CP Daily: Thursday September 29, 2016

Published 23:22 on September 29, 2016  /  Last updated at 00:02 on September 30, 2016  / /  Newsletters

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

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New Zealand proposal paves way for tiered ITMO quality in new global carbon market

There should be minimum reporting requirements for nations generating carbon credits under the Paris Agreement, but countries should also be allowed to apply higher standards, New Zealand has proposed, a move that would likely fragment the global market.

RGGI mulls taking middle ground on cap cut as states grasp for compromise

RGGI states are considering setting a 3.5% annual cap decline after 2020 as carbon leakage concerns leave some members wary about a push to double the market’s emission reduction rate, an analyst said on Thursday.

MEPs skirt compromises in EU ETS reform debate

MEPs made scant progress towards agreeing clinching ETS reform compromises on Thursday in a poorly attended session of the EU Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI), raising the likelihood that the measure will be delayed due to the ongoing political wrangling.

EU Market: EUAs end above €5 after hitting new 3-mth high on oil-fuelled gains

EU carbon allowances retreated after jolting to a three-month, oil-fuelled high early on Thursday, but still managed to finish in the black and above the key €5 level.

Northeast Asia urged to facilitate CO2 market links, test inter-city trade

China, Japan and South Korea should start facilitating future carbon market links already now and consider experimenting with city-level links to gain experience, a report said Thursday.

World Bank eyes Jan. 2017 for modified third PAF auction

The World Bank is aiming to hold the third auction under its Pilot Auction Facility (PAF) in Jan. 2017, it said on Thursday, highlighting a few changes from the previous sales.

California issues 628k offsets, triples ‘golden’ supply

California’s Air Resources Board maintained its brisk pace of offset issuances during the second half of September, handing out more than 628,000 to four projects, while also tripling the number of so-called ‘golden’ credits.

Climate Trust makes senior appointments to take US investment fund forward

Oregon-based climate finance firm and project developer The Climate Trust has made two senior appointments to advance its recently launched carbon investment fund.

BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Hungary hungry for Paris deal – The country’s president Janos Ader has written to the leaders of 22 other EU nations – including Polish President Andrzej Duda –  to urge them to speed up the Paris Agreement ratification process. The bloc’s environment ministers are meeting in Brussels on Friday to give formal backing to the political nod leaders gave earlier this month, but Poland is insisting on securing concessions relating to coal plant financing before putting pen to paper.

Australia lacks modelling – The Australian government has repeatedly insisted it will meet its Paris target with existing policies, but in a recent parliamentary hearing government officials admitted no modelling has been done on how it will meet the goal or when its GHG emissions will peak. A number of independent analyses have concluded Australia will miss the target without new policies, such as tightening the benchmarks in the Safeguard Mechanism. (Guardian)

Christiana’s mission in the Big Smoke – Former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres is heading to London to work with Mission 2020, a new project called Mission 2020 working with cities to standardise emissions data and boost renewables investments, Climate Home reports. Newton Investment Management chief executive Helena Morrissey is one of its five advisory board members.

Oslo plan – The Norwegian capital has pledged to halve its CO2 emissions by 2020 – the most ambitious city-level climate plan around – and has now released its first “carbon budget”, promising to “count carbon dioxide the same way as we count money”. (Reuters)

What a surprise… – Which Canadian province has the highest GHG emissions per capita?  Hint: it’s the one that is most vocally opposed to carbon pricing.  According to a report from the Pembina Institute, Saskatchewan boasts an eye-watering 67.2 tonnes per person. (CBC)

Legal aids – Law firm Baker & McKenzie has become the first legal practice to join the World Bank-steered multi-stakeholder Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, saying that it will help them stay close to many of its clients exposed to the measures.

And finally… How sweet it is – American Licorice Co., which produces the popular candy Red Vines, is purchasing 20,000 VERs sourced from the redwood forests of northern California to offset the power and fuel used at the company’s Indiana and California plants.  Read more from the sector’s trade mag (yes, there is one) – CandyIndustry.com.

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