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EU nations strike ETS reform deal, though nine states object

EU environment ministers struck a common position on post-2020 ETS reforms on Tuesday by agreeing to cancel withheld allowances, while bolstering the MSR and making more auctionable permits available for industry.

Analysts say China CO2 emissions may drop further as fresh data shows coal continues to decline

China’s coal consumption fell 4.7% in 2016, a third consecutive year of decline, government data showed Tuesday, leading some analysts to predict that the country will see an absolute reduction in CO2 emissions this year.

Power generation, LNG production push up Australia’s carbon emissions

Emissions covered by Australia’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme rose 2.2% last year on increased electricity generation and a rise in LNG production activities, the Clean Energy Regulator said.

RGGI trading volumes sink in Q4-2016 despite large inventory builds -report

Trading volumes in RGGI allowances (RGAs) plummeted in Q4 2016 despite firms participating in the northeastern US carbon market building up notably larger positions than a year ago, a report showed.

EU Market: Reform deal news helps EUAs recover ground lost after abysmal auction

European carbon gave back much of its early gains on Tuesday after the day’s auction cleared at a massive discount, but spiked at market close on news of an agreement on post-2020 ETS reforms by EU member states.

EU ETS supply glut falls to around 1.7 billion tonnes -European Commission

The oversupply of allowances in the EU ETS has fallen to around 1.7 billion tonnes in 2016, according to a European Commission official.

US lawmakers put social carbon cost in crosshairs

A cross-party committee of US lawmakers held their first hearing on the country’s social cost of carbon (SC-CO2) assessment on Tuesday in what some observers said what the new administration’s first attack to the climate action tool.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Climate costs – Climate change will add $241 billion per year to annual infrastructure investments needed in Asia-Pacific nations between now and 2030, according to a new report by the Asian Development Bank. The bank calculated that its 45 member states need to invest $1.7 trillion annually in infrastructure to be able to maintain growth momentum, reduce poverty and address climate change. Some $200 billion each year is needed to cut carbon emissions from the power sector, while an additional $41 billion is required for adaptation, primarily in the transport sector, the bank said.

Running out of patience – Energy Australia, the nation’s second biggest emitter of CO2, is the latest company to call for lawmakers to quit politicking and come up with a national plan for how to transition to renewables from the current coal-reliant system. “The single-biggest barrier to investment is uncertainty around policy settings,” managing director Catherine Tanna told ABC. A growing number of companies, organisations and experts have recently criticised the government and MPs for being more interested in scoring cheap political points than finding a bipartisan solution to what to do with Australia’s ageing electricity system.

And finally … No. 1 – The Marshall Islands became the first nation to ratify the Kigali Amendment on HFCs, it said in an announcement. The treaty includes a goal of cutting production and consumption of HFCs 80% over the next three decades, avoiding emissions of 80 billion tonnes of CO2e by mid-century.

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