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TOP STORY
Stronger 2030 California GHG target fails, but other climate bills pass legislature
The California Assembly on Wednesday night declined to approve a bill to increase the stringency of the state’s 2030 GHG goal, though lawmakers passed a suite of other climate and energy-related bills as the legislative session came to a close.
EMEA
Brussels plans to revamp security of gas supply regulation to shield heavy industry
The European Commission is considering additional measures to help shield the bloc’s heavy industry from soaring energy prices, a senior official told parliamentarians on Thursday, admitting that regulation is falling short of providing the needed level of support to energy-intensive manufacturers.
EU sees power demand curbs as key to market intervention – leaked non-paper
Brussels is seeking to rein in soaring electricity prices but it is yet to decide how without hitting legal hurdles or generating perverse effects such as increased power and gas demand, which could send prices further higher and worsen the bloc’s energy security outlook as a result.
Euro Markets: EUAs snap 3-day losing streak after positive auction and late short-squeeze
EUAs snapped a three-day, 13% losing streak on Thursday after sliding to a one-month low in early trading as the market awaited the resumption of full auction volumes, before a better-than-expected sale rallied sentiment and triggered a late short squeeze that erased all of Wednesday’s losses.
Experts see carbon price ‘tipping point’ at £149 to incentivise electrification of oil and gas production
A carbon price of £149 ($171.85, €172.90) or greater would likely mean wind-powered processing of oil and gas production in the UK becomes more economical than the current gas-burning approach, researchers calculated in a paper released Thursday as the country’s incoming leadership eyes more drilling.
ASIA PACIFIC
China sees record drop in CO2 emissions amid economic headwinds -analyst
China saw a record 8% fall in CO2 emissions in the April-to-June quarter, as the economy is being dragged down by an embattled property sector and Covid disruptions, according to an analysis published Thursday.
Energy investment in Indonesia needs to triple by end of decade if net zero goal is to be reached, IEA says
Indonesia will need to almost triple energy investment by 2030 from today’s level, or by around $8 billion per year compared with a business-as-usual pathway, if the Southeast Asian economy is to reach net zero emissions by 2060, according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) released on Friday.
Japan calls for more emitters to join GX League
Japan on Thursday opened a second registration window for companies that want to participate in its planned domestic voluntary carbon market.
Woodside-led JV awarded offshore GHG storage permit, says can store up to 5mln tonnes per year
A joint venture (JV) led by Australian oil and gas operator Woodside has been awarded a permit for the potential development of an offshore CO2 storage site in Western Australia, it announced on Thursday.
AMERICAS
NA Markets: CCAs plumb 6-mth low as stronger 2030 GHG bill rejected, RGGI slides before Virginia clarity
California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices exacerbated a two-week slide on Thursday as Golden State lawmakers turned down an enhanced 2030 climate bill, as RGGI Allowance (RGA) values counteracted a pre-auction dip on news that Virginia will not immediately exit the programme.
US social cost of carbon should be nearly four times higher -report
Every additional tonne of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere costs society nearly four times more than the US government’s central estimate currently used under President Joe Biden’s administration, according to a multi-year study published Thursday.
North American carbon business head, trader join speculative firms
The head of business development at a Dutch trading firm has joined the staff of a North American carbon hedge fund, while a California Carbon Allowance (CCA) and Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) market participant is joining a New York-based commodity and energy trader, Carbon Pulse has learned.
VOLUNTARY
US lawmakers request govt study on voluntary carbon market transparency, integrity
Three US legislators this week asked a government body to study what federal agencies could do to increase transparency and prevent fraud in nature-based voluntary carbon offset markets.
INTERNATIONAL
World Bank to start payments to DRC to protect rainforest -source
The World Bank is going ahead with a programme to protect rainforests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after key milestones were achieved including the finalisation of a benefit sharing plan, a source close to the process told Carbon Pulse this week.
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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
Import risk – Steelmaker ArcelorMittal is idling one of its two big-emitting blast furnaces at its Asturias plant in Spain in response to weak demand. The unit will be taken down at the end of September in response to economic uncertainty and weakening confidence levels among steel consumers, the company said, adding that imports from mills outside of Europe that are not exposed to EU ETS costs led to its decision. ArcelorMittal’s Asturias plant has two blast furnaces and produces heavy plate, wire rod, and rails. (Argus)
Close to home – The European Parliament has scrapped construction and renovation projects worth more than €6.7 mln — to pay for skyrocketing energy bills. A briefing note from Parliament’s Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics (INLO) seen by Politico outlined a range of suspended renovations including a new air conditioning system, €250,000 worth of new carpets, and €400,000 worth of lighting for the House of European History museum. Other belt-tightening measures include cutting a €1 mln press room in Brussels. The Parliament’s Committee on Budgets on Wednesday approved the €6.7 mln transfer. INLO chief Leena Maria Linnus told the committee that cost-cutting was necessary to cover soaring energy prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Bullseye – The EU has hit its target to fill gas storage to at least 80% “well ahead” of the November deadline, despite continued disruptions to the gas supply from Russia, EU energy chief Kadri Simson announced. The EU set the storage target in May in response to Russian gas cut offs and the ongoing energy crisis, Euractiv reports. The aim was to reach at least 80% by November and at least 90% by November in the following few years to ensure there is enough gas to get through the winter.
Nature naturlich – The German government has presented a draft action programme worth €4 bln over the coming four years for moorland protection, forest projects and other natural climate action measures. The government aims to strengthen ecosystems to help both nature and climate protection, the environment ministry said, noting that due to global warming, living conditions are changing faster than ecosystems can adapt. In addition, drained peatlands, for example, release large amounts of GHGs they previously accumulated and stored over thousands of years within a short period of time. (Clean Energy Wire)
ASIA PACIFIC
Green is good – Australian environment minister Tanya Plibersek has told a G20 environment ministers’ meeting in Bali that Australia hopes to create its own “Green Wall Street”, where businesses from around the world can come to invest in environmental action, ABC reports. She argued that by commodifying positive environmental work through “biodiversity/nature credits”, Australia could potentially reverse the environmental crisis that was so starkly presented to her in the State of the Environment Report when she took office this year. “Ultimately, I would like to see the market truly valuing nature, so that protecting forests is more valuable than destroying them,” she said.
Breaking records – China Energy, a state-owned power group, saw its electricity generation last month increase to a record level of 120 bln kWh, supported by the use of 50 mln tonnes of thermal coal, according to a company statement published on WeChat. The group said it also expanded coal supplies distributed to Sichuan and Chongqing, two provinces that have been struggling with power shortages for weeks, by 460,000 tonnes in August. The operating rate of China Energy’s thermal plants was almost 90% in August, up 5.3 percentage points from a year ago, company data showed.
AMERICAS
The Atlantic NOcean – A day before the deadline for provinces to submit their plans to the federal government on how they will price carbon until 2030, Atlantic province premiers asked the Canadian environment minister for more time – a request that was denied. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, writing on behalf of the four Atlantic premiers, sent a letter to federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault on Thursday requesting the extension. The Atlantic premiers requested “a short-term extension for the provincial carbon pricing plan submissions” so they could meet with Guilbeault and his department officials to find “practical solutions to this issue, especially as they relate to home heating fuels” and discuss “options for the federal government to support energy affordability in the region” before the provinces formally submit their plans. In a statement to CBC News, Guilbeault said he remains committed to working with the premiers to identify practical solutions to address their concerns about home heating, but Friday’s deadline to submit plans for pricing carbon stands.
VOLUNTARY
Intelligent move – Consulting firm Accenture has acquired Carbon Intelligence, a leading carbon and climate change strategy consultancy, adding more than 160 professionals to its rapidly growing group of data scientists, consultants, and sustainability experts. Carbon Intelligence is focused on helping global businesses understand their overall carbon footprints, and ways to reduce them, using Science Based Targets Initiative-backed strategies. Read Carbon Pulse’s analysis on the investors pumping millions into firms that help companies manage the reporting process in expectation of a global regulatory roll-out.
AND FINALLY…
Cleanest dirt bike ever – European energy giant Vattenfall and Swedish electric bike manufacturer CAKE have teamed up to build an entirely ‘fossil-free’ electric motorcycle using a production process that will deliver “the cleanest dirt bike ever”. The companies said they plan to use the project to highlight the climate impact of producing one of CAKE’s Kalk OR electric off-roaders by presenting it in an 8.6 metre cube – creating a space equivalent to the CO2 emissions the bike will save. According to the companies, the cube reflects the volume of emissions emitted during the production process, the same amount of emissions produced from someone taking a flight from London to New York and back twice. (BusinessGreen)
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