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TOP STORIES
RGGI emissions jump 22% in Q1 as colder temperatures snap 3-year decline
Power sector emissions capped by RGGI rose by 22% in Q1, spurred by a colder winter in the northeast US and bucking a three-year drop.
ASIA PACIFIC
Australia’s ACCU offset market faces supply squeeze despite limited demand
The fledgling market for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) is seeing signs of an early supply squeeze despite limited demand for the credits beyond the government.
US-based carbon firm targets Korean buyers for its CERs
A US-based emissions reduction project developer has been advancing a large portfolio of developing-world offset projects for the lucrative South Korean carbon market, Carbon Pulse has learned.
AMERICAS
INTERVIEW: After yet another setback, what’s next for Oregon’s cap-and-trade plans?
Having conceded defeat in passing a cap-and-trade bill in Oregon this year, one of the state’s highest profile carbon pricing proponents is working with lawmakers through the rest of 2018 to prepare for a renewed legislative push next year.
New York grid operator releases carbon pricing straw proposal
New York’s Integrating Public Policy Task Force (IPPTF) on Monday published its latest report on how the state could impose a carbon price within its wholesale electricity markets, detailing measures to address possible emissions leakage and ratepayer burdens.
INTERNATIONAL
Carbon markets and their business proponents drawn into UN participation fight
The promotion of carbon markets by business groups including IETA has been labelled a “dangerous distraction” to climate action by transparency campaigners seeking a more clearly-defined structure for accessing UN climate negotiations.
EMEA
EU Market: EUAs drift lower in thin holiday trade
EU carbon prices dipped on Tuesday in a rare auction-free session that was relatively thinly traded with much of Europe on a public holiday.
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CARBON FORWARD 2018
SAVE THE DATE: Carbon Forward 2018 – Survive and thrive in the global carbon markets
Don’t miss the 3rd annual Carbon Forward conference and training day – Oct. 16-18, 2018 in London.
Spend two days with top experts, players, and decision-makers from the global carbon markets as they address today’s most attractive opportunities and pressing challenges. And join us for the EU ETS pre-conference training day organised by carbon market experts Redshaw Advisors, where you will learn how to effectively manage your carbon risk ahead of the looming overhaul of the bloc’s emissions trading scheme.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Not a great start – In a divisive opening to the UN intersessional climate talks in Bonn, Ukrainian delegates on Monday accused Russia and the UN of violating international norms by publishing climate reports that include GHG data from the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. The Ukrainian stance was backed in statements by the US, Australia and Canada. Ukrainian negotiators called on the UN climate secretariat to review Russian reporting and exclude any submissions counting data from the “temporarily occupied territory of the autonomous republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol”. (Climate Home)
It’s on – California regulator ARB, along with the state’s Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, announced at a press conference on Tuesday that California would lead an 18-state coalition in suing the EPA over its recent decision to rewrite the national fuel economy standards for cars and light-duty trucks. The GHG emission standards for model years 2022-2025 were set by ARB, the EPA, and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2012, but the EPA last month said that these standards should be tossed out. Furthermore, a recent EPA and NHTSA draft proposal on the standards would possibly prevent California from exercising its existing waiver authority to enforce a separate regulation. The 18 jurisdictions that follow California’s fuel economy standards comprise 43% of the US automobile market.
Go ahead and shut ’em – US electric grid operator PJM released an analysis on Monday concluding that utility FirstEnergy can go ahead with retiring its three nuclear plants without affecting grid reliability. PJM said the planned closure of FirstEnergy’s nukes in Ohio would not lead to near-term fuel security issues, while planned expansions with the grid would compensate for any power delivery issues that might stem from the deactivations. This contrasts to FirstEnergy’s recent appeal to the Department of Energy to issue an emergency order providing cost recovery for coal and nuclear plants in the PJM Interconnection. The company criticised the analysis as too narrow and failing to account for the unique benefits of nuclear facilities. (Utility Dive)
Pollution problems – Pollutants that cause smog have been decreasing at a far slower pace in the US this decade, according to research published Monday. The study, released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that nitrogen oxides fell by 1.7% from 2011 to 2015, down from a 7% rate of decline from 2005-09. The results also show that computer models used by the EPA to track pollution have overestimated how clean the country’s air really is, with the agency’s new air quality standards slated to come into effect this fall having already been delayed once. Authors of the study attributed the slowdown to the fact that entities have so far made the biggest and easiest pollution cuts, leaving more difficult reductions in the future. (AP)
A call to advise – Voluntary market certifier Verra has announced a public call for Advisory Group members for the development of the Landscape Standard (LS), a framework intended to address the lack of global standards to assess progress towards key sustainability outcomes at a landscape scale, beyond the performance of a specific land use, sector or actor. “To help ensure effective strategic input from and engagement with a broad range of potential stakeholders (e.g., related initiatives, governments, producer organizations and companies), we are currently seeking interested parties to join the LS global Advisory Group, which will provide input on strategy and help to ensure the framework demonstrates value for key stakeholders, and that it is workable and efficient to apply in practice,” Verra said. The Advisory Group will convene online/via teleconference approximately four times per year between June 2018 and June 2019, with the possibility to engage beyond that timeframe as the standard evolves.
And finally… Boaty McBoatface sets sail – A 100-scientist project formed to study the implications of the remote and rapidly-dwindling Thwaites glacier in Antarctica launched on Monday out of Cambridge. The joint British-US project will include Boaty McBoatface, a remotely operated submarine that was originally voted to be the name of one of the principal research vessels of the project two years ago in an online poll. The participation of the US in the project is viewed as especially significant given the country’s planned withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and precarious climate science budgets within cabinet agencies. (Climate Nexus, The Guardian).
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