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EXCLUSIVE – “We can’t wait any longer”: France floats EU ETS price support proposal

France wants to modify the EU carbon market’s Market Stability Reserve to introduce a “soft collar” for allowance prices because it says existing reforms fall short, a senior French government source told Carbon Pulse.

EU falsely claiming it’s on a credible track to 2C Paris climate goal -Point Carbon

The EU is falsely claiming it is on track to meeting its 2C long-term climate goal, and putting off aligning the post-2020 emissions cap reductions in its ETS with the required trajectory until after 2030 risks missing the target completely, according to analysts at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon.

Guangdong CO2 exchange calls for local authorities to help regulate China’s national ETS

China’s central government should regulate China’s national emissions trading scheme but regional authorities should play a part in drawing up trading rules and ensure compliance, the China Emissions Exchange in Guangzhou said Monday.

EU Market: Carbon eases despite lower supply on horizon

European carbon prices drifted lower on Monday despite the market entering a period of lower auction volumes, as EUAs continued to seek direction from factors beyond crude oil prices.

Sandbag founder to lead Environmental Defense Fund Europe

The founder and former managing director of UK-based climate campaigners Sandbag has been appointed to lead the new European arm of green NGO Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

COMMENT: What do the latest revelations about Australia’s land clearing mean for post-Paris carbon accounting?

With Queensland carbon emissions ballooning after the recent land clearing boom it appears as though the Australian government, which was at the forefront of the negotiation of the Paris Agreement and seen as an international leader in land-based carbon techniques, has created a huge headache for itself.

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Job listings this week:

Senior Climate Change Specialist, World Bank – Washington DC
Senior Project Manager, adelphi – Berlin
Energy & Climate Change Manager, Eurometaux – Brussels
Climate Policy Researchers/Advocates (temporary/permanent), Sandbag – Brussels/London
Head of Policy, Sandbag – London

Or click here to see all our job adverts

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Bite-sized updates from around the world

More than 30 heads of state have confirmed they will attend the Apr. 22 signing ceremony of the Paris Agreement at the UN headquarters in New York, according to French Environment Minister Segolene Royal. Royal hopes 80-100 state leaders will attend. (AP)

The latest data show that the shift away from coal is continuing in China, with thermal power generation falling 4.3% yoy in Jan-Feb, while hydro rose 22.6%, according to IEEFA’s Tim Buckley. (Renew Economy)

Many large Canadian companies are financing legal action and lobbying against the US Clean Power Plan, putting the public and their investors at risk, said a new report released Monday by an investment services organisation.  The report said that major companies such as BMO Financial, Cenovus, Resolute Forest Products, Suncor and TransCanada Corp are all members of US trade associations that have aggressively lobbied and taken the U.S. government to court to block the plan. (National Observer)

Germany’s GHG emissions rose by 1.1% or 10 million tonnes to 912 million in 2015, according to a study (in German) from researchers at Green Budget Germany, which was commissioned by the Green Party parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Germany has achieved a 27% reduction since 1990, but it is not on track to cut by a further 13 percentage points and hit its 2020 -40% target, the researchers said. (H/T Clean Energy Wire)

Oregon will become the first US state to eliminate coal from its power supply as a result of a new law signed by Governor Kate Brown last week. The law will phase out coal-generated power by 2030 and will double the amount of renewable energy in the state by 2040. Utilities and environmental groups came together to support the law, which observers say effectively kills a separate proposed bill to introduce a state-wide cap-and-trade scheme. (H/T Climate Nexus)

The tiny Colorado town of Carbondale is looking to become the second in the US with a carbon tax, and will leave the decision up to voters in an Apr. 5 ballot. Residents will decide over whether to enact a “climate action excise tax” on power and natural gas used by homes and businesses, the Aspen Times reports. The tax would cost homeowners $5-7 per month and businesses $10-30, with the proceeds being invested in energy efficiency. Nearby Boulder, CO has a similar initiative.

Patagonia Sur, a Chilean conservation-oriented investor in “remarkable and ecologically valuable properties in Chilean Patagonia”, is seeking 5,000 CERs from afforestation projects. “We are interested in the Ethiopian [Humbo Assisted Natural Regenration Project] (CDM project # 2712), but also similar projects world-wide,” it said in an expression of interest submitted to the UNFCCC.

Global temperatures in February smashed previous monthly records by an unprecedented amount, according to NASA data, which showed they were 1.75 C above average, sparking shocked scientists to warn of a “climate emergency”. (Guardian)

And finally… More than 100 feet higher than the Empire State Building.  That’s the height of a new wind turbine being designed in the US by four universities and two national laboratories.  The turbine would feature two blades (instead of the typical three) that each would measure up to 200 metres long (656.2 feet), giving them a diameter of almost a quarter of a mile.  However, to cater to the blade lengths, the turbine’s tower would need to rise to at least 480 metres. “We call it the extreme scale … It’s mind-blowing, what we’re proposing in many respects, but I do think it’s possible,” Eric Loth, a University of Virginia professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, told the LA Times.  The team has three years to build and test a scaled prototype for the project, which is being funded by a $3.5 million grant from the US Energy Department through its Advanced Research Projects Agency.

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