbon markets by attending the Global Carbon Markets Conference taking place on November 6-9, 2023 in Paris.

And you can watch our latest videos explaining what determines the price of a carbon credit and the pricing structure in the VCM.

The hefty premiums paid by BP and TotalEnergies in Germany’s latest offshore wind auction reflect the value these companies place on diversification – but do the economics stack up? Competition for offshore concessions has been fierce, but the sector is also under extreme cost pressure from stressed supply chains and rising inflation. S&P Global Commodity Insights’ news editors Henry Edwardes-Evans, Andreas Franke and Alex Blackburne discuss these issues with S&P Global analyst director colleague Coralie Laurencin.

Explore our interactive Renewable Energy Price calculator

Related price assessment: WDETF00 - German Offshore Wind Renewable Capture Price

Related stories: Germany sells four offshore wind concessions for $14 bil to BP, TotalEnergies Germany awards 1.8 GW offshore wind concessions for Eur784 million Offshore wind industry weighs consequences of 'seismic' German auction