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TOP STORY
German energy exchange EEX builds foothold in China’s emerging carbon market
German energy bourse EEX has partnered with several Chinese exchanges to build its foothold in China’s emerging national ETS, advancing plans to offer trade in euro-denominated offshore carbon derivatives to let clients access the market while avoiding the political and capital restrictions that international investors typically face.
EMEA
EU thermal output on the rise as hydro output fades, early quarterly earnings suggest
Some EU utilities were forced to ramp up their ETS-regulated thermal power production over H1 2017 as lower rainfall hit hydro levels, potentially indicating an uptick in EUA demand, according to the first batch of quarterly earnings reports from European generators.
Switzerland announces dates, volumes for next two CO2 allowance auctions
Switzerland will sell 800,000 CO2 allowances across two auctions to be held in the next eight months, the government said on Thursday, as primary market prices in the country’s domestic ETS continue to fall.
EU Market: EUAs close at 2-week low but hold above key technical support
European carbon prices fell for a second straight day, ending at a two-week low but holding above a key technical support.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Dominion stonewalling? – Virginia stakeholders are in the early stages of considering how the state will cut its carbon emissions after Governor Terry McAuliffe last month directed the state’s Department of Environmental Quality to begin establishing power plant emissions limits. Preparations to either create or join a carbon market (possibly RGGI) expected to be completed by as early as Jan. 2018. However, Southeast Energy News reports that at a meeting last week, local utility Dominion Energy appeared to be putting limits on how it would be willing to engage with such a programme. Utility officials say they are not “stonewalling” but insisting that any decisions be made with caution and that any GHG reduction programme “must be designed to provide flexible compliance options to maintain fuel diversity, ensure electricity reliability and minimize cost to customers.” (Utility Dive)
And finally… Dance party on an iceberg – The tabular iceberg that just broke away from the Antarctic Peninsula is said to be as big as the US state of Delaware. In a whimsical but potentially soon-to-be-relevant column in Bloomberg Businessweek, the author suggests anyone could stake it out the uninhabited ‘berg and attempt to commercialise it, for example by putting a string of ice hotels on it, organising extreme ice-climbing expeditions up the sides of it, mining it for ancient “fossil water” that could be sold straight or used to make premium vodka, towing it to the Middle East for its fresh water content, “or you could get really decadent and invite a few thousand rich hipsters in for an ultra-ironic Climate Change Dance Party.” The column examines the largely unsettled legal questions surrounding icebergs, including who can claim ownership of it and who can decide what, if anything, takes place on it.
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