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TOP STORY

Canada to nationalise pipeline project, in another possible challenge to country’s GHG goals

The Canadian federal government announced on Tuesday that it will purchase Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline system and expansion project, posing another potential obstacle to the country’s strategy to meet its Paris Agreement targets.

ASIA PACIFIC

South Korea to auction 5.5 mln permits from market stability reserve on June 1

South Korea will auction off 5.5 million carbon permits from its market stability reserve on June 1, the government announced Tuesday, representing 40% of the total volume available in the reserve.

Japan’s coal plans to blow nation off Paris track -report

Japan’s plans to add 40% to its coal-fired power generation capacity will push the nation off track to meet its already inadequate Paris target unless it considers a raft of new energy policies such as carbon pricing, a report said Tuesday.

Analysts see price upside in Australia’s next ERF auction despite spending cuts

Sophisticated developers might achieve as much as 20% above the average price in next week’s Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) auction, experts said, even as the Clean Energy Regulator has announced it will spend less than in previous sales.

SK Market: KAUs extend gains even as volumes drop

South Korean carbon permits rose another 2.8% on Monday to add to the 6-month highs hit last week, but the move was on the back of tiny trades as transaction volumes fell.

EMEA

Energy Aspects ups EUA price forecasts again, but points to rising correction risk

Energy Aspects have once again upped their EU carbon price forecasts in light of the unabating rally, while also reiterating their warning of an increasing risk of a market correction.

Emitters again took home bulk of German auctioned EUAs in April -report

Participation levels in April’s German auctions were similar to March, with compliance players continuing to purchase the majority of the 17.44 million EU Allowances on offer.

EU Market: EUAs extend 7-yr high as bull-run persists despite bigger supply ahead

EU carbon prices set a new seven-year high on Tuesday as bullish momentum continued despite the prospect of larger supply coming to market.

AMERICAS

Canada’s Nunavut could cut emissions by 4.5% with federal carbon price -report

The Canadian territory of Nunavut stands to cut GHG emissions by up to 4.5% through the federal government’s ‘backstop’ carbon pricing scheme, according to a government study released last week.

Quebec fund hires developers Camco to manage, grow its US methane offset portfolio

The Quebec-based Inlandsis Fund has teamed up with offset project developers Camco International Group to support the management and growth of methane reduction projects in the California carbon market.

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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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Job listings this week:

• Program Manager, Nordic Development Fund – Helsinki
• Head of Sales – International, First Climate Markets – Bad Vilbel, Germany
• Manager Carbon Offsets, Procurement and Suppliers, ClimatePartner – Munich
• Senior International Climate Change Adaptation Consultant, Atkins – Peterborough/Oxford/Epsom/London
• Junior Climate Risk and Adaptation Consultant, Atkins – Peterborough/Oxford/Epsom/London
• Technical Specialist, Climate Change and GCF Programme Support, FAO – Equatorial Guinea
• International Specialists (x2), National Forest Monitoring Systems, FAO – Equatorial Guinea
• Research Assistant, ICTSD/ERCST – Brussels
• Intern, Programme Management, GGGI – Seoul
• Waste and Climate Change Intern, Center for Clean Air Policy – Washington DC
• Executive Assistant, Energy Innovation – San Francisco

Or click here to see all our job adverts

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

More of your coal please – China is considering a plan to buy more American coal as part of an effort to narrow its trade deficit with the US, Bloomberg reports, quoting sources with knowledge of the matter. Chinese officials are currently looking at boosting purchases from West Virginia in particular, the sources said. They didn’t say whether Beijing is looking at buying more supplies from other states. A final decision hasn’t been made, they added. China this month pledged to increase purchases of US energy and agricultural goods as a way to reduce its $375 billion merchandise trade deficit and diffuse an escalating trade war between the world’s biggest economies.

Overstepping – The Netherlands government has appealed a landmark climate ruling ordering ministers to cut CO2 emissions by 25% by 2020, arguing that judges had overstepped their authority and sidelined democracy. The government’s plans for a 17% cut in CO2 pollution were deemed unlawful in the first successful lawsuit against a government’s climate policy three years ago. (Climate Home)

Unfair – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is unfairly directing millions of dollars from RGGI to benefit Long Island residents at the expense of upstaters and the poor, according to an advocates’ report issued Tuesday. Between 2013 and 2017, more than $200 million in RGGI cash was funnelled to the Long Island Power Authority, according to the report from Environmental Advocates of New York. Since that started, LIPA also pared spending on energy efficiency and renewables programmes to $81 mln from $115 mln. Because of RGGI funding, LIPA customers are getting a benefit that is not being provided to customers of other utilities, raising questions of fairness, said Conor Bambrick, author of the report and air and energy director at EANY. The report also questioned the use of another $170 million in RGGI funds to support a programme aimed at replacing local property taxes on mothballed power plants and a tax credit program for homeowners who install alternative energy systems. (Times Union)

Blacklisted – Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland said on Tuesday it would no longer directly finance new coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines, oil sands or Arctic oil projects, and unsustainable vegetation or peatland clearance projects, Reuters reports. It also said it would no longer lend money to mining companies that generate more than 40 percent of their revenues from thermal coal or power companies that generate more than 40 percent of their electricity from coal. The previous threshold for both was 65 percent.

New markets – China’s populous Henan province is one of four regions that will launch a pilot energy consumption trading scheme this year. In its annual energy and climate plan released Tuesday, the Henan government said it would initially launch the market in four cities, including the capital Zhengzhou. It aims to limit energy consumption growth to 2.88% per year until 2020, while also eyeing a 3% cut in carbon intensity for 2018. The annual plan said Henan would issue specific trading plans and build the necessary infrastructure for allocation, MRV and a registry in time for trading to commence this year.

Close coordination – Newly released emails obtained by the EDF and Southern Environmental Law Center show that senior EPA officials worked closely with a climate change-denying organisation to recruit like-minded people for public hearings and refute negative news coverage of the agency and Administrator Scott Pruitt. In the emails, EPA deputy associate administrator for public affairs John Konkus reached out to then-president Joseph Bast of the Heartland Institute in May 2017 seeking potential invitees to an annual EPA hearing on the agency’s science standards. The Heartland Institute, which calls itself a leading free-market think-tank, rejects the near-universal scientific consensus that fossil fuel emissions are causing global warming. Subsequent messages between the EPA and Heartland Institute revealed that the groups had discussed inviting other climate-denying bodies to the hearing like Plants Need CO2, The Right Climate Stuff, and Junk Science. (AP)

Stay cool in school – A new study circulated on Monday found that air conditioning is critical to mitigating the harms that rising temperatures have on cognitive development. The research, circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research, used an assessment of 21 million PSAT scores from high school-aged students combined with local temperature data to conclude that each schoolyear temperature increase of 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 C) decreases the amount learned that year by 1 percent. The authors also said that air conditioning would offset over $25,000 per classroom each year in the future stemming from lost earnings as global temperatures rise. (Axios)

Turmes turns in – Veteran Greens EU lawmaker and renewable energy champion Claude Turmes is to step down at the end of June as an MEP to join the Luxembourg government following the sudden death of environment state secretary Camille Gira on May 16. “Until then all my energy will be targeted at getting the EU energy efficiency and renewables directives ready for 2030,” he said in a blog post.

And finally… Kelp help – Feeding cows seaweed could almost eliminate the amount of methane they release from belching. Adding a small amount of seaweed to cattle feed could reduce methane emissions from cattle microbes by up to 99%, according to Professor Ermias Kebreab at the University of California, Davis, referring to preliminary results that are yet to be published. (The Independent)

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