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Due to a public holiday in the UK, CP Daily will not be published on Monday, Aug. 30

Presenting CP Daily, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter. It’s a daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here

TOP STORY

NA Markets: CCAs soar to all-time high after auction surpasses expectations, RGGI continues to slump

California Carbon Allowances (CCA) prices surged to a new record just one day after the publication of a bullish Q3 WCI auction settlement, while RGGI Allowances (RGAs) continued to fall from recent highs.

ASIA PACIFIC

Oil firm Santos taken to court over net zero target

Australian oil and gas company Santos on Thursday became the world’s first company to be sued over its net zero target, with a non-profit shareholder advocacy group bringing the case.

Australia Market Roundup: ERF reaches 1,000 projects

Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator on Thursday announced it had registered nine more ERF projects, taking the total number of Australian offset projects to 1,000.

AMERICAS

RGGI emitters held allowances close to YTD emissions in Q2, as activity rose to pre-pandemic levels

RGGI compliance-oriented entities possessed carbon permits slightly above their year-to-date emissions during the second quarter, while activity in the Northeast US cap-and-trade programme has risen above pre-pandemic levels due to more participants, according to a new report released on Thursday.

RFS Market: RINs undergo volatile stretch on gas import strength, biofuel quota progress

US biofuel credit (RIN) prices in recent days pared back roughly half of their recent losses this week heightened by gasoline imports, but those gains quickly evaporated on Thursday as reports emerged of the EPA sending the next Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes to the White House for review.

Bluesource Methane president departs for new emissions management firm

The president of Alberta offset project developer and advisory firm Bluesource Methane has joined the team of a new technology solutions provider and large-scale project developer.

EMEA

Euro Markets: EUAs lift towards €57 as volume gets more sparse

EUA reversed early losses to move closer towards €57 on Thursday, with prices jolting higher in thin trade to trigger some short-covering.

Uniper coal plant future in doubt after German court ruling

Planning permission for Uniper’s Datteln 4 coal power plant was granted illegally, a German court ruled on Thursday, putting the future of the big-emitting facility in doubt just a year after it opened.

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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

ASIA PACIFIC

Sittin’ on the Dhaka the bay – Bangladesh on Thursday submitted its enhanced NDC to the Paris Agreement, slightly raising its GHG reduction goals from it is original submission. The South Asian country in its new pledge set out an unconditional target of 6.73% below business-as-usual levels by 2030, up from 5% previously, and equating to an absolute reduction target of 27.56 MtCO2e. Bangladesh’s conditional GHG reduction goal, depending on external financial and technological support, is an additional 15.12%, or 61.9 Mt, up from 10% previously. Additionally, Dhaka said it intends to use market- and non-market-based measures under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6 “when appropriate”.

We need to talk – Criticism from the renewable energy sector over proposed market rules, that some fear could prop up ageing coal generators, has led Australia’s Energy Security Board (ESB) to vow to work with industry players and all tiers of government to design a new system by 2023, the Guardian reports. The contentious changes to energy market rules, which are intended to ensure the lights remain on while ageing generators exit the market, have triggered a significant backlash from the renewable energy industry and concern from some state and territory energy ministers.

Do better – In Australia, a NSW court has ordered the state Environment Protection Authority to develop goals and policies to ensure environment protection from climate change. The landmark ruling came after a challenge from a community organisation founded in the ashes of a devastating bushfire that swept through Tathra in 2018. (Canberra Times)

EMEA

Front and centre – Germany’s next government coalition after the September election will not veer far off course of the country’s current climate and energy policy, according to government advisor Ottmar Edenhofer. He said that recently tightened GHG targets and the guidelines set by the European Green Deal have already defined a framework for the next four years. However, the next German leadership must put CO2 pricing at the centre of climate policy efforts and better explain to voters that GHG neutrality by 2045 in Germany is worth aiming for, but that it will not come for free. Edenhofer said governments under Chancellor Angela Merkel essentially wasted a decade before Fridays for Future protests, EU provisions, and a Constitutional Court ruling forced the cabinet to act. (Clean Energy Wire)

VOLUNTARY

VCS consultation – Offset standard developer and manager Verra this week opened a public consultation on proposed changes to its VCS programme. The proposed changes aim to build out options for easy-to-use, dynamic methodologies, reflect the latest scientific research, and align certain requirements for agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) projects with the Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) Framework. The consultation is open through Sep. 22, with a public webinar on the changes taking place Sep. 2 at 1100 Eastern time (1500 GMT). The organisation expects to finalise the updates for release in early Q4 2021.

SCIENCE & TECH

The big hot gap – Europe experienced its hottest year on record by a significant margin last year, according to data from the American Meteorological Society in its 31st State of the Climate report. It shows that all five of the continent’s hottest years on record have occurred since 2014, and that in 2020 temperatures across the continent were 1.9C above the average for 1981 to 2010. It adds that many nations from France to Finland reported their highest national annual average temperatures last year. (Independent)

AND FINALLY…

Sleepy summers – UK heritage charity The National Trust is giving its workers siestas in summer due to increasingly hot weather because of climate change. Staff and volunteers in the south of England will be given more Mediterranean working hours, with a long lunch break and the day starting earlier and finishing later. This will allow them to avoid the hottest part of the day, as people already do in countries such as Italy and Spain. (The Guardian)

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