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EU could extend ETS to consumers in new path for carbon pricing -study

The EU ETS could easily be extended to consumers of industrial products like steel and cement by replicating a method used in the China and Korea carbon markets to better incentivise cleaner production, a new study has found.

CN Markets: Hubei CO2 price buckles under selling pressure

Carbon prices in the Hubei emissions trading scheme fell to record lows for the third consecutive session on Tuesday as emitters offloaded surplus permits despite attempts by the exchange to avoid big sell-offs.

EU Market: Carbon firms as observers foresee volatility ahead

European carbon prices edged higher on Tuesday amid a marginally higher energy complex and following a bullish auction, with a larger than normal portion of volumes transacted outside of the benchmark EU contract.

EU Parliament’s industry committee postpones ETS reform debate on lack of time

The EU Parliament’s industry committee (ITRE) has postponed a debate on ETS reform after Tuesday’s session got bogged down with other issues.

BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Investors to prod Exxon – Several of Exxon’s large institutional investors at its annual shareholder meeting tomorrow will back a shareholder proposal aimed at forcing the company to disclose its climate risks. The oil giant has blocked similar proposals in the past but this time the investors have the backing of the US Securities and Exchange Commissions, which ruled in March that shareholders must be allowed to vote. (Climate Nexus)

Hungary front-runs on Paris – Hungarian MPs unanimously voted to back the Paris Agreement, making the country the first in the EU to pass legislation to support the deal. Carbon Pulse previously and incorrectly noted that France had been the first to ratify the agreement.  It is expected to be the second to ratify after its lower Assembly approved it last week, with the country’s Senate set to vote on the matter on June 8. This builds momentum to the threshold of 55 countries covering 55% of global emissions needed to ratify the deal before it comes into force. Some observers expect this by year-end, locking in the pact for four years before any incoming government can withdraw. (Climate Home)

Baselines by email – Australia’s biggest carbon emitters will be emailed their baselines under the Safeguard Mechanism over the next couple of weeks, the Clean Energy Regulator said Tuesday. The scheme will cover companies emitting more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2e per year. Those who emit above their baseline may buy offsets to compensate, meaning the mechanism holds the basics for a baseline-and-crediting scheme, However, given baselines will be set at companies’ highest emission levels over 2009-2014, experts say the policy will do little to curb emissions unless rules are tightened.

And finally… Brexit or bust – Former BNEF head and clean energy maven Michael Liebreich makes his pitch for a British exit from the EU, arguing that the UK can be more successful at protecting the environment alone. One example he gave is that when it became clear the “bureaucratic and fraud-prone” EU ETS was going to produce a “nugatory” carbon price, the UK unilaterally enacted a floor price to drive out coal. (The Guardian)

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