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ANALYSIS: Korea’s ETS may be long, and looming reforms could bring even more supply
Details are emerging that South Korea’s emissions trading scheme may be over-supplied despite industry protests surrounding allowance allocations, but the government is still expected to intervene to boost supply.
EU climate commissioner dismissive of France’s ETS price corridor idea
EU Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete has signalled his disapproval of France’s idea to establish an EU ETS price corridor through the modification of the MSR.
Chinese officials play down rumours of 2015 cut-off date for offsets, but urge caution
Chinese government officials on Tuesday said rules for offset use in the national emissions trading scheme have yet to be finalised, dismissing rumours that only CCERs from 2015 or later would be allowed, local media reported.
EU Market: Carbon propped up by stronger energy complex
European carbon prices rose on Tuesday alongside a stronger energy complex, sending EU Allowances back towards their 10-week high of €5.67 touched a week earlier.
US govt should use proxy carbon price in energy infrastructure decisions -think-tank
US federal and state government agencies should apply a proxy carbon price when making energy infrastructure decisions to make sure projects are viable, according to the Center for American Progress think-tank.
Germany extends support to China on ETS
The German environment ministry will continue its funding programme to help Chinese officials and companies prepare for regulations under its planned national carbon market, it said on Tuesday.
BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
**Brussels-based consultant and founder of NER300.com Greg Arrowsmith has launched NER400.com, providing a one-stop shop for all things to do with the European Commission’s proposed post-2020 funding instrument. The fund, which is expected to be approved by lawmakers this year or next, will raise cash through the sale of hundreds of millions of EU carbon allowances to help support projects in innovative renewable energy technology, the decarbonisation of industrial processes, and CCS. Read Carbon Pulse’s briefing on the fund here**
Manitoba ETS fate at stake as voters head to polls – The Canadian province’s proposed emissions trading scheme could meet its demise just months after it was announced by Premier Greg Selinger. His ruling NDP party – architects of the programme – are set to be ousted by the right-wing Progressive Conservative party as Manitobans go to the polls on Tuesday. It’s unclear where Manitoba PC leader Brian Pallister, who is poised to win in a landslide, stands on the scheme, but in the party’s platform it has pledged to work with the federal government and other jurisdictions to develop a made-in-Manitoba climate action plan involving carbon pricing, as well as efforts to cut CO2 from commercial buildings, enhance fuel efficiency in vehicles, and increase carbon sequestration through land-use changes.
Canada’s CER cancellations – Canada recently cancelled over 16,000 CERs from two CDM projects in Brazil and Chile, a UNFCCC website showed. In the mid-2000s, Canada contracted CERs through the World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund, but asked for those to be cancelled after it pulled out of Kyoto in 2011. Since Aug. 2013, Canada has cancelled some 527,000 CERs.
Objection! – A California appeals court is considering a challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s cap-and-trade system and some legal experts told Capital Public Radio the questions the court is asking in a recent document could imply a ruling against the state is looming. The California Chamber of Commerce and Morning Star Packing Company filed the suit claiming that the programme’s auctions represent an unconstitutional tax. However, regardless of the appellate court’s ruling, the matter will likely be decided by the state’s Supreme Court.
No Hinkley, no CO2 targets met – Britain’s carbon emissions targets could be at risk if the Hinkley C nuclear power project is cancelled or delayed beyond its planned 2025 start date, the UK energy and climate minister said, according to Reuters. The £18 billion project was announced in Oct. 2013 but developer EDF has stalled on making a final investment decision while the firm secures partners and financing. “Any such delay could put at risk our decarbonisation targets – one of the key reasons the government is supporting Hinkley in the first place,” Amber Rudd said in a letter responding to questions from a group of cross-party MPs dated April 12 and published on Tuesday.
And finally… US Republicans play the Palestine card – Senate Republicans believe the US can’t spend money on the UNFCCC, including future payments to the Green Climate Fund, because the body accepted Palestine as a member this year, 28 Republicans said in a letter sent Monday to Secretary of State John Kerry. Politico and The Hill report that the senators are citing a 1994 law that prevents the US from contributing to “any affiliated organization” of the UN that admits Palestine.
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