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TOP STORY
Proposed New York CO2 charge facing further delays after passage of carbon neutrality bill
The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) is delaying the finalisation of its carbon charge on its wholesale power market until this fall as it awaits further analysis on the state’s recently approved carbon neutrality legislation.
EMEA
EU Market: EUAs rebound towards €29 as looming heatwave revives bulls
European carbon prices emphatically rebounded from a six-day low on Friday’s bullish auction result and forecasts of an impending heatwave, with buyers also taking comfort from strong technical signals.
Poland greenlights plan to compensate industry for indirect ETS costs
Poland’s parliament passed a bill on Friday to compensate its ETS-covered industry for indirect carbon costs, making good on a government plan flagged nine months earlier when carbon prices first surged towards €30.
Nordic utilities report jumps in ETS-covered output amid lower hydro
Two Nordic utilities reported rises in EU ETS-covered output over the first half of 2019 as their thermal facilities ramped up to cover lower hydro generation, though they said fossil-based production may ease for the rest of the year as reservoirs have since filled.
Swiss energy-related CO2 emissions fall in 2018 despite stubborn transport output
Switzerland’s energy-related CO2 emissions continued falling in 2018, the government announced this week, though the decline was again mostly seen in the consumption of thermal fuels as transportation’s output was unchanged.
INTERNATIONAL
Norway and Suriname to explore carbon credits for preventing deforestation -report
Norway and Suriname are said to be exploring an arrangement where the South American country would earn carbon credits for keeping its tropical forest intact, according to a local news report.
AMERICAS
Colorado to undertake feasibility study of LCFS
A Colorado agency will commence a study this fall on the technical and economic feasibility of implementing a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) in the western US state, a government official said.
ASIA PACIFIC
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending July 19, 2019
Closing prices, ranges and volumes for China’s regional pilot carbon markets this week.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
See you in September – Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday she favoured carbon prices to help incentivise GHG emissions reductions, as Germany struggles to meet its 2030 climate targets. She said her ‘Climate Cabinet’ aimed to agree a package of measures to meet its goal to cut emissions by at least 55% below 1990 levels, with the strategy to be announced on Sep. 20. In her annual mid-year press conference, Merkel said experts had made a convincing case for a carbon price at the cabinet meeting, though the discussions were ongoing. The decision on the measures will come in time for the climate action summit to be hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York, where a number of countries are expected to offer new Paris Agreement NDC pledges. Merkel said Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and the ‘Fridays for Future’ protest movement had prompted the government to speed up its decision-making process and act more resolutely. She also called Germany’s impending failure to meet its 2020 reduction goal of 40% a “weak point” of her tenure, and said emphasised that the objective of a expansion of carbon pricing in the country was to cut emissions in a socially balanced way and not to “earn any money” for government coffers. “We want a high degree of predictability” with respect to the financial burden a carbon price would mean for individual citizens, Merkel added. (Clean Energy Wire)
Dwindling demand – Germany’s hard coal imports may fall for the fourth year in a row in 2019 and by around 10% from 2018 levels, importers’ group VDKi forecast on Thursday, citing competition from renewable energy and slack demand from steelmakers. VDKi forecast imports of 39-43 Mt in 2019 compared with 46.7 mln in 2018, revising a January forecast for higher volumes this year, which had been based on the final closure of domestic mines. (Reuters)
Air rage – Bloomberg reports on the growing rift on between Europe’s biggest network carrier Deutsche Lufthansa and largest low-cost airline Ryanair over climate policy. No-frills carriers have lower average emissions from their fleets of efficient narrow-body models that usually operate close to full. Lufthansa’s CEO comments focused on the continuing success of discount carriers in carving out new markets for short leisure trips while most of its customers are travelling on business or to visit friends and family.
Argentina approval – Argentina’s senate has approved a bill to establish the country’s climate change policy, and will now be reviewed by the lower house of congress. The bill, authored by Senator Fernando Solanas and backed by all senators present at Thursday’s vote, proposes to establish strategies, measures, and policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation, along with “minimum budgets for environmental protection” that will be updated every five years. Argentina adopted a $10/tCO2e carbon tax in Dec. 2017, differing from the $25/tonne proposal announced by the country’s treasury minister shortly before then. (BNamericas)
Still no Source – The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a state committee’s rejection of a proposal to build a hydropower transmission line that would carry electricity from Canada to markets in southern New England. Last year, New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee blocked utility Eversource’s 1,090 MW Northern Pass project on the grounds it would harm the region’s tourist industry and hurt property values. While Eversource argued the committee did not consider all the evidence supporting the project or the possible ways the company could mitigate opponents’ concerns, the court rejected those arguments. Due to New Hampshire’s decision, Massachusetts regulators chose another cross-border hydro line, the New England Clean Energy Connect project, to meet the state’s clean energy goals. (AP)
Pop goes the flight emissions – Start-up airline flypop is aiming to become “the first truly carbon-neutral airline without any additional costs to the customer”. As the first airline to operate a non-stop service between London Stansted and two of India’s key cities – Amritsar in Punjab and Ahmedabad in Gujarat – flypop intends to purchase sufficient carbon credits to fully offset the emissions created by its flights without passing the cost on to the consumer. To fully support the communities it will be serving in the UK and India, flypop will focus on carbon-offsetting, including reforestation projects in Scotland and in the South Asia countries where it will fly to.
And finally… Find us on Facebook – Dozens of animals, from birds to bats, are moving north across the UK as a result of climate change, scientists have discovered thanks to the help of social media. In the past decade, at least 55 land-based and marine species have moved to parts of Britain outside their natural range or have arrived in the country from warmer climates, a study from the Zoological Society of London has found. The study analysed UK government environment reports and 111 scientific papers to find species that were on the move as a result of rising temperatures. Researchers also performed Twitter and Google searches for terms including “unusual species” and “first sighting” to find areas across Britain where social media users were reporting new animals. (The Independent)
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