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TOP STORY
Start of 2021 EU carbon allowance auctions to be delayed
The start of carbon allowance auctions in Phase 4 of the EU ETS (2021-30) will be delayed due to technical reasons, the European Commission announced late Tuesday.
INTERNATIONAL
UN’s IMO strikes shipping emissions deal that lets maritime GHGs keep rising
Nations agreed a global maritime deal at the UN’s IMO on Tuesday that would allow the sector’s emissions to rise for another decade, a move that could strengthen the EU’s resolve to take tougher action in its own waters.
IMF “hopeful” of a rising international carbon price floor
Reaching Paris Agreement commitments could be complemented with a rising carbon price floor at a global level, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday.
EMEA
EU carbon prices to end 2020 on a high -analysts
EU carbon prices will continue on their upward trajectory through the end of the year, despite the ongoing pandemic and economy downturn, before EUAs average above €35 in 2021, analysts forecast on Tuesday.
EU Climate Law deal could face delay over budget brouhaha -analysts
An agreement between EU member states on a tougher 2030 climate target could be delayed until next year if governments are not able to iron out their differences on the bloc’s long-term budget, analysts said Tuesday.
British PM Johnson unveils 10-point climate plan to spark new, ‘green’ industrial revolution
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday unveiled a 10-point plan to mobilise tens of billions of pounds in public- and private-sector investment and spark a “green industrial revolution” in the country.
EU Market: EUAs give back Monday’s gains, but big upside seen tomorrow from late-breaking news
European carbon sank on Tuesday on profit-taking and policy and coronavirus concerns, as a late decline saw prices give back all of the previous day’s gains, though traders said EUAs could spike tomorrow on late-breaking bullish supply-related news.
EU carbon market alone “can’t bridge funding gap” to 2030 target -senior official
The EU ETS will be an important source of financing for the 27-nation bloc’s energy transition, but it cannot alone bridge the ‘financing gap’ needed to bring poorer member states on board with an enhanced 2030 emission goal, a senior European Commission official said on Tuesday.
AMERICAS
Analysts lower 2020 WCI emissions forecast on strained rebound for fuel, power sectors
The California-Quebec carbon market will experience further GHG abatement in 2020 due to a slower recovery in gasoline and electricity demand than previously expected and more efficient gas plants running in the Golden State, analysts said in a report published Tuesday.
California may need to drop electric vehicles from the LCFS in the 2030s -ARB board member
The anticipated growth in electric vehicle deployment over the coming decades may eventually require California to drop the credit generator from the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), a board member of regulator ARB said Tuesday.
Stakeholders see pathways for LCFS and CO2 pricing programmes in Washington, New York
Washington state Democrats are optimistic that reintroduced low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) and cap-and-trade bills could pass in the 2021 legislative session, while a New York environmental advocate believes the state could implement a clean fuels programme as early as 2022.
Virginia industries argue clerk error should not vacate lawsuit challenging RGGI regulation
A clerical error caused a Virginia business group to fail to pay the appropriate filing fee on a lawsuit challenging the state’s RGGI-modelled carbon market regulation, but the mistake should not void the case, according to court records.
ASIA PACIFIC
NZ Market: NZUs hit new highs as supply remains strained
New Zealand emissions allowances rose to new record highs yet again in Tuesday trade as available supply remains thin and traders prepare for life without the fixed price option (FPO).
Indian carbon trading firm to launch IPO
India’s biggest carbon and renewable energy credit trading company is preparing to list on the BSE bourse in Mumbai in a bid to raise funds that will allow it to expand its activities.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Plug pulled – A multinational consortium that was building one of South Africa’s first privately-owned coal-fired power stations has asked to withdraw from the project, the energy ministry said Tuesday, aggravating the country’s chronic electricity shortage. Local environmentalists had criticised the 630MW Thabametsi plant, saying it would have been among the most carbon-intensive coal power stations in the world and a drain on meagre water resources in the arid Limpopo province. But South Africa needed the plant, which was meant to come online early next year, to ease an electricity deficit that has weighed on the economy for decades. The exit of the umbrella company that won a 2016 bid to build the Thabametsi plant follows the withdrawal in recent weeks of major investors, including Japan’s Marubeni, South Korean state utility KEPCO, and a host of local financiers. They invested following South Africa’s Coal Baseload Independent Power Producer (IPP) Procurement Programme launched in 2014 to buy a total of 2.5 GW of coal energy. (Reuters)
Forest recovery – The EU’s agriculture ministers have called on the European Commission to present a “reinforced forestry strategy”, joining the European Parliament in calls to address imported deforestation. Even though half of the world’s forests are located in five countries – Brazil, Canada, China, the US, and Russia – the EU is responsible for almost 10% of the world’s forest destruction, according to the FAO. Meat, dairy products, soy, rubber, and palm oil are produced at the expense of forest ecosystems. EU decision-makers are therefore mounting pressure on the Commission as it prepares its forest strategy, with a consultation ongoing until Dec. 10. (Euractiv)
Cut it – The EU should draw up a clean energy package next year to kick-start the investment needed to cut carbon emissions and meet its 2030 climate targets while protecting the competitiveness of its industry, researchers said on Tuesday. The European Commission last autumn proposed tougher climate goals to steer the bloc towards net zero emissions by 2050 via a 55% reduction by 2030. Emissions from industry today account for 20% of the EU total. “We opt for a dual approach that deploys breakthrough technologies for industrial capacities in need of re-investment while allowing industrial assets with traditional processes to continue operation until they are scheduled for replacement,” said researchers of Germany’s Agora Energiewende and Wuppertal Institute. To meet the 55% target would require industries subject to the EU ETS to cut their emissions by 27% or by around 140 Mt per annum, the study said. (Reuters)
WTO gets to work – The WTO has launched new initiatives to intensify its work on trade and the environment, just as the EU moves to introduce carbon border measures. WTO Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff said Tuesday that the new work programme could contribute to eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers in environmental goods and services, reforming inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and promoting a global circular economy by facilitating trade along supply chains. It could also contribute to strengthening links between trade and climate action and helping the smallest and poorest countries secure green financing.
Into the sea – The provincial government of China’s Fujian province has issued a tender for a research project to determine the potential size of its coastal wetlands carbon sink (available in Chinese here, via Idea Carbon). That’s an early indication of the expected rush from governments and businesses across China to find ways to contribute to President Xi Jinping’s 2060 carbon neutral pledge. Researchers have estimated China may need as much as 800 MtCO2e/year from so-called nature-based solutions to meet that goal, and so far the country has done very little on coastal carbon sinks.
A to Z(eta) – A coalition of US utilities, electric vehicle makers, and mineral producers have formed a new association to push for 100% electric vehicle sales by 2030. The group, dubbed the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), will seek policies to help the growing sector, such as point-of-sale consumer incentives to buy electric vehicles, investments in federal infrastructure, and strengthened emissions performance standards. Members of the group include major utilities like Pacific Gas and Electric, Duke Energy, Vistra, Southern Company, and Con Edison, as well as auto giants Tesla, Lordstown Motor Co. and Uber, though none of the major legacy automakers are involved. (Politico)
Belonging in the Beltway – Several oil majors told the US Supreme Court in a new brief that state and local climate lawsuits against them belong in the federal court system. The filing addresses the city of Baltimore’s litigation seeking damages for climate-related harms – but it’s relevant to roughly a dozen similar lawsuits nationwide that plaintiffs want litigated in state courts. Lawyers for BP, Chevron, Exxon, Shell, and others say Baltimore is seeking damages based on interstate and international emissions over many decades, saying “those claims fall squarely within the long line of cases holding that federal common law governs claims seeking redress for interstate air and water pollution.” (Axios)
TFNZGCP, assemble! – Yesterday, the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC) held the first meeting of its new Task Force on Net Zero Goals and Carbon Pricing (TFNZGCP). The Task Force will contribute to a deeper, common understanding of what net zero means and how it can be achieved for national and sub-national governments and institutions, the private and financial sector, and civil society, and the role carbon pricing mechanisms can play in this regard. The Task Force is co-chaired by Helen Mountford – vice president for climate and economics at World Resources Institute, and Mauricio Cardenas Santamaria – senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. A central focus of the Task Force will be the exploration of the nexus between the commitments and strategies of national governments, and those of other actors, in particular the private sector. It will also examine the role and contribution of CO2 pricing policies and measures, including carbon markets. The task force plans to present its findings in a major report ahead of COP26 in Nov. 2021.
Got credits? – Slovenia-based carbon trading firm Belektron is seeking 375,000 CERs from a variety of project types, according to an expression of interest posted on the UN’s CDM website.
And finally… This is (AN)WR –The lame duck US administration under President Donald Trump is making a rushed last-minute push to sell leases to oil companies in the long-protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) before Inauguration Day, numerous outlets reported. On Monday, the Interior Department issued a “call for nominations” asking oil companies to request specific parcels of land to be made available for drilling. Completing the lease sales before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20 would make it harder, though not necessarily impossible, for the Biden administration to prevent oil drilling in ANWR. But despite the Trump administration’s efforts, oil companies may still struggle to drill in ANWR, given substantial logistical costs and recent moves by major financiers to stop funding drilling there. (Climate Nexus)
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