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TOP STORY
Short Ontario emitters won’t face non-compliance penalties in cap-and-trade repeal -official
Ontario entities that were not holding enough allowances to cover their emissions prior to Premier Doug Ford revoking the province’s cap-and-trade regulation earlier this month will be deemed in compliance as the government winds down the programme, the environment ministry confirmed on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Australia readies Safeguard Mechanism changes that will increase carbon emissions
Australia’s Department of the Environment and Energy issued a consultation paper late Friday regarding a series of changes to its Safeguard Mechanism that would allow higher CO2 emissions from the nation’s largest facilities.
Woodside, Terra Carbon among beneficiaries in latest Australian carbon offset issuance
Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator this week handed just over 404,000 carbon credits to 14 projects under the national emissions offset programme, taking the total issuances so far this year past 9 million.
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending Jul. 27, 2018
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.
EMEA
EU Market: Dip-buying helps keep EUA prices above €17
EU carbon prices held above €17 for a sixth straight day on Friday, as buying interest around that key level offset the bearish effect of a weak auction result earlier in the day.
AMERICAS
US Renewable Portfolio Standards should set higher targets standards, stop crediting dirty energy -report
US state-led Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) are in need of reform to stimulate a more rapid transition to renewable energy and avoid crediting dirty energy forms that are undermining programme goals, according to an NGO report released this week.
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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.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Plan push – The EPA told a federal court on Thursday that its replacement rule for the Clean Power Plan (CPP) could be finalised by early 2019. After the new CPP proposal was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review earlier this month, the EPA asked for an expedited check-up compared to the two-to-three months the process normally takes. In order to fulfill the early 2019 timeline, the EPA is asking the OMB to complete its review in August. (Politico)
Tree time – Newly elected Pakistani prime minister and former cricketer Imran Khan has set out to plant 10 billion trees during his first five years in office. The plan is a scaling up of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s “billion tree tsunami” initiative to restore 350,000 hectares of forest in the Khyber Pakhtunkwa province. However, while the PTI’s manifesto pledges other environmental and conservation measures like supporting clean energy and introducing green building codes, observers pointed out that Khan’s acceptance speech on Thursday did not mention climate change or climate vulnerability, and additionally that his party intends to increase production from domestic coal reserves. (Climate Home)
Set and staggered – California state regulator ARB voted on Thursday to set six-year terms for its board members, allowing for initial terms to be staggered to avoid constant turnover. The plan grants 11 of the 14 members terms beyond the end of this year, ensuring that the next governor – who will likely be either Democrat Gavin Newsom or Republican John Cox – will not be able to appoint a majority of the board’s leadership for the entirety of his first term in office unless a position becomes vacant. The lone dissenting vote yesterday came from former state senator and environmental justice legislative appointee Dean Florez (D), who argued the new governor should have a broader role in the process, while other advocates representing low-income communities argued that the ARB’s exact proposal was kept under wraps until Thursday morning’s board meeting without any public process. (LA Times)
Swing and a missed opportunity – US Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch expressed frustration on Thursday that the recent federal carbon tax proposal from his Florida colleague Carlos Curbelo (R) was a “missed opportunity” to introduce a bipartisan measure on climate change. Deutch, who co-founded the House Climate Solutions Caucus with Curbelo in 2016, told Axios that although he had worked with Republican offices for several months to craft legislation that prices carbon, Curbelo ultimately chose to go it alone. Looking ahead, Deutch said that he and other members of the caucus will introduce a bipartisan carbon pricing measure in September after returning from the congressional break. All but four members of the 43 Republican congresspersons on the Climate Solutions Caucus voted in favour of a non-binding resolution last week condemning the idea of a carbon tax.
Right out of the sails – The Texas Public Utility Commission on Thursday rejected American Electric Power Company’s $4.5 billion Wind Catcher Project, dealing a potential death blow to what would be the largest wind farm in the US. The Texas regulator’s unanimous ruling said that American Electric’s project did not offer enough benefits to ratepayers, and had previously been rejected by Oklahoma officials in February for failing to prove an economic need for the project. While American Electric said it would evaluate its options, one analyst said the decision “looks like curtains to me”. (Bloomberg)
Wonk corner, Africa edition – African countries in particular have voiced interest in using Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in shaping the transition from the old CDM world. The latest issue of the Carbon Mechanisms Review looks at the continent, presenting an initiative that pilots Article 6 activities in Sub-Saharan countries that focus on reactive power compensation and technical losses. It also takes a look at Tunisia, which recently signed a Statement of Undertaking with Germany’s Nitric Acid Action Group, and forward-looking baselines for results-based financing. “Last but not least, we examine the current status of the NAMA pipeline and present an example from Uganda on integrating market mechanisms and NAMA finance,” said the Wuppertal Institute, the review’s publisher.
And finally… Swampy seconds – Acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler may be facing his first ethics-related scandal as head of the agency after E&E News reported on Thursday that he met with three former lobbying clients after joining the EPA, despite assurances he wouldn’t “participate” in meetings on issues he’d lobbied on. After assuming the role of deputy administrator in April, Wheeler’s meeting schedule showed he met with fuel and feedstock manufacturer Darling Ingredients, which paid Wheeler’s former lobbying employer FaegreBD Consulting $1.4 million over nearly a decade to lobby on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and biodiesel issues. Other meetings Wheeler took with Faegre BD clients after assuming his EPA position included food processing and commodities trading company Archer Daniels Midland and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. These meetings may violate the Trump administration’s ethics pledge, leading Virginia Representative Don Beyer (D) on Thursday evening to call for an investigation into the matter from the Office of Government Ethics. Wheeler’s predecessor Scott Pruitt was criticised throughout his tenure as EPA head over numerous allegations of ethics violations and conflicts of interest, ultimately leading to his resignation earlier this month. (Climate Nexus)
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