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
GCF board approves $750 mln but turns away drought prevention project for parched Ethiopia
The Green Climate Fund board on Thursday approved over $750 million in funding for eight new projects but did not back an adaptation project in Ethiopia, much to the ire of developing-country board members and green groups.
New York-led coalition files legal challenge to Trump climate order
A coalition of 24 states and localities has filed a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s efforts to unwind Obama-era climate regulations.
New data show 2016 EU ETS emissions drop larger than thought
Emissions under the EU ETS appear to have fallen by more than previously thought in 2016, based on the release of new data and assumptions regarding one of the scheme’s largest emitters.
China’s carbon firms reach out to OTC stock market for fresh funding
Chinese carbon firms are reaching out to investors in the nation’s fledgling over-the-counter (OTC) stock market in a bid to secure funding while the Chinese offset market is temporarily closed and other obvious sources of finance are limited.
EU Market: Energy, short-covering send EUAs back above €5
European carbon prices jumped by as much as 6.6% on Thursday on the back of firmer energy prices and a spate of speculative short-covering.
Three EU member states cleared to issue ‘derogation’ allowances for 2016
Three EU member states have been cleared to hand out a total 11.7 million free EUAs to their utilities for 2016 under the so-called ‘derogation’ programme outlined under Article 10c of the bloc’s ETS Directive.
UK launches tender for new EU carbon auction platform
The British government has launched a tender to procure an EU carbon allowance auction service to help sell EUAs from Nov. 2017, retaining its opt-out from the bloc’s common auction platform.
SK Market: Korea CO2 price holds in face of bearish news
Korean carbon allowances ended unchanged on Thursday despite news the previous day that the government has changed ETS rules to force more supply to market, though traded volumes dropped significantly as market participants digested the developments.
———————————
BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
No climate talk, please – US President is hosting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at Mar-A-Lago in Florida this week, but Trump is keeping climate change – one of the few success stories in the Obama-Xi relationship – off the agenda. While China is eager to cement its newfound reputation as a climate change champion, the issue simply isn’t within Trump’s sphere of interest. (The Independent)
For sale? – German utility RWE is considering selling its majority stake in Hungary’s second biggest power plant and related lignite mines, as the German utility reviews its struggling generation assets across Europe, Reuters reports. German rival EnBW also has a stake in the plant, which is fired by lignite and gas and has a capacity of 1,000 megawatts.
Making room? – Newfoundland and Labrador is cutting its C$0.165/litre gasoline tax by 8.5 cents on June 1 and possibly a further 4 cents this fall, the Canadian province announced in its 2017-2018 budget on Thursday. Some observers suggested that this move may be to clear the way for a new federally-imposed carbon tax that must be in place by next year. (CBC)
China carbon pricing survey – The China Carbon Forum is currently conducting the annual China Carbon Pricing Survey, and is asking all interested parties to complete the questionnaire. It is being implemented by SinoCarbon, Tsinghua University, ICF and the Dutch Emissions Authority. You can find the survey in English here and in Chinese here.
Cancelled – More than 223,000 CERs have been voluntarily cancelled this week, the vast majority of which were credits from Indian renewables projects annulled that were annulled in order for the reductions to be swapped for VCS VERs, which currently fetch more than UN-issued offsets.
And finally… Civil war – Infighting continues to grow more heated between President Trump’s allies and establishment-minded Republicans who have been appointed to senior positions at federal agencies, but nowhere is the strife more pronounced than at EPA, Politico reports. Trump loyalists at the agency have griped about being kept out of important planning meetings, while climate sceptics who worked on the EPA’s transition team are deeply suspicious of EPA boss Scott Pruitt, complaining he’s been too slow in implementing Trump’s campaign agenda and fearing he’s positioning himself for an Oklahoma Senate run. The tension is fuelling speculation that more Trump allies will soon leave. “I think it’s very safe to say members of the team are looking for other places to go,” one EPA staffer said.
Got a tip? Email us at news@carbon-pulse.com
