Newsletters > CP Daily: Tuesday April 5, 2022

CP Daily: Tuesday April 5, 2022

Published 03:29 on April 6, 2022  /  Last updated at 03:29 on April 6, 2022  / Carbon Pulse /  Newsletters

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

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

ANALYSIS: Carbon accounting comes of age as net tightens over corporates

Scrutiny over corporate carbon accounting is ramping up fast as the UK is poised to become the world’s first nation to impose detailed mandatory climate risk disclosures, while investors pump millions into firms that help companies manage the reporting process in expectation of a global roll-out.

AMERICAS

Pennsylvania court stays publication of RGGI regulation

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Tuesday stopped a state legislative agency from publishing the state’s RGGI-modelled cap-and-trade regulation, just one day after senators failed to block the power sector programme from taking effect in Q3.

RGGI Q2 auction volume rises as Pennsylvania entrance, Virginia exit remains uncertain

The size of the June RGGI auction will inch up by roughly 2% from the Q1 sale, the power sector cap-and-trade scheme announced Tuesday, as a court order threw Pennsylvania’s expected Q3 linkage into question.

Offset developer ClimeCo raises $50 mln to expand into reforestation, blue carbon, and CCUS

US-based carbon offset developer ClimeCo has raised over $50 million in an investment round led by two financiers that will see the firm expand into reforestation, mangrove restoration, and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), the company said in a release on Tuesday.

WCI compliance instrument surplus ticks up in Q1

The number of surplus allowances and offsets in the California-Quebec cap-and-trade programme rose during the first quarter of 2022 as entities snapped up more unsold volume at the Q1 WCI sale, according to programme data published Tuesday.

EMEA

European Parliament backs extension of strengthened MSR

The full European Parliament voted to approve an extension of the withdrawal rate of the EU carbon market’s supply-curbing MSR on Tuesday, an early indication of lawmaker resolve on climate ambition in the face of the Ukraine war and sky-high energy prices.

Euro Markets: Carbon weakens in thin trade while coal surges amid EU plans to ban Russian imports

EUAs dropped on Tuesday as demand and activity remained low-key, while coal prices jumped to their highest in four weeks after reports and ultimately confirmation that the EU is preparing to ban Russian imports.

DAC firm raises $650 mln to scale carbon removal capacity

The company behind the world’s largest direct air capture (DAC) facility has raised $650 million in equity to scale up its carbon removal facilities as it aims to reach multi-million tonne removal capacity, the firm said on Tuesday.

Spanish bank to open new carbon markets business, hires market veteran

A Spanish bank is to launch a new carbon business line for compliance and voluntary markets and has hired a veteran to front up the Madrid-based team, while a major trading house has bolstered its carbon line-up with another expert hire.

ASIA PACIFIC

South Korea cuts KAU auctioning volume amid retreating prices

South Korea will shave a third off the number of CO2 permits available at next week’s auction due to low allowance prices and choppy trading activity, the environment ministry said Tuesday.

VOLUNTARY

Climate tech firm to offer trade in offset forward contracts

A US-based technology venture is preparing to launch trade in offset forward contracts in a bid to boost pre-issuance funding for project developers.

Blockchain offset bridging service expands to second network

Toucan Protocol, which has brought over 20 million carbon credits on-chain in recent months, will bring its tokens onto a second blockchain in a bid to drive demand and expand DeFi infrastructure.

———————————

Premium job listings

*New listings

Or click here to see all our listings

———————————

CONFERENCES

North American Carbon World (NACW) 2022 – Apr. 6-8 in Anaheim, California – presented by the Climate Action Reserve: Learn, collaborate, and network on carbon markets and climate policy at NACW, North America’s largest carbon event. NACW features comprehensive and up-to-date information, key thought leaders advancing innovative climate solutions, and the best networking opportunities with colleagues in the business, government, nonprofit, and academic sectors. NACW will dive into the status and future of North American carbon markets, climate policies, innovative solutions, natural climate solutions, net zero pledges and beyond, transportation and LCFS markets. www.nacwconference.com

City Week 2022: Resetting Priorities for a Better Future – Apr. 25-27 at London Guildhall: Now in its 12th year, City Week is the premier gathering of the international financial services community. Organised in partnership with the UK Government and leading City institutions, City Week brings together industry leaders and policy makers from around the globe to consider the future of global financial markets. Each day will address a specific theme, with Day 1 focussing on “Meeting the climate change challenge – the role of financial services in achieving net zero”. www.cityweekuk.com

Reuters Events: Global Energy Transition 2022 – June 14-15 in New York City: The conference unites CEOs and changemakers from the energy, industrial, and government ecosystems to shed light on the defining issue of our time, and help companies meet a uniquely difficult challenge. Over two days and five critical themes, we will define the future of energy, inspire a decade of action, and prepare the sector for challenges still to come, with diverse voices from around the world bringing passion and expertise to deliver a new path forward. Find out more by visiting the website today: https://bit.ly/35H7cgb

———————————

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

Unanswered atrocities – The EU is proposing to ban coal imports from Russia in a direct response to reports that Russian forces committed apparent war crimes in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday. The action on coal – which von der Leyen said would amount to €4 bln a year – would allow for a three-month wind-down before a ban on new contracts, two sources told Bloomberg. The EU will also push ahead with a debate on targeting Russian oil, including perhaps an escrow account to freeze extra profits, von der Leyen said. The coal provision was added to a package of steps aimed at strengthening existing measures and correcting loopholes that was already set to be debated this week by EU ambassadors. Brussels is also proposing to ban most Russian trucks and ships from entering the bloc, von der Leyen said, with exceptions allowed for agricultural products, humanitarian aid and energy. “These atrocities cannot and will not be left unanswered,” von der Leyen said. Germany, which had previously blocked efforts to embargo Russian energy, is ready to consider a Russian coal ban and is in discussion with the EU about the timing of such a move, according to a German official with knowledge of the discussions. The EU isn’t planning to sanction oil or gas for now, despite intense pressure to inflict more economic pain on Moscow, the sources said. But EU nations are deeply split over the next steps and some governments are continuing to push for at least a signal this week that the bloc is looking to reduce Russian oil imports, one said.

EMEA

Gas control – Germany will temporarily take control of a unit of Gazprom in the country as it seeks to safeguard security of gas supply. Gazprom Germania GmbH – owner of energy supplier Wingas GmbH and a gas storage firm – will come under the trusteeship of the German energy regulator until Sept. 30, Economy Minister Robert Habeck told reporters in Berlin. That means the Federal Network Agency will assume the role of a shareholder and can take all necessary measures to ensure security of supply, he said. Gazprom subsidiaries in Europe are coming under pressure as clients and business partners refuse to do business with them, raising the prospect that some won’t survive. (Bloomberg)

Irish balance – Next month’s planned increase in Ireland’s carbon tax would be “offset” so there would not be additional costs for households, the Taoiseach has told lawmakers. The tax will increase the cost of gas by €1.40 per month, while oil users will see an increase of €1.50 a month. Micheal Martin defended the government’s position dealing with the energy crisis and said the government had cut excise, increased the fuel allowance, and had given consumers €200 towards energy bills. He added that the government could not deal with the energy crisis on a “week-to-week basis or in terms of one tax alone”. (RTE)

Dimmer switch – French supermarkets are curbing electricity consumption, heeding calls from France’s grid operator RTE to households and industries to cut power usage in return for payments. The aim was to tackle a surge in demand caused by nuclear outages and colder weather. Carrefour said Monday it would reduce heat in offices and dim lights in its 400 stores nationwide. Consumption-savings measures from households, companies and local authorities curbed peak demand by 800 MW on Monday morning, equivalent almost to the output of a nuclear reactor. (Bloomberg)

ASIA PACIFIC

Join the club – At the opening of Singapore Maritime Week, Singapore minister for transport S Iswaran declared that Singapore would sign up to the Clydebank Declaration, a statement of intent to set up “at least six” green corridors for carbon-neutral shipping, The Lodestar reports. Singapore will join Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, the US and several European countries – 22 signatories in all – in signalling its intent to establish specific decarbonisation trade lanes. The routes will be akin to special economic zones for ships, where operators are granted incentives to trial and commercialise new decarbonisation solutions. It is also thought that green corridors will provide patterns of predictable demand for low-carbon fuels, which will drive adoption and scaling-up of new fuel types. As well as being the world’s primary shipping cluster and second-largest port, with 37.5m teu handled in 2021, Singapore is the world’s largest bunkering hub and is likely to exercise a major role in the implementation of the declaration’s provisions. The port bunkered some 50 Mt of ship fuel in 2021.

US, Korea firms team up – US energy company Sempra Infrastructure and Korea Gas Corporation have teamed up to cooperate in the global energy transition to lower and zero-carbon fuels, Offshore Energy reports. The MoU contemplates the companies’ joint collaboration around project development and offtake across multiple business areas; including LNG, CCS, and hydrogen infrastructure. Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra, is currently developing multiple energy transition projects in North America. These specifically include LNG export projects that will serve both the Atlantic and Pacific Basin. In addition, the company is looking into opportunities in renewable energy, CCS, hydrogen and ammonia.

Inaugural fire – A fire broke out on the world’s first hydrogen carrier vessel in Australia shortly before it set sail to Japan carrying the world’s first international shipment of liquefied hydrogen (LH2) in January, Recharge reports. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), the federal agency responsible for investigating air, sea and rail accidents, has launched an investigation into what it has labelled a “serious incident”. “The ATSB is investigating a gas pressure control equipment malfunction on board the gas carrier Suiso Frontier after the ship had loaded liquefied hydrogen at Western Port, Hastings,” said the agency. Suiso Frontier arrived in Hastings, in the southeastern state of Victoria, on 20 January, before finally departing on 28 January, and arriving in Kobe, Japan, on 25 February, where it unloaded its cargo of liquid hydrogen derived from Australian brown coal. Multiple reports have emerged in recent months showing that it would be more economic to ship hydrogen in the form of ammonia (NH3) than as a liquid, which requires cryogenic temperatures of minus 253C, is harder to transport and contains less H2 by volume than NH3.

AMERICAS

Credible aspirations – An independent assessment of Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan was published on Tuesday by the Canadian Climate Institute. The analyses includes new modelling of each element of the plan and concludes that it is “comprehensive and credible.” The authors note however, that success rests on how – and how quickly – policy is developed and implemented. At least 43% of the emissions reductions that are accounted for in the plan come from policies that have been announced but still need to be developed, including a proposed cap on oil and gas sector emissions, a clean electricity standard, and policies for the land-sector. Achieving the target also hinges on the government strengthening its current carbon-pricing and clean-fuel-standard policies.

Oil sands cleaning up – By the middle of this decade GHG emissions from Canadian oil sands production should be in decline even as production continues to grow, according to a new report by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The analysis considers current technology trends and production growth and finds that long-term trends of reductions to the GHG intensity of oil sands production are set to reach an inflection point around 2025. Absolute emissions are then expected to begin to decline even as production rises by more than 600,000 barrels per day during the 2020 to 2025 period. Efficiency improvements, including higher facility utilisation rates as well as the roll-out and ramp-up of newer, less GHG-intensive operations, have been leading contributors to past intensity reductions. Carbon capture and storage as “steam displacement technologies” have the potential to result in even more dramatic reductions, the report finds.

VOLUNTARY

Green meals – US meal-kit company Blue Apron has met its commitment to become carbon neutral by end-March, offsetting its full-scope emissions, and is now working towards reaching net zero. Blue Apron achieved its goal through offsets bought from consultancy Aspiration, covering estimated upstream and downstream emissions that range from sourcing, packaging and transporting Blue Apron’s products.

AND FINALLY…

Brussels tightens its carbon belt –  EU climate chief Frans Timmermans announced plans for the European Commission to cut its own emissions 60% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, a move that is intended at making the EU’s executive arm become carbon neutral. Brussels said that the remaining emissions will be compensated through carbon removals. The action plan will mainly touch upon four categories: buildings, staff work-related travel, external experts’ travel and IT infrastructures. In 2019, the total impact of the Commission’s activities represented 219,000 tonnes of CO2e. EU institutions have long since made efforts to cut their carbon footprint, with the European Parliament holding annual tenders to purchase offsets since 2015, becoming the first EU institution to be 100% carbon neutral. The Commission also proposed two new regulations to more tightly control F-gases and ozone depleting substances (ODS). “The adoption of these regulations would represent a significant step towards limiting global temperature rise in line with the Paris Agreement,” it said in a statement. The F-gas proposal will also contribute to reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and making Europe climate-neutral by 2050. Both proposals together could bring about a total reduction in the EU’s GHG emissions of 490 Mt CO2e by 2050. “For comparison, this is slightly higher than the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of France in 2019,” it added.

Got a tip?  How about some feedback?  Email us at news@carbon-pulse.com