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TOP STORY
New Zealand to auction CO2 allowances from 2020, seek limited links to international markets
New Zealand will introduce carbon allowance auctions and begin phasing out free allocation after 2020, while seeking limited linkages to other emission markets, in a bid to ramp up the efficiency of its ETS, the government announced Wednesday as part of its long-running review of the programme.
INTERNATIONAL
Without US, rest of world must step up climate ambition -paper
Effective climate protection is possible without US government participation but the rest of the world must up their Paris Agreement pledges and work outside the pact to fill the gap, according to experts at Germany’s Wuppertal Institute.
AMERICAS
A California-RGGI carbon market link may not be as difficult as people think
While the RGGI and California carbon markets are fundamentally different based on their rules and stringency levels, they are almost ready for linking when assessed on a qualitative basis.
Former Koch Supply & Trading president joins ClimeCo board
Offset project developer and emissions trader ClimeCo has appointed a former president of Koch Supply & Trading to its board.
EMEA
EU Market: EUAs hold small gains after stronger auction signals
EU carbon prices inched higher for a second straight session on Tuesday after strong auction indicators helped reverse an early decline.
ASIA PACIFIC
China’s Shenzhen launches trade of V2017 allowances
The China Emissions Exchange in Shenzhen on Tuesday launched trade in vintage 2017 allowances, although no deals were done on the debut day amid a lack of information about this year’s allocation plan.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
It’s official – California Governor Jerry Brown today signed into law AB-398, formally reauthorizing the state’s cap-and-trade scheme until 2030. He was joined at the signing ceremony on San Francisco’s Treasure Island by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California Senate President Kevin de Leon.
Fill the void – Britain should seek to fill the leadership void created by Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of Paris, UK Climate Change Minister Claire Perry said Monday. While Prime Minister Theresa May has been criticised by some environmental groups for failing to speak out over the president’s decision, Perry said UK ministers “haven’t missed an opportunity” to express their disappointment over the news. Perry said that as well as head of state discussions, she has also been having talks with “other players” in the US who are seeking to ensure the US delivers on its carbon reduction commitments. Last week the mayor of Houston visited the UK and discussed climate opportunities, she said. (Bloomberg)
Breaking point – Canada’s climate change plan and other government measures are heaping costs on businesses and pushing them to a breaking point, the Chamber of Commerce said in a warning to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Chamber President Perrin Beatty, in a letter Tuesday, asked Trudeau to find ways to cut business costs to offset the impact of an emissions plan that includes a minimum carbon price beginning next year. Failure to do so could mean “seriously undermining Canada’s competitiveness,” he said. (Bloomberg)
Resume falling – Coal prices’ march to recent highs, driven by China’s huge appetite for power consumption, looks like an interlude in a longer-term decline and is seen losing traction later this year, Reuters reports. Investors widely anticipate a slow demise for coal use due to policies encouraging cleaner natural gas and renewable energy generation, but the shorter-term outlook for the industry has seen a sharp reversal of fortunes.
Ciao – Australian Resources Minister Matt Canavan on Tuesday resigned from Cabinet when it became clear he unknowingly had a dual nationality, according to the Guardian, as his Italian mother in 2007 applied for an Italian citizenship for him without his knowledge or approval. The Queensland official has been among the government’s staunchest supporters of the planned Adani coal mine, which – if it gets built – will be the biggest in Australia’s history, and annual CO2 emissions from burning its coal will equal that of Finland. Canavan last month won a moment of international attention when he tweeted that politicians should be more concerned about saving today’s jobs than saving the planet 50 years from now. According to Australian law, people with dual citizenship are not allowed to hold elected office. Two Greens senators, Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters, have recently resigned over the same issue.
And finally… What is Project TIM? – A mysterious renewable energy development project in Durand, Michigan is beginning to draw notice due to its immense size and its claim that it will radically reduce carbon emissions. Documents filed by the city indicate the the massive initiative codenamed Project Tim is being pursued by a “small group of globally leading companies and experts” who want to build a 24 million-square-foot facility on existing soybean farmland that would be “the greenest facility of its kind anywhere in the world.” With building costs estimated at $4.5-5.5 billion, the facility would be the largest manufacturing plant in the US. Online speculation is rife, with predictions ranging from it being an innovative low-carbon steel plant, to China-based manufacturer Foxconn building a US facility named for Apple CEO Tim Cook, to a second Tesla battery-producing Gigafactory. The entities behind the project appear to have started a Twitter profile, which is currently following just 8 accounts including President Trump, the Pope, carmaker Dodge, and Michigan-born rapper Eminem.
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