LatinNews Daily - 18 July 2024

*Neoenergia, a Brazilian subsidiary of Spanish energy company Iberdrola, has announced a joint venture with Carbon2Nature, a carbon credit trading firm which is headquartered in Spain and is also owned by Iberdrola. The new green finance company will be registered as Carbon2Nature Brasil, with Carbon2Nature holding a 51% stake and Neoenergia holding 49%. In a press release, Neoenergia stated that Carbon2Nature Brasil will support reforestation and biodiversity conservation projects and will aim to offset over 10m tonnes of carbon dioxide in the next few years. With an expanding market for carbon trading, authorities have been seeking to improve regulations for the market. However, environmentalist groups in Brazil have expressed concern over the current legislation being proposed. Earlier this year Observatório do Clima, a network of Brazilian environmental organisations, criticised the carbon markets bill which passed the lower house last December and is currently being reviewed by the senate, arguing that lawmakers advocating for agribusiness interests had watered down the proposed regulatory framework and lowered the environmental monitoring standards required to participate in carbon trading.