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TOP STORY
Output threat for EU metals industry after Trump imposes tariffs on allies
The US slapped import tariffs on steel and aluminium from the previously-exempted EU, Canada, and Mexico on Thursday, prompting European producers to urge retaliation against potential cuts to their EU ETS-covered output.
EMEA
EU Market: EUAs close under €15 following largest drop since early 2017
EU carbon prices suffered their largest daily fall in over a year on Thursday, as end-of-month selling precipitated and wider energy markets tumbled following President Trump’s decision to impose steel and aluminium tariffs on the EU, Mexico, and Canada.
Top BHP Billiton energy analyst leaves to set up power demand response firm
A Singapore-based energy and carbon research and analysis manager has left mining major BHP Billiton to co-found a European demand response company aiming to allow households to earn money from turning off their electric devices.
AMERICAS
Climate expert launches new firm to circumvent traditional process for developing US carbon offset protocols
A new company is looking to expand US carbon offset opportunities in agriculture by taking the “opposite approach” to the current system of protocol development.
NA Markets: WCI prices pick up as auction concerns recede
Californian carbon prices continued their slow recovery as nerves subsided after the May 15 sold-out auction, while RGGI trade stalled in a week interrupted by the Memorial Day public holiday.
Number of CERs used against Colombian carbon tax nears 1.5 million
The number of Colombian CERs being cancelled against the country’s carbon tax by big emitters is approaching 1.5 million after another batch was annulled last week.
ASIA PACIFIC
NZ Market: NZUs dip below NZ$21 as compliance deadline poses few problems
New Zealand carbon allowances dropped below the NZ$21 mark on Thursday, the deadline for emitters to surrender permits for their 2017 output, as the historic surplus of millions of NZUs meant few participants had any issues meeting their targets.
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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
Tipping point – The world’s largest investors are starting to take climate change seriously, according to the asset manager Amundi, Europe’s largest. It told Bloomberg “we are really observing a tipping point among the institutional investors on climate change … Until recently, that question was not on their radar screen. It’s changing, and it’s changing super fast.”
Good guidance – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has published guidance for companies reporting on the physical impacts of climate change in their financial results. Together with the Netherlands-based Global Centre for Excellence on Climate Adaptation, the groups devised 18 recommendations for firms when disclosing climate impacts on their assets or financial instruments lifetime over a 5- to 20-year timeframe. Any risks beyond 20 years should be assessed using scenarios that will account for uncertainty in climate policy and the impacts of climate change, the guidance said. (Reuters)
Blame game – EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has continued to deflect the blame from his recent scandals related to spending on travel, security, and a $43,000 secure phone booth to career staff and the US political left. During a Wednesday interview with the conservative Washington Free Beacon podcast, Pruitt said that “some of the things that have been in the media are decisions made by career staff, processes that were at the agency that there weren’t proper checks and balances. So I’ve actually made changes at the agency.” Pruitt also said that the left has been against his deregulatory agenda for years, and that the changes brought in by his approach cause controversy. (The Hill)
And finally… Look ma’, no emissions – A team of engineers in La Porte, Texas has begun running tests on a prototype power plant that uses a stream of pure CO2, not air, to drive a turbine, leading to zero emissions. The technology, developed by North Carolina-based NET Power, allows the CO2 to be buried or shipped in a pipeline at virtually no cost, giving it a competitive edge over existing technologies that strip CO2 out of a conventional power plant’s exhaust. While the project’s proponents say this method could produce electricity as cheaply and efficiently as a modern gas-fired power plants, the company is several months behind on tests that will ensure the proper combustion of oxygen and methane in the presence of CO2, which acts as a sort of fire extinguisher. (Nature)
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