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TOP STORY
COP24: Failed Article 6 text offers glimpse of Paris-era emission trade
Governments will in early 2020 revisit negotiations for rules covering international emissions trade, recycling much of last week’s failed Paris Agreement Article 6 text that gave wide scope for cross-border dealing.
AMERICAS
New York expected to join regional transportation emissions programme -sources
New York is likely to join ten jurisdictions aiming to design a cap-and-trade to regulate emissions from the transportation sector by the end of 2019, multiple sources told Carbon Pulse.
Supply of Colombian tax-eligible carbon credits quickly being exhausted
Emitters have surrendered more than 55% of all Colombian offsets issued to date against the country’s carbon tax, data compiled by Carbon Pulse shows, suggesting the market for the units is being squeezed as demand drastically outpaces supply.
WCI to offer nearly 90 mln current, future vintage allowances at Feb auction
California and Quebec will auction nearly 90 million current and future allowances on Feb. 20, including California’s remaining unsold volume.
Maryland approves RGGI regulations ahead of 2019
Maryland has finalised its post-2020 RGGI Model Rule changes ahead of the new year, making it the fifth state to do so.
ASIA PACIFIC
Australia reduces emissions projections, but remains far off track for Paris target
Australia on Friday released its annual emissions forecast to 2030, adjusting downwards expected GHG output over the next decade but still expecting to miss its Paris target by up to 760 million tonnes of CO2e over the 2020s.
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending Dec. 21, 2018
Closing prices, ranges and volumes for China’s regional pilot carbon markets this week.
EMEA
EU Market: Carbon stages late rally to finally break above €25
European carbon surged to a new three-month high late on Friday, finally topping €25 as it resumed its pre-holiday rally.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Same old – Australia’s Climate Change Authority on Friday released its final report on the national GHG reporting system, which also included the functioning of the Safeguard Mechanism. The agency, set up as an independent advisory body by the former Labor government but perpetually ignored by the ruling Coalition, found that the technical aspects of the Safeguard Mechanism are functioning well, although it encouraged the Clean Energy Regulator to contribute more to increase transparency in Australia’s offset market. It also listed a number of reform recommendations from a larger 2016 review, which have gone unacted upon since, and which will likely reappear next year when a new overall review of the mechanism is due. Chief among those was tightening baselines, so that the scheme actually contributed to emission reductions.
Carbon credits for Christmas – Massachusetts’ Department of Environmental Protection sold 436,559 Global Warming Solution Act (GWSA) allowances for $6.71 on Friday, a state official confirmed to Carbon Pulse. The allowances, which can only be used for the GWSA programme, represent 5% of the 8.7 mln emission limit for 2019. Massachusetts is slated to auction off 25%, or neary 2.2 mln allowances, at 2019 auctions. The GWSA programme went into effect this year and sets a declining emission limit for 21 emitting power facilities. The state installed the programme after environmental groups sued the state for failing to set a declining cap. Despite regulating emissions from the power sector, the GWSA does not have any interaction with the RGGI programme.
Abstention is the safest – Germany abstained from voting in the European Council when EU environment ministers this week agreed to reduce CO₂ emissions from trucks and buses by 30% by 2030, because the German Chancellery rejected the final deal, reports news agency dpa. “I would have liked to agree with the final compromise proposal of Austria’s European Council Presidency, but I could not come to an understanding with the Chancellery,” said environment minister Svenja Schulze after the vote. She added that it is “more than embarrassing to isolate oneself on such an important environmental issue.” The ministers’ agreement provides the Council with a mandate to start negotiations with the European Parliament. (Clean Energy Wire)
And finally… The climate war – A climate change protest on Friday caused the BBC to lockdown its central London headquarters as an environmental groups called on the state-owned media outlet to declare a “climate and ecological emergency.” Extinction Rebellion called on the BBC to make the environment its top editorial issue, saying it should report on it with the same urgency as the second world war. (The Guardian)
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