Presenting CP Daily, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter. It’s a daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here
China ETS to cover 100k companies after 2020, ex-oil boss says
China’s plan to expand its national emissions trading scheme will bring some 100,000 firms into the market while smaller emitters will pay a carbon tax, according to Zhou Jiping, former chairman of the China National Petroleum Corporation and member of a parliamentary advisory body.
New tool helps track country progress towards Paris goals
Climate Action Tracker on Monday launched a new online tool containing decarbonisation data from 41 nations across the world to help track progress towards meeting the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement.
EU Market: EUAs fail to launch despite auction fetching most bids in two years
EU carbon prices barely budged on Monday despite the EU spot auction attracting the highest amount of bids in two years as analysts gave little hope to bulls of a price upturn.
———————————
**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**
———————————
Job listings this week:
Executive Director, Climate Action Network (CAN) Australia – Melbourne or Sydney
Climate Change Research Analyst, UNDP – New York
Carbon Analyst, Ecova – Seattle
Programme Leader for Energy & Climate/Deputy Centre Director for Research, SEI Africa Centre – Nairobi
Research Associate, Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Strategies, Climate Analytics – Berlin
Research Analyst, Climate Bonds Standard & Certifications Scheme, Climate Bonds Initiative – London
Engagement Manager Climate Policy and Carbon Markets, South Pole Group – London/Stockholm
Senior Communications Manager, The Climate Group – London
Climate and Energy Internships, Environmental Defense Fund Europe – London
Or click here to see all our job adverts
———————————
BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Don’t poke – European diplomats are carefully crafting a strategy for dealing with Donald Trump on climate change, fearful of provoking a backlash from the mercurial president if they push too hard for US cooperation. This summer’s G7 and G20 summits in Italy and Germany are viewed as the perfect opportunities to push the Trump Administration to take a stance on climate, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the White House on Tuesday as a potential prelude. But they’re still unsure how to approach the president, according to Politico.
City v country – Reuters profiles the increasing tensions between city and national jurisdictions on climate action, as 2,500 cities have issued their own emission reduction plans in addition to national goals under the Paris Agreement. Oslo officials blame the Norway government for delaying their road toll plans, while Sydney chiefs want cheaper grid access for the city’s expanding network of solar panels. Nowhere is the battle likely to be more heated than in Donald Trump’s US.
National no-go – The chief of Angela Merkel’s chancellery, Peter Altmaier, wants ambitious EU and international goals for climate protection, instead of special national targets, he told a meeting of the Christian Democrats’ (CDU) Economic Council, reports Die Welt. Altmaier later stressed he was stating his personal opinion rather than a party line, in the latest political jostling ahead of September’s election on whether Germany will need to take more stringent climate action to meet a domestic 2030 emission goal than the collective EU target led by the EU ETS. Separately, the CDU’s Economic Council has said national targets are “counterproductive” and should be abolished, arguing that the EU ETS should be the central instrument to define a CO₂ “level-playing field” price signal. Existing national targets should be limited to the non-ETS sectors heating and transport. (Clean Energy Wire)
Engage wager – The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock plans to put new pressure on companies to explain themselves on how climate change could affect their business, one of its top ‘engagement priorities’ for meetings with corporate leaderships this year. BlackRock stopped short of pledging to vote more often against companies’ management and still prefers private meetings with executives and casts critical proxy votes only as a last straw.
New to Duncan – Ian Duncan MEP, the lead EU Parliament envoy on post-2020 EU ETS reform, has hired Theo Mitchell as his new head of policy. Mitchell has most recently been policy manager at the Carbon Capture and Storage Association and is appointed as Duncan’s former assistant Ross McKenzie joins UK utility Drax.
Musk muscle – Elon Musk’s brave bet to fix Australia’s energy crisis – or hand the money back – landed the tech entrepreneur an hour-long phone call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and quickly threw him into a debate over whether battery technology is the solution for a nation still wedded to coal for much of its power. (Bloomberg)
And finally… Hello, may I please speak to Scott – EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s phones have been ringing off the hook – literally – since he questioned the link between CO2 and climate change. According to The Washington Post, calls to Pruitt’s main line, 202-564-4700, reached such a high volume by Friday that agency officials created an impromptu call centre. By Saturday morning calls went straight to voice mail, which was full and did not accept messages. An EPA spokeswoman said email that the agency “has logged about 300 calls and emails.”
Got a tip? Email us at news@carbon-pulse.com
