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TOP STORY
Another lost decade? UK carbon market to be oversupplied through 2030, analysts warn
The UK’s proposed emissions trading scheme is predicted to be oversupplied throughout its first decade, analysts have warned, which could mean a dimming of the country’s low-carbon investment signal after it departs the EU and its ETS this year.
AMERICAS
Quebec to alter post-2020 ETS reserve sale prices in alignment with California
A Quebec draft regulation will see the province harmonise the post-2020 allowance reserve price tiers of its WCI-linked cap-and-trade programme with California’s approach, plus make other technical tweaks, according to documents posted Monday.
ETS critics increase donations to Oregon Republicans ahead of election
Oregon Republicans are seeing an influx of cash from industries and timber companies ahead of the November general election, as the party looks to prevent Democrats from securing a quorum in both chambers and moving to introduce an ETS.
RFS Market: RINs dive below 40 cents on bearish waiver sentiment
US biofuel credit (RIN) prices exacerbated their week-long slide on Tuesday due to fears that the EPA will approve numerous retroactive “gap filling” compliance waivers under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
EMEA
Ukraine must not delay plans to establish its ETS from 2025, says business group
Ukraine must not delay work to establish its own ETS from 2025 as the country’s imports may otherwise come under pressure from a planned EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), a Kyiv-based business association said on Tuesday.
EU Market: EUAs retreat again after early move above €27
EUAs failed to sustain an early move higher, falling back after bulls were unable to hold prices above €27 for the third time in four sessions.
Utility Uniper’s thermal output drops 36% in H1, opts to advance hedging
German utility Uniper reported a 36% drop in its EU ETS-covered output over the first half of the year, it said on Tuesday, as its fossil fuel generation was increasingly squeezed by cleaner power while demand dropped due to coronavirus restrictions.
Czech utility CEZ lags on hedging, though output drop is less than others
Czech utility CEZ is less heavily hedged than in recent years but its thermal power generation is holding up better than many of its peers amid COVID-19 restrictions, the company revealed in first-half results on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
South Korea’s cabinet approves measures to allow financials to trade in ETS
South Korea’s cabinet advanced amendments on Tuesday to the country’s carbon market that will let financial institutions participate in the market starting next year.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Heralding Harris – Former US Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday chose California Senator Kamala Harris to join him on the Democratic 2020 ticket, fulfilling his pledge to select a female running mate and making Harris the first Black person ever tapped as the vice presidential nominee of a major party, CNBC reports. As a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination herself, Harris called for $10 trillion in private and public funding to create a carbon-neutral economy. She also co-sponsored the Environmental Justice for All Act that was introduced last week, as well as the Climate Equity Act unveiled last year, which would assign environmental and climate bills a quantitative “equity score” akin to budgetary analysis conducted by the Congressional Budget Office.
New Norge boss – Anders Opedal, Equinor’s executive vice president for technology, projects, and drilling, will replace Elder Saetre as its CEO from November, the Norwegian oil company announced on Tuesday. Opedal, who was reportedly one of four candidates for the top job, released a filmed statement saying that Equinor could be one of the “leading companies” in the energy transition. The new CEO said that the company would seek to build new business within hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), as well as other low-carbon solutions. (CityAM)
Swimming against the stream – German utility Uniper on Tuesday said it may have to impair a loan provided to the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline amid US sanctions. CEO Andreas Schierenbeck said in an analyst call that “pressure has further intensified” and did not rule out that the pipeline may after all not be finished, though he expected its completion. The German and Russian foreign ministers held today talks in Moscow and rejected the US call for sanctions, with Germany’s Heiko Maas insisting it was Germany’s “sovereign decision” to choose where to get its energy from. (Reuters)
Rapid retreat – The Arctic could have no sea ice in summer by 2035, according to scientists who studied a warm period more than 100,000 years ago. Satellite records show that the area of Arctic covered by sea ice in September, its lowest point in the year, is shrinking by about 13% a decade, with half of that area lost since the 1980s. Predictions vary on when the sea ice will totally disappear, with one study claiming it would have gone by 2016, though most scientists agree that the Arctic will be ice-free in summer by 2050. (The Times)
And finally… Fat chance – Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing on Monday announced that its Fat Tire Amber Ale has become the first certified carbon neutral beer in the US. Fat Tire’s carbon neutral status was certified by SCS Global Services using the PAS 2060 standard, and comes as New Belgium pledges to make its entire business CO2 neutral by 2030. Additionally, the company announced that certain retailers voluntarily hiked the price of a Fat Tire six-pack tenfold to $100 on Monday – International Beer Day – to spark customer attention around the growing agricultural disruptions caused by climate change, which it said will drive the prices of staple products like barley, wheat, and rice to unaffordable levels.
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