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RGGI seeks views on minimum requirements for trade with non-member states

RGGI has opened a consultation on what other US states need to do in order to trade with the regional cap-and-trade market under the Clean Power Plan.

Hubei to debut China’s first CO2 forward contract on Wednesday

The Hubei carbon bourse will launch May 2017 forward contracts on Wednesday, the first of China’s seven pilot carbon markets to offer on-exchange forward trading.

EU Market: EUAs slip as analysts issue profit-taking warning following hefty gains

EU carbon dipped on Monday as analysts suggested prices may come under pressure from traders tempted to take profits on last week’s substantial gains.

Lawmaker flags more delays to S.Africa CO2 tax, legal experts say “expect 2017”

South Africa’s long-delayed carbon tax may be pushed further down the road, local media reported, but legal experts are telling emitters to continue to expect a Jan. 2017 launch.

COMMENT: Finding the best cure for a “hot air” hangover

The New Zealand ETS may suffer from an ERU hangover, but it should not be dealt with in a way that could have unfair outcomes or undermine market confidence, argues Catherine Leining of Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.

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Job listings this week:

Climate Policy & Research Economist, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) – Washington DC
Senior Consultant, Carbon Pricing Policies, Ecofys – Berlin/Cologne
Policy Analyst for Tracking Climate Action, NewClimate Institute – Berlin/Cologne
Policy Analyst for Climate Change Policy & International Development, NewClimate Institute – Berlin/Cologne
Interim Project Manager, The Carbon Institute, The Greenhouse Gas Management Institute – flexible (S.California preferred)
Team Leader/EU Climate change expert (contract), European Management Solutions – India
Research Associate, The Climate Initiative, Centre for Policy Research – New Delhi

Or click here to see all our job adverts

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Pricing far beyond the beltway – The New York Times profiles the work of the IMF and World Bank in pressing governments to impose carbon pricing. “We can’t make a loan conditional on carbon pricing, but for a country facing a large deficit, we could recommend that they use carbon pricing as a way to simultaneously meet their pledges in Paris and close their deficit,” said IMF official Ian Parry. The piece also notes the frustration of some US political groups of “unelected bureaucrats” at these international lenders trying to leverage their power against elected leaders.

Read our briefing on the World Bank’s three main carbon pricing initiatives.

Cow in the room – New Zealand were among the countries that signed the Paris Agreement last week, but if it is to meet its target it must bring agriculture – responsible for nearly half the country’s emissions – into the ETS, said the opposition Labour party’s Megan Woods. “This government is going to have to confront the very real issue of agriculture and its place within the Emissions Trading Scheme. It literally is the cow in the room,” she said. Agriculture has been kept out of the ongoing ETS review. (RadioNZ)

We’re gonna need a market for this – West Virginia can feasibly comply with the US Clean Power Plan, according to an analysis carried out by the coal-reliant state’s Department of Environmental Protection, but in order to do so the legislature must change a law it passed a year ago restricting the use of carbon trading.  Under the CPP, West Virginia must cut its CO2 by 37% below 2012 levels by 2030. (ClimateWire)

Reduce and reinvest Washington – Green group Alliance For Jobs and Clean Energy has released a white paper proposing a fixed emissions cap for Washington State and a carbon price for big emitters starting at $15/tonne, with most of the revenue to be invested in clean energy. State officials released an ETS proposal earlier this year but withdrew it in February following stakeholder comments. An updated proposal is expected soon.

Change of tune? – Poland will return to a policy that protects the global climate while taking into account the needs of the country’s economy, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo told Radio Poland last week on the sidelines of the Paris Agreement signing ceremony in New York.  That all sounds great, but she declined to indicate whether this also would mean Poland will drop both its opposition to ratifying Kyoto 2 and its lawsuit against the European Commission over the MSR.

And finally… Thanks but no thanks, Chuck – Underlining his dismay over the remaining suite of Republican presidential candidates, US oil billionaire Charles Koch said he would consider supporting Democrat frontrunner Hillary Clinton, he told ABC News.  But Clinton quickly fired back, publicly rejecting his endorsement on Twitter.

Not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science and try to make it harder for people to vote. https://t.co/TWN4zYhMBh

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) 24 April 2016

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