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TOP STORY
Oregon House sends on ETS legislation after marathon session
Oregon’s House of Representatives on Monday approved a cap-and-trade bill that would allow the state to link to the WCI carbon market after hours of Republican opposition, but the legislation may face a tougher time in the Senate from members of the chamber’s Democratic majority.
EMEA
Brussels urges EU nations to show hand on EUA cancellations, non-ETS trading
Brussels urged member states on Tuesday to declare the extent of their planned EUA cancellations and to up their use of non-ETS trading amid a collective shortfall to the bloc’s 2030 climate goals.
Four more countries back EU’s 2050 net zero emissions goal
At least four more countries have announced their support for an EU net zero 2050 emissions target, bringing the bloc closer to agreement on an initiative that could lead to a more ambitious ETS cap next decade.
EU Market: EUAs inch further above €25 after stronger auction
EU carbon prices inched up on Tuesday after a strong auction lifted sentiment, but prices remained rangebound near €25.
INTERNATIONAL
UK set to host 2020 UN climate talks after Italy backs bid
The British and Italian governments have agreed to partner on a proposal to co-host the 2020 UN climate talks, clearing the way for the UK to host the main summit, known as COP26.
AMERICAS
Pennsylvania set to perform external analysis on economy-wide ETS, extending timeline to 2020
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will partner with outside consultants to model the economic effects of implementing a cap-and-trade programme, likely extending the timeline on whether to advance a green group-backed petition until at least 2020, an environmental source told Carbon Pulse.
ASIA PACIFIC
In first for Japan, utility strikes deal with Shell to buy “carbon neutral” LNG
Japanese utility Tokyo Gas has bought a batch of carbon credits alongside an LNG shipment from a unit of energy major Shell to offset the greenhouse gas emissions from the LNG’s full lifecycle.
Australia could hit net zero emissions in 2050 and profit from it -report
Australia could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero in 2050 and be carbon negative a decade later, all while profiting from efforts including collecting revenue from selling several hundred million carbon credits from land-based projects, a report has found.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Half way there – Nearly half the world’s electricity will come from renewable energy by 2050 as costs of wind, solar, and battery storage continue to plummet. That titanic shift over the next three decades will come as electricity demand increases 62% and investors pump $13.3 trillion into new projects, according to a report released Tuesday by BloombergNEF. The move away from fossil fuels has sweeping implications for energy markets and the fight to stave off climate change. Wind, solar, and batteries are poised to enable the power sector to meet its share of emission cuts required under the Paris climate agreement, at least until 2030, according to BNEF. But after that, nations will need other technologies to make deeper cuts at a reasonable cost.
Emergencies and expansions – Canada’s House of Commons on Monday passed a motion declaring a national climate emergency and supporting the country’s commitment to meet its Paris Agreement emissions targets. While Conservative MPs voted against the motion, it still passed by a 186-63 margin with the support of four other parties, including the ruling Liberals. However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday announced that his government re-approved the controversial expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) project. The project, which would roughly triple the amount of oil bitumen transported to British Columbia’s Pacific coast from Alberta, was originally approved in 2016, but faced a mass of opposition from British Columbia municipalities, indigenous groups, and environmental activists. That led the Trudeau administration to purchase the pipeline from owner Kinder Morgan last May, though a federal appeals court rejected that decision in Aug. 2018, based on the government’s failure to consider the environmental impacts on whale populations from increased tanker traffic and neglecting to properly consult with indigenous communities. However, after following the court’s order for undertaking a renewed consultation, the government is now forging ahead, and said it will begin construction some time this summer. Read more from Carbon Pulse about what TMX’s construction could mean for Canada’s GHG reduction targets, along with green group opposition to the project. (CTV News, iPolitics)
The third degree – Australia’s government is regularly telling its domestic audience that it will easily meet its Paris Agreement emission targets. But as its actual GHG output continues to rise, many remain unconvinced, not least abroad. Ahead of the UN climate talks in Bonn this month, the EU and China have both questioned Australia on whether and how it will meet its 2030 target, the Guardian reports.
Super subsidies – Worldwide subsidies that lower consumer costs for fossil fuels grew to over $400 billion last year, their highest levels since 2014, according to the International Energy Agency. The persistence of the payments, despite some progress in pricing reforms in recent years in several nations, are among the many headwinds in the effort to combat climate change, reports Axios. The IEA report doesn’t even include various governments’ support for fossil fuel production projects. “The continued prevalence of these subsidies – more than double the estimated subsidies to renewables – greatly complicates the task of achieving an early peak in global emissions,” IEA analysts said in a June 13 report. Experts liken fossil fuel subsidies to negative carbon prices.
Set for records – More than half the world could see new temperature records set in every single year by the end of the century if global warming is not curbed, a new study has found. The research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, used climate models to explore how often new temperature records are likely to be set and “smashed” – or broken by a large amount – across the globe. The authors found that under a high emissions scenario, up to 58% of the world could see a new temperature record set in at least one month every year by 2100. However, if temperature rise is limited to 2C above pre-industrial levels, that scope would be limited to 14%. (Carbon Brief)
And finally… Discovery McDiscoverface – Boaty McBoatface’s maiden outing has made a major discovery about how climate change is causing rising sea levels, the Telegraph reports. Scientists say that data collected from the yellow submarine’s first expedition will help them build more accurate predictions in order to combat the problem. The mission has uncovered a key process linking increasing Antarctic winds to higher sea temperatures, which in turn is fuelling increasing levels. Researchers found that the increasing winds are cooling water on the bottom of the ocean, forcing it to travel faster, creating turbulence as it mixed with warmer waters above. Experts said the mechanism has not been factored into current models for predicting the impact of increasing global temperatures on our oceans, meaning forecasts should be altered.
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