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POLL: Analysts slash EUA price forecasts by 25% on Brexit fears
Analysts have slashed their estimates for EU carbon prices by around 25% across the board in the wake of the UK referendum, according to a poll conducted by Carbon Pulse.
France should replace CO2 floor price with measures targeting coal -taskforce
France should replace its proposed domestic carbon floor price for the power sector with measures specifically targeting coal, a high-level task force recommended on Monday, acknowledging that appetite by European lawmakers to introduce price controls in the EU ETS remains limited.
Hubei tightens carbon offset rules as compliance looms
The Hubei provincial government has released new offset rules for its emissions trading scheme, it said Monday, banning almost all available CCERs just weeks ahead of the compliance deadline, which has been postponed to July 25.
EU Market: EUAs drift lower as analysts warn of further falls
EUAs lost ground on Monday as a bearish energy complex deterred utility buying and analysts warned of a heightened chance that speculators could try to force prices lower this week.
RGGI to hold next auction Sep. 7
US states participating in RGGI will hold their next auction on Sep. 7, selling some 14.9 million allowances plus a further 10 million should prices rise high enough before then, the market’s operators announced Monday.
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Job listings this week:
China Representative, IETA – Beijing
Senior Analyst/Consultant, Climate Policy Initiative – Delhi
Various roles, Four Twenty Seven Climate Solutions – Berkeley, California
Head of Climate Change Department, WEF – Geneva
Renewable Energy Specialist, ICF International – Accra, Ghana
Principal Advisor, Climate and SD, Inter-American Development Bank – Washington DC
Or click here to see all our job adverts
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Bans and caps – China is set to ban the construction of new coal-based chemical facilities and coal-fired power plants until 2018 while capping total national energy consumption at 5 billion tonnes of standard coal equivalent by 2020, and putting a ceiling on coal consumption at 4.1 billion tonnes, according to Xinhua. The measures are part of China’s energy plan for 2016-2020.
TTIP the climate balance – The latest round of protracted negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) were set to resume in Brussels today, with MEPs concerned that the pact could hinder EU efforts to privilege renewables over fossil fuels. According to a leaked draft obtained by The Guardian, the draft text mandates operators of energy networks to grant access to gas and electricity on a non-discriminatory basis and for the trade blocs to commit to eliminate all existing restrictions on the export of natural gas in trade between them. This could threaten the central instruments of Germany’s Energiewende energy transition, according to Greenpeace. “This could threaten the German feed-in tariffs, as well as priority grid access for renewables, as they could be seen as commercially unreasonable and discriminatory respectively,” it said. MEPs are also concerned that draft text on an obligation to foster industry self-regulation of energy efficiency requirements for goods – where it’s likely to be quicker or cheaper – will undermine the EU’s binding energy efficiency labelling.
There will be a TTIP stakeholder forum on July 13 during which the EU and US chief negotiators will exchange views, while on July 15 at 1400 GMT there will be a closing press conference.
Singapore plan – Singapore on Sunday released its plan for how it will meet its 2030 target of cutting GHG intensity by 36% below 2005 levels. The city state said it would improve energy efficiency in the manufacturing sector by 1-2% per year, and increase the non-fossil fuel share in electricity generation. Singapore said it would study the need to introduce carbon pricing across all sectors to see greater emissions cuts, but noted that “a carbon price will incur costs, including affecting our competitiveness, and its overall impact will have to be studied.” Singapore’s previous plan, published in 2012, also said it would study carbon pricing.
Shanghai cancellations – Nine firms, including BaoSteel, have been given honorary certificates for cancelling allowances in the Shanghai emissions trading scheme, the local CO2 exchange said Monday, but without revealing how many permits were cancelled. Last month the municipal government said ETS firms voluntary cancelling more than 5,000 permits would receive certificates, while those cancelling over 10,000 would get free media coverage.
Training day – The Shanghai carbon exchange on Monday also signed a contract with Anhui, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, and Zhejiang provinces to function as a capacity-building centre ahead of next year’s national ETS launch. Most of the seven pilot market exchanges have taken on similar roles for regions that haven’t hosted trial CO2 emissions markets.
Cash in hand – EU countries made €6.8 billion from selling EUAs between 2013 and 2014, with Germany earning the most at €1.5 billion, and Cyprus the least at €2.7 million. “While the data shown is not new, it is the first time that these multi-annual totals have been published together, as usually the [European] Commission prefers to play down this issue, writes energy and climate expert Mark Johnston on his blog.
And finally… At least we’re losing together – Like many of its member companies, the World Coal Association – the global coal industry’s London-based lobby group – is losing money. According to financial reports filed last month, the posted a loss of £81,000 in fiscal 2015 despite recording income of £1.3 million. Contributing to the red ink were WCA’s staff salary and director remuneration costs, which rose by 17% between Sep. 2014 and Sep. 2015 despite coal prices going in the other direction during that period. Read more on this from endcoal.org.
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