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TOP STORY
China’s coal rebound continues while ETS, climate policy stuck
A hot July helped China’s coal imports to hit their highest levels in almost five years as coal consumption continues to grow while the government’s work to carve out regulations for its planned national emissions trading scheme has ground to a halt.
EMEA
German emitters raise CO2 price expectations as EUA values surge
Some 56% of German energy companies expect EUA prices to be above €20 in the next five years, up from fewer than 40% of companies six months earlier, according to a survey published Wednesday.
EU Market: EUAs fade as falling energy prices weigh
EU carbon prices slipped below €17.50 on Wednesday despite a stronger enlarged auction, as the energy complex was dragged lower by heightened fears that a global trade spat will damage economic growth.
AMERICAS
California issues 2.8 mln offsets as forestry project takes home bulk
California regulator ARB granted over 2.8 million California Carbon Offsets (CCOs) this week in the largest issuance since May, with an Oregon tribe’s forestry project receiving over three-fourths of that total.
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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
Emissions up – US energy-related CO2 emissions are expected to increase by 2% year-on-year in 2018, according to the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The independent government organisation attributed the rise to higher natural gas consumption due to a colder winter and hotter summer than in 2017, but it also expected emissions to decline by 0.8% in 2019. Additionally, the EIA projected solar generation to increase by 23% year-on-year and wind generation to rise by 7%, while coal production will decline by 1.1% even as exports grow by 5.7%.
Wildfire record – California’s biggest wildfire on record is expected to burn for the rest of the month, fire officials said. The big-emitting “Mendocino Complex” fire has already engulfed more than 110,000 hectares – almost the size of Los Angeles – and only around a third of it is under control. Forecasters said that the worst was yet to come with temperatures above 38C, gusting winds, tinder-dry conditions and no prospect of rain. President Donald Trump “struck a more conciliatory tone over California’s raging wildfires”, saying he was in constant contact with officials. (Reuters)
Gas pass – California’s Independent System Operator (CAISO) could retire 28 natural gas plants without affecting electricity reliability, according to a report published on Tuesday by the green group Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). As part of the California Public Utilities Commissions’ goal of reducing carbon emissions to 42 million tonnes by 2030 in the most economic way possible, the UCS researchers chose not to incorporate the construction of any new gas plants to replace less efficient combined-cycle turbines in their modelling. Of the 89 gas plants currently under the jurisdiction of the CAISO, the 28 plants selected by the UCS model were “dead weight” that provide system capacity that other resources could “easily” supply, according to the report’s lead author. (Utility Dive)
Trees better – Planting more trees and preserving the ones we have would be a more effective way of combating climate change than using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), a new study led by the UK’s University of Exeter, suggests. (The Independent)
And finally… Wretched rain – As Northern California withstands record fires and extreme drought, the southern part of the state has experienced some relief – in the form of the hottest rain ever recorded on the planet. On July 24, temperatures in the town of imperial were 119 F (48.3 C) when it began to rain, though most of the precipitation evaporated before hitting the ground. One meteorologist explained that it is extremely rare for rain to fall at that high of a temperature, since heat at that level discourages cloud formation, while one resident reported that the precipitation felt hard on their heart and “made it difficult to breathe”. (Newsweek)
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