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RGGI auction clears at $4.53 as speculative interest fades away
The nine US states participating in RGGI sold all 15.1 million allowances offered in this week’s auction for $4.53 each, the market’s operators announced Friday, a clearing price around 15 cents below the secondary market but well above the sale’s reserve price.
NZ Market: New Zealand carbon breaks through NZ$16 levels
Spot NZUs rose another 2.9% on Friday to above NZ$16 for the first time since Sep. 2011, as government revisions to the emissions trading scheme continued to drive demand.
SK Market: Volumes dwindle but price goes up in final auction
Low interest in this week’s third South Korean CO2 auction saw emitters pick up fewer than 10% of the allowances on offer, despite bidding above the price floor.
EU Market: EUAs dip but remain pinned near €6 after quiet session
European carbon prices dipped slightly on Friday to end the week just below the €6 mark they have stuck close to over the past five sessions and most of the past month, notching a 1.5% weekly loss.
Shenzhen emitters move early on ETS compliance
Some 130 companies in the Shenzhen emissions trading scheme have surrendered allowances to cover their 2015 emissions a full four weeks ahead of the compliance deadline, according to the Shenzhen emissions exchange.
ICE extends spot EUA trading discount scheme to block deals
Market operator ICE Futures Europe has extended its discount programme for trades involving its daily EUA futures to those reported as block transactions.
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending June 3, 2016
Closing prices, ranges and volumes for China’s regional pilot carbon markets this week.
Voluntary market data from CTX for June 3, 2016
A table of Verified Emission Reduction (VER) prices and offered volumes, based on voluntary market data provided by Carbon Trade Exchange (CTX).
BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Airlines put a marker down – At their annual meeting, airline association IATA reiterated their call for governments to agree a global offsetting mechanism at ICAO in September/October this year. They called for as “broad access as possible” to carbon markets and to be able to use any units that meet ICAO-agreed eligibility criteria, which should include all UN-backed units, including REDD+. IATA added that should governments agree on a pilot phase, that this should not interfere with the global mechanism’s intended 2021 start date.
Power on track – The US electric sector is on track to meet the Clean Power Plan, according to a new NRDC analysis. The report demonstrates again that the power sector is rapidly moving to cleaner generation and greater energy efficiency, with emissions coming down as a result.
NY climate law – The New York state assembly has passed a bill legislating a target of zero carbon emissions in 2050, making it the most ambitious state-level climate law in the US. It also sets targets for renewable energy for the state’s electric utilities, starting at 27% of their generation in 2017 and rising to 50% in 2030. (ThinkProgress)
Aussies now like carbon prices – As many as 63% of Australians back putting a price on carbon emissions while three-quarters want the government to do more on climate change, according to a new poll by the ABC. The numbers are a significant turnaround from the previous election, when the Coalition won in a landslide, much because of their promise to “axe the (carbon) tax”.
CCS to keep UK in coal beyond 2025 – The UK government is refining how its plan to phase-out coal power by 2025 will work, including the extent to which “partially abated” plants installed with CCS will be allowed. This plan with be published in a consultation, which was due this spring but has been delayed several months following heavy lobbying by the coal industry. (The Independent)
To coal or not to coal – India’s environment ministry has found that restrictions on coal mining should be put on 417 of the 835 coal blocks it has surveyed, mainly to protect rivers. The coal ministry is having none of it, though, and says only about a tenth of those should face restrictions. (Business Standard)
Science funding cuts – The US Congress is considering spending bills that would significantly cut funding for key climate change research by NASA and NOAA in 2017, ClimateWire reports. Among the losers: the oldest CO2 observatories on the planet, the ability to track fossil fuel emissions in the US, and a program to study ocean acidification.
And finally… Unicorn farts? – Alberta’s ruling NDP party is attempting to push its carbon tax bill through the province’s legislature this week, but lawmakers have already spent more than 16 hours debating it over the past four days. According to the Edmonton Sun, these sessions have veered onto the topic of climate science, and have led to one MLA likening being labelled a climate change denier as “being assaulted”. The debates have also descended into the inane and immature with warnings of a “full on fruit and vegetable crisis” in Alberta next year due to the measures, and mentions of a public buses running on unicorn farts. Alberta’s opposition Wildrose party, which has described the bill as an ‘economy killer’ and ‘C$3 billion punishment tax’, unsuccessfully proposed clauses calling for a legislative review of the law in 2019 following the next provincial election, and a review by government committee by Jan. 2020.
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