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EXCLUSIVE: Compromise reached on Assembly bills to extend California cap-and-trade
Authors of the two competing Assembly bills to extend California’s cap-and-trade programme have forged a compromise and will move the two drafts forward as a more broadly supported package, sources told Carbon Pulse.
Green Climate Fund to consider REDD investments
The Green Climate Fund is weighing whether to channel investment into forestry projects as a way to help poor nations meet their climate commitments, a move that could potentially boost supply of REDD carbon credits.
CN Market: Compliance costs fall in Beijing ETS as traders scrap for business
Specialised carbon traders in the Chinese capital’s pilot CO2 market are seeing margins squeezed as competition grows and compliance firms learn that allowances can be bought at deep discounts to exchange prices.
EU Market: Late surge pushes EUAs back to €4.50 after setting fresh 2017 low
EU carbon prices climbed back above €4.50 late on Thursday after earlier extending the 2017 low for a third straight session.
NA Markets: California prices wilt as regulatory uncertainty grows
Californian carbon prices slipped this week as the publication of Senate bill 775 disappointed participants, with Thursday’s news that two Assembly bills would be amalgamated adding to the uncertainty surrounding the future of the market.
OFFICIAL CORRECTION – California Senate weighs in on cap-and-trade reauthorization debate with its own controversial bill
Corrects the carbon price collar levels reported in our May 1 story to reflect what appears in the proposed bill, which is different from what was announced by Senator Wieckowski on Monday.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
1,000 and counting – The EU held its 1,000 carbon allowance auction on Thursday, with member states raising more than €16 billion since the sales started in Oct. 2012 – most of which has been invested in areas related to climate and energy. “European carbon allowance auctions represent a tremendous technical success. Nowhere in the world have environmental assets been auctioned before at such a scale,” the European Commission said.
Biomass boost – The Trump administration may be keen to promote burning more of its own wood pellets to generate power, potentially threatening EU utilities such as Drax and RWE that currently import the fuel from the US southeast to help meet EU ETS targets. The US budget, due to be signed off by senators this week after being cleared by the lower House Wednesday, contains a direction to officials to “establish clear policies that reflect the carbon neutrality of biomass”. (Reuters)
A for effort – Two US congressmen have introduced bipartisan legislation – The Climate Solutions Commission Act – which would create a cross-party National Climate Solutions Commission to undertake a thorough review of economically viable public and private actions or policies to reduce GHGs. The panel would be required to make recommendations to the White House, Congress and the states within 18 months. The Delaney-Faso bill is endorsed by endorsed by six Republicans and six Democrats, as well as environmental campaigners, but it is unlikely to be seriously considered by the GOP-dominated Congress.
C’est quoi leurs positions? – With the final vote taking place this weekend, Carbon Brief has published a detailed summary of where the two remaining French presidential candidates stand on climate change and energy.
What the hell, we’ll do it anyway – BC Premier and provincial Liberal Leader Christy Clark says her threat of a ban or a C$70/tonne tax on thermal coal exports, announced just over a week before a provincial election as a shot at the US over the softwood lumber dispute, would proceed regardless of whether the two countries reach an agreement to end the trade battle, the Globe and Mail reports. Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says BC’s proposal would damage her province’s industry, but added that she doubts that BC has the authority to move ahead with the plan.
Tender time – China Success Carbon Technology Company, a Beijing-based trading company, has put out a tender to buy 100,000 Beijing CO2 permits. The company said it is buying on behalf of an institutional investor stocking local permits to position itself in the national ETS.
A girl’s best carbon-neutral friend – De Beers, the world’s biggest diamond producer by value, says it could operate a carbon-neutral mine within half a decade, Bloomberg reports. The Anglo American Plc unit plans to store CO2 in kimberlite rock – a type of ore best known for containing diamonds, but which also naturally reacts with carbon to remove it from the atmosphere. By accelerating that process and using readily available waste rock, De Beers could offset the emissions from its mines, according to Evelyn Mervine, who’s leading the research project for the company.
And finally… Nerd vs Denier – A 36-year-old former Democratic congressional staffer, native Texan, and self-proclaimed “science nerd” is re-entering politics, this time running for Congress himself in a campaign aimed at unseating one of the most ardent climate change deniers in Washington: Texas Republican Congressman Lamar Smith. After working on Capitol Hill for six years, for House Democrats including leader Nancy Pelosi, Derrick Crowe thought he was done with politics. But Smith’s incessant climate change denial and his efforts to “troll and intimidate” federal scientists, combined with President Trump’s moves to roll back environmental protections, ultimately convinced Crowe to run. (Mother Jones)
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