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TOP STORY

UK opts for emissions limit for 2025 coal phase-out

The UK government will impose a 450 gCO2/kWh emission limit on existing coal plants from Oct. 2025, it said Friday, rejecting an alternative option of forcing them to add CCS after a consultation.

EMEA

Finland mulls faster coal phase-out

Finland’s government is considering banning coal in energy production in 2025, five years earlier than currently planned, as part of preparations for a coal phase-out law.

EU Market: EUAs hold steady for 4.9% weekly loss ahead of auction restart

EU carbon prices were little changed on Friday, notching a near-5% loss in the first week of the year as the market braced for a resumption of EUA auctions next week.

Owner of former offset developer Camco winds up carbon activities

Former carbon credit developer Camco is to close as London-listed parent firm RedT completes a long-standing strategy to focus purely on its energy storage business.

ASIA PACIFIC

China asks foreign firms to set up supervised accounts to trade Chinese carbon

China’s central bank on Friday asked foreign firms looking to trade carbon allowances in China to set up so-called non-resident bank accounts (NRAs) in order to trade yuan-denominated CO2 permits.

Clean energy projects drive fresh growth in China green bond market

China issued nearly a third of all global green bonds in 2017, with clean energy projects the primary beneficiary of the $38.7 billion investments.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Show must go on – Bloomberg profiles efforts to maintain US climate research in the face of the Trump administration’s disbanding of a federal advisory committee on climate change. US universities have formed a shadow panel to continue the work and New York State is expected to provide some funding. Elsewhere, think-tank Resources for the Future is continuing the government’s former work on the social cost of carbon, while France has offered grants to several climate scientists if they cross the Atlantic. 

100% record – Germany has crossed a symbolic milestone in its energy transition by briefly covering around 100% of electricity use with renewables for the first time ever. At around 06:00 on Jan. 1, a combination of strong winds and low demand after New Year’s celebrations meant that wind power alone produced about 85% of Germany’s power consumption, according to data provided by the Federal Network Agency. Hydropower and biomass installations covered the rest, as there was no solar power generation before sunrise. But the data is preliminary and other estimates suggest renewables’ share was 95% rather than 100%. (Clean Energy Wire)

Cold snaps are the worst snaps – January is expected to be warmer than normal in Europe with bursts of cold snaps in the west that will send demand for natural gas and power surging for short periods.  This month may be the warmest in three years, according to The Weather Co., and four out of six forecasters surveyed by Bloomberg expect a milder-than-average month. Short spells of colder weather are expected in Scandinavia, the U.K., France and Germany, said Meteogroup U.K. Ltd.

Financier principles – Investors will play a major role, whether active or passive, in climate change mitigation, write Oxford University researchers in a comment piece for the journal Nature Climate Change. They propose three “physically based engagement principles” that could be used to assess whether an investment is consistent with a long-term climate goal: commitment to net-zero emissions, plans for a profitable net-zero business, and quantitative mid-term targets directly relevant to achieving a net-zero business model. (Carbon Brief)

Markets for transport – The US Business Leaders for Climate Action association hosts a free webinar on Jan. 12 addressing New England’s transportation emissions with carbon pricing, with discussion by Michael Green and Jordan Stutt of the Acadia Center followed by a panel discussion. Seven northeastern states have launched a consultation on the issue (read Carbon Pulse’s take). 

And finally… Drill baby – The Trump administration is proposing to open a huge swath of US federal waters to oil and gas drilling, reversing a ban on new operations set in the final days of the Obama administration. The US interior department responded to a Trump executive order and unveiled plans to make around 90% of federal waters available. Lawmakers from both parties, environmental groups, and local business leaders along the Atlantic coast have said they are opposed. (The Guardian)

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