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TOP STORY
Guangdong adopts first forestry methodologies as China’s provinces see the CO2 through the trees
Provincial carbon market regulators in Guangdong have approved their first two forest offset methodologies, the latest move in an emerging trend for the country to use market incentives to cut emissions through increasing tree cover.
EMEA
Switzerland takes another step towards EU ETS link with aviation data rules
Switzerland has taken another step towards integrating aviation emissions into its domestic carbon market and linking the scheme to the EU ETS.
EU Market: EUA flat as rising coal cancels out auction-free session
European carbon ended little changed on Monday amid climbing coal prices and despite climbing to a three-month high earlier in the quiet auction-free session, which was a holiday in some parts of Europe.
ASIA PACIFIC
Guangdong’s final 2016 carbon auction fails
Guangdong did not sell any of the 500,000 carbon allowances on offer in its final auction for the 2016 compliance year as buyers failed to bid for the minimum amount required.
Australia appoints senior public servant as new Clean Energy Regulator chair
Australia has appointed a new chair to head up the agency regulating government carbon offset purchases and other key climate regulations.
AMERICAS
Southern US reforestation project gets record batch of offsets
A Southern US reforestation project has received the largest ever batch of voluntary carbon credits for that project type, its developer announced.
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Job listings this week:
Economist, California Air Resources Board – Sacramento, California
Business Development Manager, Climate Action, South Pole Group – Zurich/London/Stockholm
Researcher, Climate Council of Australia – Melbourne
Or click here to see all our job adverts
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Can of legal worms – US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord will affect foreign direct investment (FDI) and may lead to investor-state disputes, the head of investment at the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD said. James Zhan, senior director of investment and enterprise at UNCTAD, told reporters that US policy was an important influence in the global pattern of FDI flows such as cross-border corporate mergers and investment in start-up projects abroad. “We cannot quantify it but we see there will be an important impact on global FDI and on FDI into the US as well,” he said, referring to Trump’s announcement. Many countries have signed up to investment treaties that protect the rights of companies, allowing firms to sue a government in an ad hoc arbitration if they feel their rights have been abused, such as by a change in the legal basis on which their investment was made. (Reuters)
Paris dithering in Canberra – Australia’s Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg has called at least six of the ruling Liberal party’s backbenchers to make sure they’re still up for staying in the Paris Agreement rather than exiting along with Donald Trump, Fairfax media reports. The right-wing of the party is well-known for doubting climate science, and one of the six MPs, Craig Kelly, last week announced on his Facebook he had put champagne on ice while awaiting Trump’s confirmation that the US would pull out. The faction has left Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull entirely unable to anything on climate policies after he ousted his anti-carbon tax predecessor Tony Abbott.
And the winner is: Asia – A new report by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission says the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement is setting up Asian cities as the big winners of the emerging clean energy economy. As much as $1.5 trillion a year could come their way by 2030, the commission said in a new report according to the Guardian.
Rank & file – Acting US ambassador to China David Rank resigned from his post in Beijing over President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, several sources familiar with the decision told CNN. According to The Washington Post, Rank said he could not in good conscience help Trump implement his Paris exit. Rank had held several senior positions within the US State Department before serving in China when President Xi Jinping and then-US President Barrack Obama jointly declared their commitment to the Paris agreement. A career foreign service officer since 1990, Rank assumed the position of deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Beijing in January 2016 and had been serving until the arrival of Trump’s pick for the job, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who was confirmed by Congress late last month.
Rate cut – The Climate Action Reserve has announced that its offset credit issuance fee will decrease from $0.22 per credit to $0.19 credit effective July 1, 2017. “Since the programme was launched, we have continuously worked to provide the highest standards of service, operate as efficiently as possible, and be the most knowledgeable offsets registry to serve the carbon markets. The fee decrease is a reflection of our success in these areas,” it said in an email. “The Reserve will continue to work closely with its account holders, other market players, regulators and legislators to support and promote strong, robust offset markets now and into the future.” Additional information on the rate decrease will be posted on the Reserve website July 1.
And finally… Does he believe? – Whether or not President Trump accepts climate science is still an unanswered question in the wake of his pullout from the Paris Agreement, and administration members making the rounds on Sunday shows yesterday continued to muddy the issue. UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said in an interview on Face the Nation that “the president believes the climate is changing” and that he acknowledges “pollutants are a part of that equation.” However, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt called Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace’s pointed questions on Trump and climate science “an effort to get it off the point and the issue of whether Paris is good for this country or not.” White House spokespeople and staffers, including Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer, continued to dodge direct questions on Trump’s knowledge of climate science last week. (Climate Nexus)
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