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Germany urged to move on ETS reform as EU envoys add debate time to clinch deal
Germany is being singled out for blocking progress on reaching a position among EU nations on post-2020 ETS reforms, as negotiators carve out more time to try to reach a deal next week.
EU Market: EUAs hit 1-month high, notch 8.2% weekly gain
European carbon prices finished slightly higher on Friday, notching an 8.2% weekly gain after testing a new technical resistance level and one-month high near €5.50.
CN Markets: Shanghai sees low liquidity as first CO2 forward contract expires
Shanghai’s first carbon forward contract expired this week amid modest liquidity as most compliance traders chose to shy away from a product they have little experience with.
NZ Market: NZUs barely budge but hold above NZ$18
New Zealand carbon allowances have traded in a narrow range for two weeks running but are holding above the NZ$18 ($13) level as major sellers remain on the fence.
COMMENT: European carbon market – cutting emissions or just counting allowances?
Rachel Solomon Williams of Sandbag explains why there is there is one more chance to fix this structural problem of the EU ETS in the current round of negotiations after EU Parliament deliberations have left the carbon market cold.
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending Feb.24 , 2017
Below is a table of the closing prices, ranges and volumes for China’s regional pilot carbon markets this week. All prices are in RMB, and volumes in tonnes of CO2e. Data sourced from local exchanges.
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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**
**2017 Climate Leadership Conference: Chicago, Mar. 1-3 – Business, city, and organization leaders engaged in sustainability and climate action will share what they are doing to reduce emissions, deploy clean energy, and prepare for climate impacts. Come hear UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa as well as executives from AECOM, Apple, Bank of America, Edison Energy, Exelon, Ford, GE, GM, IBM, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, NRG, Pacific Gas & Electric, United Airlines. 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
Paris puzzlement – An impending Trump executive order on environmental regulations initially contained language attacking the Paris Agreement, but that phrasing has been removed following pressure from Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka, according to the Wall Street Journal. This will likely prolong the uncertainty around what exactly the current US administration intends to do about the UN treaty. The news came as Bloomberg reported that UNFCCC chief Patricia Espinosa is flying to Washington DC on Sunday hoping to meet Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, but she has yet to receive confirmation that the ex-Exxon CEO will have time to sit down with her.
More time – California’s Air Resources Board has decided to provide additional time prior to its consideration of the Scoping Plan, which will set out a roadmap to achieve the state’s 2030 emissions reduction target. “This adjustment to the schedule will allow time for additional public process, including environmental justice community meetings, as staff develops the final Scoping Plan,” ARB said on Friday, adding that it now aims to consider the final plan in June. ARB also published an updated schedule, which remains subject to change:
- March: Environmental justice community meetings throughout the state
- Week of March 13th: ARB Scoping Plan public workshop
- April 10: CEQA comment period deadline (extended from March 6th)
- End of May: Public availability of final draft Scoping Plan with all appendices
- Late June: Board hearing to consider final draft of the Scoping Plan
I(ran) gets by with a little help from my (German) friends – Germany will help Iran implememt its national climate protection targets, Berlin said this week. During a visit to Teheran, German state secretary Jochen Flasbarth also aims to strengthen cooperation on water management and curbing air pollution. Together with Iranian vice president Masoumeh Ebtekar, Flasbarth will also inaugurate the “IES Enviro 2017″ fair, which focuses on green economy innovation. The nuclear agreement made in 2015 has reanimated bilateral cooperation between the two countries, the German government said. (Clean Energy Wire)
Tar Heels are out – North Carolina, one of 27 states to file a lawsuit against the Clean Power Plan in Oct. 2015, is now pulling out, according to Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Michael Regan. He cited high costs and the fact that the lawsuit is not in line with state targets on climate and environmental policies as the main reasons. However, with President Trump and EPA Administrator Pruitt both intent on killing the plan, the North Carolina move is unlikely to have any practical consequences.
EU floors it – From the end of 2017 a large area of Europe could be under a carbon price floor, as Germany may be willing to sit down with France, the Benelux, Italy and the Scandinavians after its autumn election, according to Luxembourg MEP and energy policy veteran Claude Turmes. (Energy Post)
Dutch distribution – Netherlands on Friday became the latest country to hand out EU carbon allowances to its big emitters. The Dutch Emissions Authority said it had allocated 43.6 million allowances to the registry accounts of 372 companies, with distributions to 11 companies delayed because the agency expects those quotas to be “significantly reduced” based on their forecast emission levels. The authority added that Dutch-registered airlines will receive their EUAAs later this year, probably before the end of April and in time for the 2016 compliance deadline – a delay it said is due to the proposal by European lawmakers to extend the aviation ETS’ reduced scope to 2020.
Cancelled – More than 371,000 CERs were voluntarily cancelled this week, with the vast majority – some 370,927 – coming from an N2O Nitric Acid project and being swapped by owners Hu-Chems Fine Corp. into Korean Offset Credits.
And finally… But his emails! – New US EPA boss Scott Pruitt may have received emails on a private email account despite telling senators that he only does official business with his government-issued account, Buzzfeed reports. A recently released batch of more than 7,000 pages of emails sent to and from Pruitt’s office while he was attorney general of Oklahoma contain several instances of messages being sent to a redacted email account — one that begins with “scott.pruitt” and ends with the domain name blacked out.
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