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TOP STORY
Ontario inks cap-and-trade link deal with California and Quebec
Ontario on Friday signed an agreement with Quebec and California to link their cap-and-trade schemes under the WCI programme starting in Jan. 2018.
EMEA
British PM May calls for extra two years to work out EU divorce, reducing risk of hard ETS exit before 2020
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday called for a two-year implementation period to smooth the country’s exit from the EU, intending to keep market access under existing rules out to 2021 while reducing the odds that the UK would crash out of the bloc’s ETS.
EU Market: EUAs inch higher but still notch 5.6% weekly loss
EU carbon prices lifted slightly on Friday to claw back some of the previous session’s 6% loss, with trade somewhat quieter after a fortnight of wild price swings.
INTERNATIONAL
Expanding into land use, the climate finance vehicle that Trump might just want to keep
A climate investment vehicle partly funded by rich nations including the US this week agreed its third round of funding for innovative finance instruments, expanding into previously under-served areas such as cattle ranching and cloud forests.
DATA
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending Sep 22, 2017
Below is a table of the closing prices, ranges and volumes for China’s regional pilot carbon markets this week. All prices are in RMB, and volumes in tonnes of CO2e. Data sourced from local exchanges.
Voluntary carbon market data from CTX for Sep. 22, 2017
A table of Verified Emission Reduction (VER) prices and offered volumes, based on voluntary market data provided by CTX.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Trump’s White House turning green? – The White House convened a “big-picture” strategy meeting on climate and environment this week, Politico reports. At the meeting, deputy-level White House officials and representatives from agencies discussed how to frame President Trump’s larger environmental objectives beyond simply overturning Obama-era regulations. Per Politico, meeting attendees considered the possibility of highlighting job creation and new energy technology and “how to combat the public perception that the administration is out of touch with climate science.”
Auction action – Canadian trading platform NGX last Friday completed its inaugural auction of Alberta carbon units, matching buyers and sellers of Emissions Performance Credits (EPCs) and offsets. Details of the sale were vague though, with the electronic bourse owned by Toronto-headquartered market operator TSX declining to provide any information on the clearing prices, volumes on offer, credit vintages, offset projects, selling entities or winning buyers, despite branding their EnviroPath auctions as offering “price transparency in the GHG offset and EPC spot markets that have historically been opaque.” NGX said only that the auction featured seven participants, three successful bidders, and that the sale was “nearly twice oversubscribed”. More auctions are expected to be announced later this year. TSX and its Calgary-based subsidiary appear to be targeting the Alberta carbon market as exchange-based CO2 trade in Ontario and Quebec is firmly controlled by ICE.
Jersey more – It’ll take “significant new policies and enhancements of current strategies” for New Jersey to hit its goal of achieving 80% emissions reductions by 2050 from 2006 levels, but there are multiple approaches available to do so, according to a new report. Among the many options cited: Setting an interim target, rejoining RGGI, and increasing the state’s renewable portfolio standard. The Georgetown Climate Center, Rutgers and the World Resources Institute worked together on the report. (Politico)
I’m alright – Moscow city officials are drafting climate adaptation plans, having experienced a preview of what it may have to adapt to on a regular basis amid sweltering temperatures, particulates from forest fires and smog. But although Russia is bracing for climate change, it has shown little desire to rein in its GHG emissions. It has said it intends to ratify the Paris Agreement in 2019 or 2020, but the country can afford to do little and still meet its emissions pledges for 2020 to 2030, which range from 25% to 30% below 1990 levels. Russia is already running 30% below levels in 1990, the year before the Soviet collapse wiped out much heavy industry. (Science)
We need those cuts, stat – Oil and gas firm Statoil has already achieved its 2015 target of reducing the CO2 emissions from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) by 1.2 million tonnes annually from 2008 to 2020 – two years ahead of schedule. The cuts have been achieved thanks to many actions performed offshore starting back in 2008, when the target was set. In the nine years to this September, Statoil has implemented 228 energy improvement measures within the categories flaring, production processes, gas compressors and gas turbines. “We aim to reduce CO2 emissions from the NCS by another 2 million tonnes by 2030, i.e. a total of 3.2 million per year. This work starts now. We do not have all of the answers to how to achieve this, but the results we have achieved show that we can find solutions that make this possible,” said Arne Sigve Nylund, Statoil’s executive vice president of development and production in Norway.
League table – PA Consulting Group’s annual forecast of car manufacturers’ performance against mandatory 2021 EU CO2 emissions targets shows Volvo is top of the table, with Toyota, Renault-Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover also expected to meet theirs. However, Ford, BMW, Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot Citroen, Opel/Vauxhall and Hyundai-Kia will likely miss their targets, while Daimler is getting closer. Carmakers that miss their targets are expected to face billions in fines.
And finally… Hey, know any climate deniers? Asking for a friend – The conservative, climate change-denying Heartland Institute has found an ally in US EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt as he seeks to portray climate science as a debate. The EPA has reached out to Heartland for a list of its researchers, Climatewire reports, as Trump administration officials seek experts who have a “non-alarmist” approach to climate science. Over the years, Heartland has received millions of dollars in funding from energy companies as well as major Trump donors to cultivate a sense of doubt about mainstream climate science.
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