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TOP STORY

North, Latin American governments plan gathering to forge closer carbon pricing ties

Twelve North and Latin American national and sub-national governments will meet in Chile later this month for their first gathering since committing to boost carbon pricing integration, with several other jurisdictions considering joining.

EMEA

Broker Marex Spectron reopens London-based emissions desk

Broker Marex Spectron has reopened its London-based EU emissions business, hiring a veteran dealer to head the desk.

EU Market: EUAs dip despite massive auction premium

EU carbon prices dipped on Thursday despite an earlier spike after the day’s auction cleared massively above market.

EU registry to be temporarily suspended on Jan. 22 for software upgrade

Access to the EU’s emissions trading registry will be suspended for 10 hours on Monday, Jan. 22 to allow for a software upgrade, the European Commission announced on Thursday.

AMERICAS

NA Markets: California prices slip as auction supply, bankruptcy ruling concern traders

North American carbon markets started the year on a low-key note, with prices flat-to-lower amid relatively thin interest.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Bond boost –  Global green bond issuance hit a record $155.5 billion in 2017, surpassing previous estimates, and could reach $250-300 bln this year, research from the non-profit Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) showed. Issuance last year was 78% percent higher than 2016’s $87.2 billion and well above the CBI’s estimate in December of $130 billion. The United States, China and France accounted for 56% of total issuance in 2017. (Reuters)

Drive another day – Leaked information ahead of the last day of exploratory talks between Germany’s prospective coalition parties suggest that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats (SPD) will spare the country’s mighty carmakers drastic measures to reduce pollution in the sector, according to Die Welt. “The car industry can breathe a sigh of relief with respect to diesel cars”, as passages on transport in a working group paper were “sufficiently vague” to not impose any immediate consequences on the car companies, the outlet writes. However, another ‘grand’ coalition would likely mean a boon for public transport in the country, according to a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The talks have produced a working group paper detailing increased funding for public transport as part of an overall approach to climate protection and in keeping with Paris Agreement goals. (Clean Energy Wire)

Virginia calling – RGGI states will host a webinar on Friday Jan. 26 at 1230 EST to gather stakeholder input on the potential participation of Virginia in the regional carbon market. The webinar will include a presentation from Virginia state staff to provide stakeholders with an overview of the state’s proposed greenhouse gas regulation and a presentation of the REMI modeling results previously released in December. Virginia’s governor earlier this week announced proposed legislation that would see the state formally join RGGI rather than just link to it.

One more – Maryland will become the 14th US state to join the US Climate Alliance, a bipartisan alliance committed to meeting the nation’s Paris obligations, Governor Larry Hogan has announced. Maryland will become the alliance’s third state with a Republican governor, after Massachusetts and Vermont, AP reported. The Hogan administration this week also wrote to the EPA warning against the planned dismantling of the Clean Power Plan.

And finally… Maybe, baby – In a somewhat confusing comment, President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US could “conceivably” re-enter the Paris Agreement. Trump was holding a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who said the US should not miss out on the business opportunities offered by the UN deal. “The Paris accord really would have taken away our competitive edge. And we are not going to let this happen. I’m not going to let that happen,” said the president. “As usual, they made a bad deal,” he added, before saying: “So we can conceivably go back in. But I say this, we are very strong on the environment. I feel very strongly about the environment.” (Politico)

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