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TOP STORY
Canada releases draft Clean Electricity Regulations with flexibilities for CCS, gas power
Canada’s environment ministry on Thursday announced its initial Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) to mobilise the country’s electricity grid to achieve net zero by 2035, including a series of measures that provide exemptions for units with carbon capture and storage (CCS) and can allow for continued, but limited, use of fossil fuels.
EMEA
Euro Markets: EUAs settle at seven-day high as market climbs amid gas weakness, while UKAs set now low
European carbon prices clawed back Wednesday’s surprise losses in a quiet Thursday session, taking their cue from the first auction premium in eight days and settling at their highest in seven days as carbon moved in the opposite direction to natural gas, while UK Allowances continued to set new lows.
UK vows tougher sustainability tests for wood-burning power plants
The UK government signalled Thursday it will continue to support biomass energy production albeit under stricter sustainability tests, but did not spell out how it would subsidise utility Drax’s BECCS plans.
EU greenlights state aid for Germany’s energy-intensive fuel companies at risk of carbon leakage
Germany’s energy-intensive companies that are part of the domestic fuel emissions trading system will be partially compensated for any risk of carbon leakage caused by higher fuel prices, as the European Commission approved the €6.5 billion scheme on Thursday.
Kenya faces $1 billion shortfall for forestry plans over next five years, says environment ministry
Kenya will face a shortfall of more than a $1 billion to meet its climate change and forestry strategic plan over the next five years, the Ministry of Environment has revealed.
CEZ posts 22% drop in ETS-covered fossil generation for H1 as RWE confirms output decline
Czech utility CEZ reported a drop of more than one-fifth year-on-year in its EU coal and gas power output over the first sixth months of the year, in quarterly results published Thursday, joining multiple other Europe-headquartered energy companies in posting much lower generation levels in 2023.
German steelmaker reports robust quarter but 13% drop in sales year-on-year
German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp reported a 13% year-on-year drop in quarterly global sales amid lower prices, though it said it was targeting the upper range of its full-year forecast after a “robust” quarter in its financial results on Thursday.
Orsted aims for pioneering CCS project to launch operations in 2025
Wood-burning cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) plants established by Danish energy firm Orsted will begin to have their emissions captured and stored during 2025, as part of Denmark’s first full-scale CCS agreement, the company outlined during its financial results on Thursday.
Southern European heatwave not enough to lift Europe-wide power demand, say analysts
European power consumption slumped 6% compared to historical averages in July despite an uptick in demand from air conditioning across the Southern countries that were struck by extreme heat, according to analysts.
UK to host international energy security conference in spring 2024
The UK energy secretary Grant Shapps announced plans to host an international summit on energy security in spring 2024, stressing the need to diversify from fossil fuels and hit climate goals.
ASIA PACIFIC
India on track to meet Paris Agreement goal ahead of time
India is on track to meet its Paris Agreement carbon intensity target ahead of time as reductions are coming faster than previously anticipated, according to media reports.
Australia’s seed industry underfunded, understaffed, and unprepared for surging carbon, biodiversity market demand
Australia’s seed industry is in dire straits and in desperate need of funding to scale up if it is expected to live up to government and industry expectations of widescale ecosystem restoration driven by carbon and biodiversity markets, industry experts say.
New Zealand foresters call on government to scrap ETS review
A New Zealand forestry group is urging the government to immediately halt its review on the ETS in order to restore stability to the carbon market and provide certainty for forest planning.
New carbon venture hires former Greening Australia director
A former director of carbon and biodiversity non-profit Greening Australia has been appointed chief operations officer of a new Australian venture which is seeking to rapidly increase the supply of premium, nature-based carbon credits.
CCS projects should be paid to capture CO2 to help scale sector, gas industry whitepaper claims
Carbon capture and storage could be easily scalable if offered similar cost incentives that have been provided to wind, solar, and EV industries, a gas industry whitepaper has claimed.
China CO2 emissions soar in Q2 amid extreme weather events -research
China’s CO2 emissions grew 10% annually in the second quarter of the year, bouncing back to the record levels from two years ago as widespread drought saw coal replace hydropower generation, according to analysis released Thursday.
AMERICAS
WCI Markets: CCAs advance through volatile week before Q3 auction, Washington prices steady amid allowance reserve sale
California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) veered higher through another week of volatility as traders attempted to square the market’s recent ARB cap-and-trade workshop-inspired rally with the Aug. 16 quarterly auction, while Washington Carbon Allowances (WCAs) remained unchanged even as traders expected reserve sale volumes to sell out at this week’s offering.
New York faces distinct advantages, drawbacks in aligning cap-and-invest programme with RGGI -expert
New York’s continued participation in the power sector RGGI carbon market would aid the development of the state’s economy-wide cap-and-invest system by ensuring programme stability and fostering greater regional climate ambition, though separating from RGGI could yield a larger in-state emissions cap and avoid multiple carbon prices, an expert said Thursday.
INTERNATIONAL
South Korea appoints major project developer to conduct three Article 6 projects abroad
A major carbon project developer in South Korea has been selected by the government to start off three Article 6 projects abroad, as the East Asian country is seeking to acquire international carbon credits and leverage the Article 6 mechanism of the Paris Agreement to realise its climate goals.
VOLUNTARY
US alternative investment firm proposes standardised carbon credit rating system
A standardised way of grading carbon credits can establish transparency and consistency in the market while improving upon the current methods of existing ratings agencies, a US-based alternative asset manager said in a white paper published Thursday.
AVIATION
Airline touts success at curbing non-CO2 climate impact by using AI mapping
A leading airline has been testing AI technology to reduce airplane contrails when flying at altitude, with positive results, suggesting that the technology can be a cost-effective way to help to reduce the climate impact of aviation and potentially also generate contrail reduction-based carbon credits.
BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)
Biodiversity Pulse Weekly: Thursday August 10, 2023
A weekly summary of our biodiversity news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. All articles in this edition are free to read (no subscription required).
Nature markets need fundamental policy, finance realignment to work, taskforce says
The international economic and financial architecture and policy priorities must be aligned with the goal of advancing an equitable, global nature economy for nature markets to have an impact on any significant scale, the Taskforce on Nature Markets (TNM) said in its final report, released Thursday.
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CONFERENCES
Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS & Carbon Markets Summit – Sep. 11-13, Monterey, CA: Join 600+ key government representatives and industry stakeholders from across the entire biofuels value chain and carbon markets sector for three days of networking and knowledge exchange. Hear from leading policy makers from California, Oregon, Washington, Canada’s ECCC, Alberta, and British Columbia and industry experts from LanzaJet, BMW of North America, Morgan Stanley, Chevron, Southwest, Mercuria, Radicle, Phillips 66 and more. Take advantage of this opportunity to gather the latest policy and market insights and reconnect with industry peers. Learn more here.
North America Climate Summit – Sep. 19-21, New York City: The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) looks forward to welcoming delegates to our flagship North America Climate Summit (NACS) 2023, an official accredited event of New York Climate Week 2023 and the UN General Assembly 2023. The Summit is the ideal forum to take stock of the world’s evolving net zero landscape and clean growth opportunities, and a zoom into North America. Hear from policymakers, business leaders and innovators who are leading the pack in building, scaling and collaborating on carbon pricing and markets for net zero. Register here
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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
Big drop – Germany’s CO2 emissions fell 9% in the first half of the year as a weakening economy deflated energy use, according to an analysis by climate and energy think tank Agora Energiewende. Total emissions amounted to 340 MtCO2e, compared to 374 MtCO2e in the same period last year, Agora estimated. (Clean Energy Wire)
On the road to electric – A €350 mln German scheme will support the rollout of high-power charging (HPC) infrastructure for electric vehicles along the German motorways, after the EU Commission gave its green light on Thursday. This should get to the deployment of 952 HPC points in around 200 motorway locations. The scheme will take the form of direct grants for the installation of each HPC point, as well as for the operation of the HPC infrastructure, and will be open to all companies active in the construction and operation of recharging infrastructure. The projects will be selected through an open, competitive and non-discriminatory bidding process.
Mining mecca – Nearly 50 mines are set to open across Europe by 2030 with potential to provide the critical minerals key to the continent’s energy transition, acccording to industry group Eurometaux, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. In northern Sweden, close to the Arctic circle, Swedish iron-ore miner LKAB is aiming to try its hand at exploiting rare earths, used to power the magnets in offshore wind turbines while in Bosnia, Adriatic Metals, a U.K.-based precious- and base-metals miner, last month started to extract silver, key to solar panels. Europe hasn’t seen this kind of mining activity for decades, with most green energy metals currently exported from China.
ASIA PACIFIC
Green hydrogen – Larsen & Toubro Ltd., India’s largest engineering and construction company, intends to build 2-3 mln tonnes of green hydrogen and ammonia capacity with an investment of close to $4 bln, in the next five years, Business Standard reported on Thursday. CEO SN Subrahmanyan said that L&T has approached some coastal states in India to acquire 500-1,000 acres of land for hydrogen facilities. The hydrogen foray begins with the manufacture of electrolyzers in December that will be powered using renewable energy from ReNew Power Private to produce green hydrogen at the Indian Oil Corporation refinery in Panipat, Haryana. L&T Energy Green Tech, a unit of the conglomerate, will execute the clean energy strategy and over time may expand into fuel cells, grid batteries and hydrogen vending. The company will consider options to monetize the unit, Subrahmanyan added.
On track – Australia power giant AGL says it is on track to deliver on its plan to build up to A$10 bln ($6.5 bln) of new energy projects in time for its exit from coal in 2035, the Nine Newspapers report. AGL said on Thursday it has increased its pipeline of new projects by 60% in the past six months, while its 250 MW Torrens Island battery and 50 MW Broken Hill battery were expected to begin operating this year. The company’s shareholder-endorsed strategy aims to replace coal-fired power with 12 GW of cleaner sources of energy. However, it reported it had sunk to a A$1.26 bln full-year loss following a volatile 12 months, which included costly coal-fired power station breakdowns at critical times and a write-down on the value of one of its coal plants.
Greener business travel – Japanese electronics maker Sharp and underwear supplier Wacoal have participated in an offsetting programme initiated by railway company JR West to visualise CO2 emissions during business trips and compensate for the emissions through the purchase of carbon credits, JR West said in a statement. The railway operator, running a network covering Japan’s 18 prefectures, will purchase domestically issued J-Credits and provide a CO2 calculation service developed by Nippon Travel Agency for corporate customers to track their emissions, according to the statement.
AMERICAS
Louisiana carbon capture – The state of Louisiana entered into a carbon sequestration agreement with natural gas producer BKV Corporation and renewables development company NuQuest Energy. This would allow the companies to develop facilities and permanently sequester CO2 from local emissions sources in the Mississippi River Corridor to progress towards net zero goals.
Decarbonising buildings – The US Department of Energy announced $46 mln to develop advanced building technologies and retrofit practices that reduce energy waste. The Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) funding for 29 projects across 15 states aims to advance cost-effective electrification and progress towards decarbonisation of the building sector.
VOLUNTARY
Biochar backing – The German state of Bavaria is to provide funding for six pyrolysis demonstration plants to help develop biochar as a carbon removal technology. The government’s agriculture ministry said it will provide up to 50% of a plant’s investments needs up to maximum of €200,000, with funding applications open from September and provided across several sizes of facility in the territory.
SCIENCE & TECH
An expensive homecoming – General Fusion, a Canadian nuclear fusion energy company based in Vancouver, raised $25 million in the first close of its Series F Raise. The timing comes as it shifts strategy away from its proposed Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) demonstration plant at the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority’s fusion centre outside of London. The company is now focused on boosting investor interest through development of a new MTF demonstration plant in Vancouver, which CEO Mark Twinney said “will allow us to demonstrate technical results in a shorter time frame at a fraction of the cost of what we previously planned.” (Betakit)
AND FINALLY…
We don’t need no education – Wind and solar power pollute the Earth and make life miserable. Recent global and local heat records reflect natural temperature cycles. And people who champion those beliefs are fighting oppression. These are some of the themes of children’s videos produced by an influential conservative advocacy group. Now, the videos could soon be used in Florida’s classrooms. Florida’s Department of Education has approved the classroom use of material from the Prager University Foundation, which produces videos education experts say distort science, history, gender and other topics. And those researchers fear that the nation’s third-largest state has opened a door that will help spread the videos to classrooms in other states. Florida is the first state to allow PragerU materials in public schools, where teachers will have the option of showing the five- to 10-minute videos in their classrooms. (E&E News)
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