Newsletters > CP Daily: Monday August 15, 2022

CP Daily: Monday August 15, 2022

Published 22:47 on August 15, 2022  /  Last updated at 22:47 on August 15, 2022  / Carbon Pulse /  Newsletters

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

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TOP STORY

California governor offers plan to extend life of Diablo Canyon nuclear plant

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) circulated draft legislation on Friday to offer utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) a loan to preserve the Diablo Canyon Power Plant for another decade, as separate bill language comes together to raise the state’s 2030 GHG reduction target.

EMEA

Euro Markets: EUAs jump to 3-mth high as UKAs set new record amid extended energy gains

EUAs rose to a three-month high on Monday as the momentum generated by the reduced auction programme in August continued to drive the market despite very low volumes, while UK Allowance prices set a new record and energy prices also moved higher amid persistent concerns over winter energy supplies.

Germany issues tender for EUA, EUAA auction platform for 2024-2029 period

Germany has issued a tender for a contract to auction EU Allowances and EU Aviation Allowances for the second half of the present phase of the bloc’s carbon market.

ASIA PACIFIC

China thermal power generation reverses downward trend amid growing demand

China’s thermal power generation last month increased year-on-year for the first time since February, while total power output grew at a faster pace amid rising demand, official data showed Monday.

Australia can meet its 2030 target without intl offsets, analysts say

Australia will not need to use international offsets to meet its 2030 emission reduction target but can rely on plentiful domestic supply instead, analysts said Monday, while environmental groups urge the government to rule out using them entirely.

Malaysia stock exchange to launch VCM with carbon credit auction by end of 2022

Bursa Malaysia will launch a voluntary carbon market (VCM) later this year in a key a move to facilitate growth in carbon trading in the Southeast Asian country which will be kickstarted with an initial carbon credit auction, the Kuala Lumpur-based stock exchange announced on Monday.

South Korea begins process to improve ETS

South Korea this week is kicking off a consultation process with industry in a bid to inject more vitality in its emissions trading market, better allocate ETS-related revenue to efforts that reduce emissions, and meet requirements raised by the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

NZ carbon farming needs to re-focus on landowners, advisory says

The narrative around carbon farming in New Zealand has been overtaken by financial and corporate interests at the expense of landowners who need greater financial assistance to participate in the sector, according to an intermediary group.

VOLUNTARY

VCM Report: Nature-based curve stretches out amid demand for new vintages

VERs were steady for prompt and nearby offset prices this week, maintaining the uptick seen at the end of the previous week, while later dated vintages for nature-based credits climbed higher.

DRC oil auction plots likely to go cheap, bolstering hopes for VCM project

Plots of tropical rainforest and peatland put up for sale as oil blocks in the Democratic Republic Of Congo (DRC) would likely be sold cheaply, an analyst told Carbon Pulse on Monday, bolstering the hopes of a group of carbon crypto activists who want to use the power of carbon markets to stop big oil.

Canada-based offset developer signs up with registry for South American projects

An offset project developer and carbon credit vendor has opened an account with a registry with the aim of building out several tree planting and sustainable charcoal projects in South America.

Oil firm Equinor invests in carbon removals venture

The investment arm of Norwegian oil firm Equinor has made an early-stage investment in a carbon removals venture that aims to store CO2 emitted from biogas producers.

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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

EMEA

French fields – Ongoing wildfires in France have already released record amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, new satellite data has shown. The fires, which have burned large parts of the southwestern Gironde region, unleashed nearly 1 MtCO2 from June to August, according to the EU’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service. In the past two decades, France has averaged around 300,000 tonnes of annual CO2 emissions from fires. Spain also registered record wildfire emissions during a mid-July heatwave, CAMS reported last month. read more By comparison, Portugal wildfires resulted in lower emissions than previous years. (Reuters)

Drop the suit – German energy company Uniper has been forced by its government to drop a lawsuit deploying the Energy Charter Treaty against the Netherlands over the proposed closure of coal power plant, the FT reports. Uniper was among five groups that launched cases against four European governments for almost €4 bln. The company experienced financial difficulties as a result of the energy crisis, however, and had to abandon its claim as part of the terms of its bail out by the German government last month. Rival utility RWE said last week it would not follow Uniper in dropping the case. Read Carbon Pulse’s reporting on the Treaty’s revamped draft agreement struck in June.

ASIA PACIFIC

Sustainable deal – Japanese company Sojitz and Boeing have signed an agreement to jointly realise sustainability in the aviation industry and to promote next-generation air mobility, it was announced in a Sojitz press release. Sojitz and Boeing will partner to advance initiatives for realising Japan’s carbon neutral target for 2050, which aligns with the international aviation industry’s pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Both companies will work towards expanding the use of sustainable aviation fuel as well as studying advanced sustainability technologies, such as electric, hybrid, hydrogen, and other novel propulsion systems in order to accelerate the spread of energy sources with a lower environmental burden.

Concrete action – Itochu announced today that it has concluded a memorandum of collaboration with Taisei Corporation and Australia-based Mineral Carbonation International (MCi), a company which possesses mineral carbonation technologies, according to an Itochu press release. Itochu invested in MCi in July of last year to develop this technology within Japan and thereby cut CO2 emissions. Currently Itochu is investigating various uses of the technology as it recognises the importance of utilising carbonates to spread the technology. Itochu has now agreed to a partnership with construction company Taisei to investigate ways to use carbonates as raw materials for concrete.

Opening up – The Philippines’ department of energy is studying prospects of opening up the renewable energy sector to 100% foreign ownership, primarily in the domain of solar and wind farm installations, for the manufacturing sector, Manila Bulletin reports. Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla raised this possibility as he acknowledged the need to address the high cost of electricity for the manufacturing sector, whose investment potential has been hampered by the country’s high cost of electricity. “One way of doing that is to open up renewable, for example, to 100% foreign ownership; so that foreign locators can actually also develop their own sources of power,” said Lotilla.

Hydrogen boom – China saw its investment in hydrogen projects during the first half of this year rise 15.9% from the same period last year, according to a report issued by state-owned People’s Daily. As of the end of June, the country has completed the construction of more than 270 hydrogen stations, the report said. Currently, China is the largest hydrogen producer in the world, with an annual production output of about 33 million tonnes. 

AMERICAS

Lack of incentives – A new analysis starkly lays out the limits of US electric vehicle tax incentives in the Democrats’ soon-to-be-enacted climate bill. The bill, which passed the House Friday and President Joe Biden is slated to sign soon, expands purchase subsidies but also ties them to strict rules on battery materials sourcing, vehicle costs, and buyers’ income. Beia Spiller of Resources for the Future (RFF), a nonpartisan think tank, translated Congressional Budget Office estimates of the incentives into projected real-world sales. Even by 2030, vehicles purchased using the credits would be just 3% of total EV sales last year. (Axios)

VOLUNTARY

Base expectations – Canadian firm Base Carbon lost $2.9 mln (C$3.7 mln) in the second quarter of this year, the company said in a press release. Base Carbon said $1.3 mln of the loss was due to the US dollar’s strength against the Canadian Loonie, jumping by 3% quarter-over-quarter. Operating expenses including salaries were behind the remaining losses, the company said. On a more positive note, Base Carbon announced it was ahead of schedule in distributing 850,000 cookstoves and 364,000 water purifiers in Vietnam, with 285,000 already given out and completion now expected by mid-2023. Its carbon reduction project in Rwanda is also ahead of schedule, with cookstove distribution expected to reach completion by the end of 2022.

AND FINALLY…

Panels piling – Solar power modules with capacity of more than 3 GW have been held by US customs since June, Roth Capital analysts including Philip Shen said in a note that cited an industry contact. That’s the same month that the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act went into effect. Some 9-12 GW of modules could be detained by year-end, and many top Chinese manufactures have stopped exporting to the US. That’s likely to make it tougher for Washington to drive an expansion of renewable power capacity following the passage of its IRA bill last week. The US is the second-largest solar market, but is heavily reliant on imports. China, by far the largest market, dominates the global supply chain, with Xinjiang a key region. (Bloomberg)

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