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TOP STORY
Canada’s Manitoba sets C$25 CO2 tax, defying federal government demands
Manitoba has announced that it will impose a flat carbon tax of C$25 per tonne, putting the province at odds with the demands of the federal Canadian government.
AVIATION
Airport GHG initiative to review offsetting guidance ahead of CORSIA rule-setting
An airport association is reviewing its guidance on its voluntary offsetting standards in what may prove to be a key forerunner of rules to be decided under the far bigger CORSIA airline carbon market.
EMEA
ICE sells energy and emissions trading platform Trayport to Canada’s TMX
Exchange operator ICE is selling energy and emissions trading platform Trayport to Canada’s TMX Group, it said Friday, after being forced by the UK’s competition watchdog to unload the holding.
Vattenfall’s thermal output up 8% yr/yr as margins widen
Sweden-owned utility Vattenfall has increased its ETS-regulated thermal power generation over the first nine months of 2017 as higher power prices helped boost profit margins, though its EUA demand may not have risen in step because the firm’s power sales took a dive.
EU Market: EUAs fail to match power price gains and lodge 5.3% weekly loss
EU carbon prices traded heavily but failed to react to strong gains in power prices on Friday and have now fallen for six out of the past seven sessions.
ASIA PACIFIC
Offset delivery under Australia’s ERF exceeds expectations
Project developers selling offsets to the Australian government under the Emissions Reduction Fund delivered more carbon credits than contracted in FY2016-17, but the number of new projects fell drastically, according to the Clean Energy Regulator.
NZ Market: NZUs fail to break NZ$19 barrier as buyers stay on fence
New Zealand carbon allowances remained at their highest levels since mid-2011 on Friday, but again failed to break through the NZ$19 barrier as buyers remain cautious of causing a major price hike.
DATA
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending Oct. 27, 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.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Loggerheads – As expected, Germany’s future energy and climate policy has emerged as the main stumbling block in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s effort to form a government coalition of her conservatives, the Free Democrats, and the Green Party. According to media reports, in their first round of talks dedicated to energy, climate, and environment-related issues, the parties agreed that Germany should continue to aim for meeting the existing national and international climate targets for 2020, 2030, and 2050. However, the four parties disagreed over the exact phrasing, i.e. whether Germany “must” reach the targets, or whether it should merely “try” to do so, reports Süddeutsche Zeitung. The negotiators are scheduled to meet again next week to continue their talks about the climate. (Clean Energy Wire)
Sleights of hand – Nineteen Democratic senators issued a letter to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt on Thursday, questioning his methodology and logic for repealing the Clean Power Plan. “At seemingly every turn, the 2017 Repeal proposal uses mathematical sleights of hand to over-state the costs of industry compliance with the 2015 Rule and understate the benefits that will be lost if the 2017 repeal is finalized,” the letter reads, referring to the repeal of former President Obama’s landmark climate change policy. (The Hill)
Helping out – The roll-out of renewables in Germany is key to reaching the country’s climate targets, according to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). In a publication on the impact of green energies on emissions, the agency says that renewables increasingly replace fossil fuels in all sectors. In 2016, renewables reduced Germany’s emissions by a net total of 160 million tonnes, of which 119 million tonnes in the power sector, according to the UBA. And in the UK, renewables made up a record 29.8% of the UK’s energy mix in the second quarter of this year, according to Energy Live News. (Clean Energy Wire)
Paying you to use it – German wind generation is forecast to climb to a record on Sunday, creating more output than needed and driving electricity prices below zero, Bloomberg reports. It would be the first time this year that the average price for a whole day is negative, not just for specific hours. Wind output is forecast to peak at more than 39 gigawatts on Sunday morning, equivalent to the output of about 40 nuclear reactors and enough to meet more than half of Germany’s total demand. (Clean Energy Wire)
What recession? – Despite Brazil’s worst recession in history, national GHG emissions are estimated to have risen 8.9% in 2016 and reached the highest level since 2008, with agriculture and illegal deforestation as the main culprits. Emissions from land-use change grew 23% in 2016, accounting for roughly half of all greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by Brazil. This was driven by a 29% increase in Amazon deforestation during the period between Aug. 2015 and July 2016, according to calculations by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), a federal government research centre. (Climate Home)
Cancelled – More than 64,000 Korean CERs were cancelled this week for use in that country’s ETS, according to the UNFCCC. Some 46,200 came from a landfill gas project, while the remainder had been issued to four hydroelectric installations.
And finally… Dinosaurs at risk, again! – US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, ordered by President Trump to reassess the biggest national monuments named since 1996, has proposed shrinking Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante, which is home to dozens of new species of dinosaurs discovered in the 21 years since President Clinton decided to preserve it. According to the LA Times, whatever area is removed would be open to coal mining, oil drilling and mineral extraction.
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