CP Daily: Tuesday October 27, 2015

Published 18:11 on October 27, 2015  /  Last updated at 18:11 on October 27, 2015  /  Newsletters

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

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EBRD to develop “up-scaled” CDM-based mechanism in Med. countries

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is seeking to develop an “up-scaled” CDM-based mechanism in southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, and has launched a €1.5 million tender to recruit a Spanish-registered consultancy to help build it.

Vattenfall fossil fuel generation, CO2 emissions up in Q3 but hedging remains muted

Swedish-owned utility Vattenfall generated 14% more fossil fuel-based power and 18% more CO2 in Q3 compared to last year, but its year-on-year forward hedging rates remain down, the company said in its earnings report on Tuesday.

Poland’s president vetoes Kyoto 2 ratification

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday vetoed the ratification of an extension to the Kyoto Protocol to 2020, a largely symbolic move that is a sign Poland will adopt an even tougher stance against EU climate policy than in recent years.

EU Market: Oversold flags prompt EUA dip after fresh 3-year high

EU carbon dipped on Tuesday shortly after extending a three-year high and following three consecutive days of gains that left the benchmark contract in overbought territory.

Guangdong launches first tranche of 600m yuan low-carbon fund

Guangdong has allocated 100 million yuan ($15.7m) to a low-carbon fund that will be funded by revenue from CO2 permit auctions and increase six-fold over time.

Former Deutsche Bank energy and carbon analyst joins Barclays

A veteran EU carbon and energy analyst has joined UK-based bank Barclays to cover European utilities.

Thai auto industry urges government to postpone CO2 tax -media

Thailand’s automotive industry has urged the government to postpone an increase in the country’s CO2-based excise tax on cars and trucks, local media reported.

 

Bite-sized updates from around the world

Germany’s 2.7 GW lignite power capacity reserve will not be enough to wean the country off the fuel, writes Hamburg-based US energy expert Jeffrey Michel for Energy Post. “The lignite sector is too well entrenched and lignite mining profitable enough to subsidize the loss-making power production. Only when renewables and gas-fired power generation have fully superseded nuclear capacities and the electricity grid has been expanded, would the end of lignite come into sight. In Germany that is.”

A Paul Ryan-led House unlikely to shift on climate issues – As Wisconsin’s Ryan prepares to take leadership role in Congress, there’s ‘no room on the agenda for climate change,’ says Republican strategist. (InsideClimate News)

Ed Whitfield, a Kentuckian Republican lawmaker in the US House of Representatives, introduced two resolutions against the Clean Power Plan, one each for the new source rule and the existing source rule. The resolutions cannot be filibustered in the Senate, so they may make it to the President’s desk where they will almost certainly be vetoed. (H/T Politico)

The US government should not have approved the expansion of a southeastern Montana coal mine without taking a closer look at its effect on the environment, a federal judge said about a lawsuit arguing the government ignored coal’s contributions to climate change. AP reports that this is the second time conservationists have used worries over climate change to successfully challenge approval of a coal mine after it had been granted.

Canada could drastically cut its GHG emissions and meet international climate change commitments using existing, commercially-available technologies and policies that have been proven to work, a new report says. (CBC)

Some 60,000 South Korean CERs have been voluntarily cancelled by the Korea South-East Power Co. this week to offset the 2018 Winter Olympics, which are being held in Pyeongchang. 56,000 came from a landfill gas project while the remaining 4,000 were generated by a small hydroelectric dam.

And finally… In a landmark public health finding, a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health finds that CO2 has a direct and negative impact on human cognition and decision-making, ClimateProgress reports.

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