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Trump prepares executive order to end Obama climate plan
US President Donald Trump is preparing an executive order for the Environmental Protection Agency to start rewriting the Clean Power Plan, his predecessor Barack Obama’s signature climate policy.
Observers see soft demand anew in Q1 WCI auction
Wednesday’s joint California-Quebec carbon allowance auction will likely see soft demand once again, observers predict, extending the spate of under-subscribed sales that has weighed on the WCI market over the past year.
Finland aims for climate neutrality by 2045
Finland can achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 at the latest through careful forest management to offset its dwindling fossil fuel emissions, according to its environment minister.
EU Market: Strong auction helps keep EUAs above €5
EUAs dipped on Tuesday but managed to keep above €5 after some of the strongest auction demand indicators of the year so far buoyed sentiment.
EU ETS trading registry to be suspended in March for software upgrade
Access to the EU’s emissions trading registry will be suspended for five hours early next month as operators upgrade the system’s software.
ALLCOT’s voluntary market report – February 2017
Voluntary markets have been steady over the past month with many buyers preparing their purchase strategy for the year rather than engaging actively in the market. Project developer and carbon trader ALLCOT provides a snapshot of the market.
COMMENT: Labor’s climate policy could remove the need for renewable energy targets
An Australian Emissions Intensity Scheme would provide a stable carbon policy and would likely remove the need for fresh renewable energy targets in the future, argues the Grattan Institute’s Tony Wood.
INTERVIEW: Canada’s Enbridge on compliance, customers comms, CO2 reductions and the need for market certainty
As Manager of Carbon Strategy and Integrated Resource Planning for Enbridge Gas Distribution, Fiona Oliver-Glasford has a unique perspective on compliance strategies and challenges under Ontario’s cap-and-trade program. Canadian Clean Energy Conferences spoke with Oliver-Glasford to gain insight on how Canada’s largest natural gas distribution company is navigating the new cap-and-trade landscape.
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**Argus Emissions Markets 2017: Prague, Feb. 28-Mar.2 – Join Ian Duncan, Rapporteur of the EU ETS and MEP, the European Commission, CEZ, Commerzbank, BP, SinoCarbon and other industry leaders, compliance buyers, global experts, regulators and market facilitators in a discussion on the development of emissions trading systems and climate finance. Visit the website**
** Navigating the American Carbon World (NACW) 2017: San Francisco, Apr. 19-21 – NACW brings together the most active and influential players in North American climate policy and carbon markets to address the most pressing topics in domestic and international policy, subnational leadership, carbon markets, climate finance, and carbon management initiatives. Visit the website**
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Cementing cash – The EU Parliament’s scrapping of a border adjustment measure for cement will boost the sector’s subsidy to €3.5 billion by 2030, argues environmental campaigners Sandbag in a preview of their analysis of the effects of the vote. This would be from a cumulative surplus of 4.5 year’s worth of emissions.
Sunshine states – A “solar revolution” is coming to Africa, comparable in scale and importance to the rapid surge in mobile phone use on the continent two decades ago, predicts International Renewable Energy Agency chief Adnan Amin in interview. Fast-dropping costs for solar power, combined with plenty of sun and a huge need for electricity on a continent where many are still without it, means solar has huge potential in a continent that gets 117% more sunshine than Germany, which today has the highest installed solar power capacity. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
Capture the benefits – Forbes profiles a potentially revolutionary US power plant in Texas that captures all its CO2 emissions at no extra cost. The efficiency saving in the so-called Allam Cycle comes from using CO2 itself, rather than steam, to power the generators.
Meet & greet – Canadian Environment Minister Catherine McKenna on Tuesday hosted experts from more than 30 countries and international organisations at a workshop organised by her ministry and aimed at sharing ideas on carbon markets. The workshop, part of a series co-organised by Environment and Climate Change Canada along with international organisations including the International Energy Agency, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development, provided an opportunity for participants to informally share their views and ideas on the rules and procedures regarding carbon markets.
CERtified carbon neutral – Brazilian exchange operator BM&FBOVESPA has offset its emissions for a fifth straight year, buying some 5,400 CERs from projects in the country to cover its annual GHG output in 2015.
And finally… Silence is golden – Russia intends to stick to international climate commitments though it may not argue with President Donald Trump if he decides to weaken US adherence to the Paris Agreement, according to a senior Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov, a member of the Russian upper house’s defense and security committee. Climate change “is an important issue [but] there are other issues more important for us,” he said. “I don’t think we will argue with President Trump.” (Bloomberg)
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