Presenting CP Daily, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter. It’s a daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here

TOP STORIES

Australia’s emissions rise for third straight year

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions rose 1.5% in 2017, according to official data released just days after the government halved its climate spending.

INTERNATIONAL

CO2 emissions from burgeoning ‘South-South’ trade may threaten climate goals -study

The growth in trade between developing countries in the first decade of the 21st century, fuelled by the offshoring of manufacturing to lower-wage economies, has led to a surge in emissions that threatens the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, according to a study released on Monday.

AMERICAS

Nova Scotia joins WCI to tap technical expertise

Nova Scotia has joined the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), it announced on Monday, as the province advances the development of its cap-and-trade system with a view to launching it early next year.

Virginia’s Dominion Energy plans to throttle biomass power

The largest utility in Virginia plans on cutting output at or shutting its biomass-powered facilities, it has announced, as the US state remains undecided how it will treat the renewable energy source in its planned cap-and-trade scheme modelled after RGGI.

EMEA

EU Market: EUAs claw back losses after weak auction, as weekly sale supply triples

EU carbon prices clawed back early losses to finish flat on Monday after the market struggled to absorb the day’s auction amid a return to normal sale supply following last week’s scarce offering.

———————————

CARBON FORWARD 2018

SAVE THE DATE: Carbon Forward 2018 – Survive and thrive in the global carbon markets

Don’t miss the 3rd annual Carbon Forward conference and training day – Oct. 16-18, 2018 in London.

Spend two days with top experts, players, and decision-makers from the global carbon markets as they address today’s most attractive opportunities and pressing challenges. And join us for the EU ETS pre-conference training day organised by carbon market experts Redshaw Advisors, where you will learn how to effectively manage your carbon risk ahead of the looming overhaul of the bloc’s emissions trading scheme.

———————————

Job listings this week:

• Senior Investment Manager, Nexus for Development – Phnom Penh
• Portfolio Manager, South Pole – Amsterdam/London/Stockholm
• Junior Portfolio Manager, South Pole – Amsterdam/London/Stockholm
• EU Climate Policy Intern, European Climate Foundation – Brussels
• Various Roles, Verra (VCS) – Washington DC

Or click here to see all our job adverts

———————————

BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Waiving through – The Council of EU members states have given their approval to the so-called Effort-Sharing Decision and LULUCF land-use bills, extending to 2030 laws regulating Europe’s emissions not covered by the EU ETS. The agreed text nonetheless gives a select number of richer member states the option of cancelling some ETS allowances and other farming-reliant states to use up to 280 million LULUCF credits to help meet the their non-ETS targets more easily. The rubber-stamping follows that of the EU Parliament and paves the way for the bills to be made law by summer. Read Carbon Pulse’s take on the bills here.

Room to negotiate? – President Trump is open to discussing a compromise with California on his administration’s plan to revise down the national fuel economy standards, according to sources speaking with Bloomberg. Trump had a meeting with top executives from auto companies on Friday, who petitioned the president to keep one de facto national standard for fuel economy by keeping California aligned with the federal standard, rather than revoke the Golden State’s authority to set its own GHG limits on tailpipe emissions. Proposals floated by Trump at the meeting reportedly included setting stricter emissions standards for imported cars than American-made autos, as well as subjecting foreign vehicles to a 20% tariff and extending the efficiency standards until 2030, five years later than currently scheduled and a key demand from California.

Change is in the air – Carbon emissions from Virgin Atlantic’s aircraft fleet were reduced by 2.5% in 2017 to just under 4 MtCO2, the lowest since they peaked at nearly 5.2 Mt in 2007, when the airline started its ‘Change is in the Air’ sustainability programme. Fuel efficiency improved by 1.8% compared to the previous year – so exceeding the IATA industry 1.5% goal – to reach 0.711 kg CO2 per revenue tonne kilometre (CO2/RTK). The airline has a target to reduce aircraft CO2/RTK by 30% by 2020 from the 2007 baseline. It attributes the drop in emissions to a small reduction in the flying programme and the ongoing fleet renewal of replacing four-engine aircraft with more fuel efficient twin-engine alternatives. (GreenAir Online)

Waste not, emit not – The UK could halve its annual carbon emissions by avoiding waste from fast fashion, wasteful eating habits, and our demand for the latest mobile phone or electronic gadget. In a new report, the Centre for Industrial Energy, Materials and Products (CIEMAP) – a collaboration of four UK universities – has found that more careful use of British resources could cut emissions far more than most government climate policies have managed in recent years. Between now and 2032, they estimated resource efficiency could avoid more than seven times as many emissions as the smart meter rollout, which will see every home equipped with a meter that monitors exact gas and electricity use. (The Independent)

And finally… Big demand on the big day – The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Saturday, May 19 is expected to cause a surge in power demand in Britain as millions tune in to watch on television and reach for the kettle when it has finished, the National Grid said on Friday. “TV pickups are when we see an increase in demand at key points during an event. This can be people tuning in to see the key points, getting up to boil kettles or opening the fridge for a drink to toast the happy couple,” a spokeswoman said. The highest demand pickup of 1,200 MW is expected just after the wedding service ends and is the equivalent of 480,000 kettles all being turned on at once. It is not expected to cause issues for the grid, however. “During the 2011 Royal Wedding (of Prince William and Kate Middleton), we saw a pickup of 760 MW for the famous balcony greeting,” the spokeswoman added. (Reuters)

Got a tip? Email us at news@carbon-pulse.com