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Stalled CDM hydro project stirs Pakistani-Indian tensions
The issuance of UN carbon offsets to a hydro project in Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir has aggrieved Pakistani officials, who have warned they will challenge the project in the International Court of Arbitration.
China’s Sinopec vows to cut carbon intensity 51%
Sinopec, China’s second biggest oil company, on Wednesday pledged to cut its carbon intensity 51% below 2005 levels by 2020, more than the national target over the same period.
China’s State Council approves CO2 target for petrochemicals, offers loans for allowances
China’s Cabinet has approved the petrochemicals industry’s 10% carbon intensity reduction target by 2020, while promising to help oil and gas firms get loans using pollution credits such as CO2 allowances as collateral.
EU Market: Short-covering lifts EUAs 5% amid beaten-down dark spreads
European carbon popped 5% higher on Wednesday, fuelled by speculative short-covering amid a lack of new supply coming to market, but record-low German clean dark spreads may limit further gains.
NZ Market: NZUs dip back down below NZ$18 on falling demand
New Zealand carbon allowances fell below the NZ$18 mark for the first time since July 18 on Wednesday, as retreating demand put pressure on prices.
Shanghai broker first Chinese firm to join CO2 trading group IETA
Shanghai-based brokerage Guotai Junan Securities has become the first Chinese firm to join the International Emissions Trading Association.
BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
California cap-and-tradin’ – California’s carbon market and proposed amendments to extend it beyond 2020 will be used to comply with the US Clean Power Plan, the state said yesterday. The Golden State is the first in the country to publish a draft blueprint for fulfilling the federal agency’s mandate, aimed at cutting existing power plant emissions, ARB spokesman Stanley Young told ClimateWire. “We’re the first out of the gate, and we’re doing it because we want to make sure that we align [with CPP rules] in the later years of the [cap-and-trade] program,” Young said. As well, he added, it’s “a proof of concept for other states, to demonstrate that this is a program that can be adapted to each state and that can be set up in a way that we can form a regional association.”
Slow & steady – The US Energy Information Administration projects the carbon-free share of power generation in North America will rise from 38% last year to 45% in 2025, reflecting the impact of a trilateral agreement and the assumption that the Clean Power Plan is upheld in court, Utility Dive reports. Mexico, Canada and the US in June signed an agreement — dubbed the “Three Amigos” pact — to pursue 50% clean energy generation by 2025. The US makes up 80% of North American power generation, EIA pointed out. Coal-fired generation in this country is expected to decline by 13% between 2015 and 2025, while natural gas sees a 4% rise.
Believers vs skeptics – Two-thirds of all Americans are confident that climate change is real and well-supported by evidence, according to a new National Survey on Energy and Environment (NSEE), a twice-yearly study from the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, CSMonitor reports. Meanwhile, the number of respondents who say there is no solid evidence of global warming is at a record low: just 15%, versus 24% a year ago. However, conviction in respondents’ viewpoints has also increased, among both believers and skeptics. The NSEE has been measuring public opinion on climate change since 2008, when 72 percent of respondents said global warming was a reality.
And finally… Ecospresso – Europeans love their espresso and are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to energy efficiency and climate change. Since being patented in Italy back in 1884, the technology hasn’t advanced much, leading to problems including wasted heat and the presence of trace metals due to lead-pipe leaching. But according to Vice, the EU is giving a €1.6 million grant to Spanish company Iberital to develop an “eco-efficient and healthy” espresso machine – dubbed ECOBREW – that will produce “environmentally and socially responsible coffee” as opposed to the stuff Europeans are drinking now.
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