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TOP STORY
Lawmaker-led setbacks could mar start of 2018 for RGGI
Virginia’s quest to potentially join RGGI suffered a slight setback on Thursday, while New Hampshire’s membership in the power-only carbon market could be put in jeopardy next week.
EMEA
EU Market: EUAs dip further despite auction pause
EU carbon prices dipped slightly on Thursday as buyers grew cautious ahead of next week’s resumption of auctions and as wider financial markets continued to grapple with new regulations.
AMERICAS
NA Markets: Prices inch higher in quiet holiday trade as Ontario links up
North American carbon prices nudged higher in quiet holiday trade as Ontario’s market linked to the California-Quebec programme and as WCI participants grapple with a potential shift in the benchmark contract.
UPDATED
DOSSIER: EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)
Carbon Pulse’s regularly-updated 72-page dossier unpacks all the main issues in the world’s biggest carbon market, including the main elements of post-2020 reforms and details on earlier phases, the impact of Brexit, price polling, the two ETS funds, MiFID II regulation and key legal cases. It also features a summary of key elements by the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP).
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Only clean cruisin’ – California would ban the sale of new cars and trucks powered by fossil fuels in 2040 under legislation introduced Wednesday in the state legislature, Bloomberg reports. If the measure becomes law, by January 1, 2040, all new passenger vehicles sold in California would have to be so-called zero emission vehicles such as battery-electric or hydrogen fuel cell cars. More cars are sold each year in California than in any other state – and more than in some countries. The measure also seeks to eliminate a huge chunk of carbon emissions as part of the state’s quest to slash GHG emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.
Swedish force – Sweden’s new Climate Act entered into force this week to set out a framework for the country to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and force any government to pursue climate policies towards goals set by an advisory panel and reviewed every four years.
Drill, Norway, drill – The Norwegian government can continue to award oil exploration licences in the Arctic, Oslo district court ruled on Thursday, in a defeat for environmentalists. According to Climate Home, judges rejected the argument by Greenpeace and Nature and Youth that expanding oil production is incompatible with the country’s climate change obligations. Norway is only responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions within its borders, not those caused by burning exported oil and gas, according to the verdict.
Seeking views – Carbon project standard VCS has opened a consultation on its Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) Project Requirements through Mar. 4. SD VISta aims to be a flexible framework for assessing and reporting on the sustainable development benefits of project-based activities.
Web trending – Forest Trends’s Ecosystem Marketplace is hosting a series of webinars this month exploring offsetting trends in Oceania (Jan. 9), Latin America (Jan. 16), and North America (Jan. 23). The sessions host several regional experts and present focused findings from Ecosystem Marketplace’s recent forest and voluntary market reports.
US slippage – China’s carbon market plans show how far the US has fallen behind other countries in managing emissions through financial systems, according to Paula DiPerna, special adviser with CDP North America. (Bloomberg)
And finally… Catastrophe cash – Insurers will have to pay claims of around $135 billion for 2017, the most ever, following a spate of hurricanes, earthquakes and fires in North America, according to a report by German reinsurer Munich Re. It also said last year’s total losses, including those not insured, were $330 billion, the second-worst in history after 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc in Japan. (Reuters)
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