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TOP STORY
China to release national roadmap for achieving carbon neutral target
China will soon publish a roadmap on how it intends to meet its carbon neutral target, with carbon trading and nature-based solutions to play important roles, according to the nation’s special climate envoy.
EMEA
Euro Markets: EUAs lift nearly 5% as gas prices jump
EUAs staged a sharp rally in Monday trading, wiping out the losses incurred in the second half of last week as optimism crept back into the market and gas rallied.
Israel unveils climate strategy seen as lacking ambition, missing key measures
Israel this weekend approved a plan to cut its mid-century greenhouse gas emissions by 85% below 2015 levels, but critics decried the strategy for missing key elements and for not going far enough.
Ryanair advances EUA hedging, raises its traffic forecast
Irish-based airline Ryanair revealed it has extensively covered its EU ETS buying requirements for the coming years, even as it raised its forecast for flight traffic in quarterly results on Monday.
VOLUNTARY
VCM Report: VERs steady on upward path, as developers forgo forward contracts
Voluntary carbon market prices for nature- and non-nature-based credits rose once again this week, as project developers began shifting back to spot voluntary emissions reduction (VER) deals rather than forward contracts.
Traders Hartree to fund major expansion of REDD developer Wildlife Works
Trading house Hartree Partners has struck a deal that could treble the REDD credits generated by established developer Wildlife Works within four years.
New service plans CO2 removal certification system mirroring I-RECs
A new joint venture is planning to launch a certification system for carbon removals, with the aim of addressing issues regarding transparency and trust that have affected the existing voluntary emissions reduction (VER) market.
Carbon exchange ACX integrates BeZero offset ratings to enhance buyer confidence
Emissions bourse AirCarbon Exchange (ACX) has integrated carbon offset ratings service BeZero onto its platform to provide credit buyers more confidence and transparency with regards to their purchases, the two firms announced Monday.
AMERICAS
Rising gas prices yield higher coal generation in RGGI region, as Q2 emissions ramp up
Higher natural gas prices are bringing coal-fired units online in the Northeast US RGGI cap-and-trade programme, while preliminary emissions data shows significant increases year-on-year over the second quarter as consumer behaviour returned to pre-pandemic levels.
ASIA PACIFIC
Australia Market Roundup: Tasmanian project earns big ACCU batch, as govt plans new offset methods
A native forest protection projection in Tasmania has secured the biggest share of the latest batch of newly issued Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), while the federal government on Monday invited public input on potential new project types for the offset market.
INTERNATIONAL
Ministers to continue Article 6 talks through to Glasgow UN climate summit
Ministers from more than 50 countries will continue talks on key issues, including Article 6 international emissions trade, through to November’s COP26 UN climate summit, UK minister Alok Sharma said on Monday following an inconclusive two-day informal ministerial meeting in London.
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Job listings this week
- *Director of Climate Finance, UpEnergy – Flexible Location (Africa preferred)
- *Associate Director of Climate, Asia Society Policy Institute – Flexible Location
- *Sales Manager, Green Energy, ClimatePartner – Munich
- *Carbon Offset Procurement and Portfolio Manager, ClimatePartner – Munich
- *Carbon Project Developer, ClimatePartner – Munich
- *Carbon Project Developer, Nature-Based Solutions, ClimatePartner – Munich
- Nature Based Solutions Commercial Manager, ClimateCare and Natural Capital Partners – Oxford/London/Nairobi/Remote (US)
- Corporate Marketing Manager, ClimateCare & Natural Capital Partners – Oxford/London/East Coast US
- Head of Relationship Management, ClimateCare and Natural Capital Partners – Oxford/London/Remote (US)
- Global Markets Analyst, ClimateCare & Natural Capital Partners – Remote (US)
- Carbon Portfolio Analyst, ClimateCare and Natural Capital Partners – Oxford/London/Remote (US)
- Managing Consultant, Energy and Climate, ICF – London
- Low Carbon Market Strategist/Analyst, BP – London
- Carbon Market Strategist, JPMorgan – London
- Senior Adviser EU and International Climate Change Policy, Global CCS Institute – Brussels
- Business Development Manager, AQ Green TeC – Hamburg
- Client Manager, AQ Green TeC – Hamburg
- Climate Projects Manager, Namene Solar – UK/Europe
- Head of Carbon Markets and Delivery, CO2 Australia – Canberra/Brisbane
- Sales & Origination (Carbon Market), Climate Impact X – Singapore
- Energy Efficiency Project Documentation Development Consultant, Global Green Growth Institute – Phnom Penh
*Premium listings
Or click here to see all our listings
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Carbon Pulse has teamed up with CME Group to provide its clients with regular updates on the global carbon markets. Check out these briefs for the latest insights on pressing trends and events impacting markets, published every other week. Registration required
INTERNATIONAL
Not coming around – China on Monday repeated earlier claims that that the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) violates trade principles and hurts prospects for economic, growth, according to Reuters. A government spokesperson told a press briefing Monday the mechanism will seriously undermine mutual trust in the global community, similar to comments China has made on several previous occasions long before the EU’s actual proposal was published.
Corporate dropouts – Some 119 companies have been removed from the SBTi corporate climate scheme since its 2015 inception for failing to set climate goals in good time, including 57 in March this year, as some “opportunistic” companies sign up with little intention of setting stringent climate targets. Automaker Honda and building materials firm Travis Perkins are among the 10% of firms to have dropped out. Some, such as paints firm AkzoNobel, are invited back after rejigging their plans. (The i)
AMERICAS
Repeatable fact – US CO2 emissions declined to their lowest level since 1983 amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year, according to the Energy Information Administration. The federal agency reported 4.6 bln tonnes of CO2 were emitted in 2020, an 11% decline from 2019 levels. The transportation sector saw a 15% YoY decline in 2020 as a result of fewer vehicle miles travelled stemming from the pandemic. EIA’s figures align with preliminary data from the agency earlier this year and forecasts from the Rhodium Group.
EMEA
Making a quick exit – EU carbon prices will cause the coal exit in Germany to happen faster than agreed, said conservative chancellor candidate Armin Laschet in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF. However, this did not mean Germany should re-open its hard fought-over compromise to phase out coal by 2038 at the latest, said the candidate currently most likely to succeed Angela Merkel as German leader. Laschet pointed to the coal commission agreement and said this had taken into account both the ecological and the social consequences. “I believe policymaking has to be reliable. You can’t name 2038 as the exit date in one year and then start again with new dates the next. That’s why I think we should stick with the schedule.” (Clean Energy Wire)
Next round – Germany’s energy regulator BNA has opened its fourth hard coal-exit tender for bids to close 433 MW of generation capacity in 2023, Montel reported. Hard coal-fired power plant operators can submit their bids until Oct. 1 this year, with closures to take place on June 30, 2023. Bids are capped at €116,000/MW, the BNA said late on Friday. The agency is due to publish the results of the tender early in Jan. 2022 at the latest. Germany aims to gradually reduce hard coal-fired generation capacity to 8 GW in 2030, before completely exiting it by 2038.
Better SAF than sorry – Jet fuel suppliers to the UK could face requirements to provide minimum levels of lower carbon bio-based fuels to airlines from 2025, under proposals unveiled by the government to ramp up demand in the nascent sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) market. Plans for an SAF mandate were launched for consultation on Friday, as the government revealed eight companies have been shortlisted for a share of £15 mln state funding to support the development of “first of a kind” SAF production plants to turn waste into lower carbon jet fuel. Under the proposals, jet fuel suppliers could potentially face an obligation to provide a minimum of 10% SAF by 2030 rising to 75% by 2050, alongside GHG intensity targets for the fuels, which the government views as key to decarbonising aviation. Such a mandate, it estimates, could help save up to 23 MtCO2 per year in 2050 – which it said roughly equated to half a mln return flights to Tenerife. The government’s preferred option is to implement the SAF mandate based on minimum emissions savings benchmarks, rather than on a minimum volume target for SAF, by introducing a cap-and-trade credit scheme with a CO2 threshold that decreases over time, the consultation document states. (BusinessGreen)
ASIA PACIFIC
DIY – South Korea’s conglomerate SK Group has set up its own certification centre, which it says will cut in third the time it takes to have its emissions reduction efforts verified. It said all certifications will be reviewed by a third-party panel and the centre will be modelled after the CDM and Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard, the Korea Herald reported. A number of China’s major state-owned enterprises have set up similar internal verification services, though in March the government banned such subsidiaries from verifying emissions related to its parent company or any other subsidiaries within the same group.
AND FINALLY…
A taxing trek – An 11-year-old British schoolboy, aptly named Jude Walker, is seeking to raise awareness about climate change by walking 200 miles. Jude and his and mum are enduring the trek from their home in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire to Westminster to highlight the Zero Carbon Campaign’s carbon tax petition. The petition calls for the government to introduce a “proper” charge on carbon emissions to help the country hit its 2030 net zero target. But it all might be for nothing, as the The Mail on Sunday reports that “Boris Johnson’s plan to make the UK a ‘world leader’ in green policies have been thrown into disarray after [Chancellor] Rishi Sunak raised objections to the eye-watering cost to the Treasury”. The newspaper continues: “As part of the net-zero plan – which would decarbonise the economy by 2050 – No 10 had been expected to publish in the spring details of the strategy for moving away from gas boilers ahead of [COP26]. But this has been delayed until the autumn amid mounting alarm about the bill. The chancellor – who is already looking for ways to pay back the £400 bln cost of the COVID crisis and the £10 bln a year required to reform long-term care for the elderly – is understood to have baulked at estimates of hitting net-zero at more than £1.4 trillion … The prime minister is considering issuing millions of households with ‘green cheques’ worth hundreds of pounds to compensate them for the cost of becoming more energy efficient. It is the latest claim of tensions between No 10 and No 11 over the strains on the public purse.” (Carbon Brief)
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