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TOP STORIES

President Trump confirms US withdrawal from “unfair” Paris Agreement

President Donald Trump has announced that the US will leave the Paris Agreement but is open to renegotiating a “fairer” deal, setting off a major rift between the Republican-controlled government and the rest of the world on climate change.

Reactions to Trump’s decision to pull the US out of Paris

President Donald Trump has announced that the US will leave the Paris Agreement but is open to renegotiating a “fairer” deal. Below is a collection of reactions from lawmakers, experts and other stakeholders from around the world over the decision.

INTERNATIONAL

Poland’s coal-rich Katowice to host 2018 UN climate summit

Katowice, the centre of Poland’s coal-mining hub of Silesia, will host the COP24 climate talks in 2018, the country announced on Thursday.

NORTH AMERICA

Moderate California Democrats call for continued offset use in reauthorized carbon market

A powerful group of moderate ‘business-minded’ California Democratic lawmakers has called for the state’s carbon market to remain the main driver of GHG cuts post-2020 and to continue to allow the use of offsets.

NA Markets: Prices modestly higher as RGGI, Ontario await upcoming auctions

North American carbon prices rose over the past week with RGGI allowances advancing by more than 3% cents as the market’s administrators prepare to hold their second auction of the year.

EMEA

EU Parliament’s ETS rapporteur Duncan hands role to party colleague

Scottish MEP Ian Duncan has asked a Conservative party colleague to replace him as the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on post-2020 EU ETS reforms.

EU Market: Solid auction interest helps EUAs claw back above €5

European carbon prices climbed back above €5 on Thursday after a strong auction result.

ASIA PACIFIC

China’s carbon exchanges jockey for influence in non-pilot regions

China’s emissions exchanges are expanding into new regions following a drop in liquidity due to the uncertainty surrounding the national ETS, a move that could close cross-provincial trading gaps.

Land sector can do most of Australia’s Paris lifting -analysts

Fresh investments in sequestration and tighter land-clearing rules can achieve almost all the emission cuts Australia needs to meet its Paris obligations, analysts Reputex said Thursday.

NZ Market: NZUs reclaim some lost ground but demand remains weak

New Zealand carbon allowances rebounded slightly after hitting a one-year low last week, but remain soft amid patchy demand after yesterday’s true-up deadline.

COMMENT

ECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: US farms and rural communities lose big if Trump pulls out of Paris Agreement

If US President Donald Trump pulls the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement as expected, some of the biggest losers will be American farmers and private forest owners, who stand to lose billions of in lost productivity and carbon payments.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

With or without you – A joint communiqué on climate change between the EU and China, leaked before US President Trump announced his Paris withdrawal, has vowed to deepen cooperation between the world’s second and third biggest economies, including in the area of emissions trading.  Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the presidents of the European Council and European Commission will meet in Brussels on Friday, where they are expected to release the joint statement. (Climate Home)

“Hey, don’t lump us with them!” – Nicaragua’s name is being bandied about as the US prepares join it and Syria as the only nations to not support the Paris Agreement.  Syria didn’t sign the agreement because the country remains locked in civil war, but Nicaraguan leaders declined to enter the treaty because it didn’t require enough sacrifice from wealthier countries with larger economies. According to The Washington Post, the Central American nation of 6 million is en route to becoming a low-carbon energy powerhouse, with renewables now generating about half of its electricity and set to reach 90% by 2020.

Another nail in the coal coffin – $60 billion in fresh foreign capital investment in renewable energy in Taiwan is the latest sign that recent policy changes in East Asia are speeding up the demise of coal, IEEFA’s Tim Buckley writes in this RenewEconomy column.

Sizzlin’ summer start – A corridor stretching from eastern Spain into eastern Europe is forecast to be hit by a heat wave in June, according to six meteorologists surveyed by Bloomberg. While the UK will mostly be dreary, it may see a burst of warmer-than-normal temperatures at the end of this month, which kicks off the meteorological summer. A strong jet stream will bring heat to the south and wet, windy weather to the north of Europe, according one meteorologist. The westerly air current over the north Atlantic will abate later in the month, allowing high pressure to expand north, he added.

Hands off – Sixty-nine organizations representing business, community, consumer, low-income, public health, environmental, and clean energy interests today sent a letter to the Connecticut General Assembly opposing two recent budget proposals, one made by the Senate Republicans that would raid ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs and another made by the Senate and House Democrats that would sweep ratepayer-derived revenues from RGGI.  The Democrats’ proposal to divert $20 million in RGGI revenue in FY 2019 would reduce funding for the energy efficiency programs and the Connecticut Green Bank’s clean energy programs, costing consumers at least $54 million in lost energy bill savings, said the Acadia Center. The Senate Republicans’ proposal would divert $160 million annually from the state’s award-winning energy efficiency programs into the General Fund for the next two fiscal years.

Gina’s new gig – Former US EPA Chief Gina McCarthy is joining private equity firm Pegasus Capital Advisors as an Operating Advisor. “Gina has significant experience and expertise that fits very well with the two sectors that Pegasus focuses on, namely Sustainability and Wellness,” said Pegasus Founding Partner and Chairman Craig Cogut in a statement.  McCarthy, who led the EPA between 2013 and 2017 under President Obama, helped finalise the Clean Power Plan and Clean Water Rule.  Prior to that, she helped design the RGGI market from her role as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

And finally… Climate conference con – On the face of it, the three-day climate science conference scheduled for the romantic Italian city of Rome looks like any other. The organisers, India-based ConferenceSeries, promise their “4th World Conference on Climate Change” in October will see over 500 participants and attract “world class experts” from across the planet.  The event claimed to have an organising committee with representatives from the World Meteorological Organization, the European Space Agency, and the European Environment Agency.  But a DeSmog investigation reveals the event is being organised by a group of climate science deniers, including “Lord” Christopher Monckton, who have previously claimed they want to investigate climate scientists for fraud and have dismissed human-caused climate change as a hoax. In addition, the WMO and EEA have confirmed they are not associated with the event, and some scientists listed as organising or attending the conference have said their names shouldn’t appear on the programme.

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