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TOP STORY
South African carbon tax bill heads for parliament vote after committee approval
A South African parliamentary committee on Tuesday approved the country’s carbon tax bill, moving the long-awaited levy a step closer to becoming law.
AMERICAS
Ontario assigns compensation value to voided carbon units
Ontario’s environment ministry has laid out the compensation value for unusable carbon compliance instruments from the province’s cancelled ETS, with allowances and offsets fetching the same amount.
Nodal Exchange eyes WCI V22 carbon contracts launch this week
EEX-owned Nodal Exchange could begin offering a California Carbon Allowance (CCA) Vintage 2022 contract by this week if approved by a federal regulatory body, an official confirmed to Carbon Pulse.
US oil & gas boom risks 1 billion-tonne increase in global emissions -report
The continued boom of US oil and gas production could add 1 billion tonnes of CO2e to global GHG emissions by 2030, while displacing domestic clean energy growth, according to a study released Tuesday.
EMEA
EU Market: EUAs hold above €23 after post-auction gains prove short-lived
EUAs held onto a small gain in volatile trade on Tuesday, as an early surge that continued Monday’s near €2 rally petered out.
ASIA PACIFIC
NZ Market: NZUs dip below NZ$25 on small-clip supply
New Zealand carbon allowances on Tuesday fell below the NZ$25 ($17.21) threshold for the first time in nearly three weeks as small batches of supply from forest-owners became available.
Dormant China CDM project gets welcome voluntary market boost
An international commodity trading company this week cancelled 100,000 CERs from a project owned by a subsidiary of China’s state-owned power giant Huaneng, making it the latest Chinese CDM project to get some drops of comfort from the voluntary market.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Palm off – The European Commission will aim to set new limits this week on which fuels can be counted toward EU renewable energy targets, with biofuels that indirectly lead to changes in land use and higher greenhouse gas emissions to be excluded by 2023. If the commission chooses tough criteria could significantly limit one of Indonesia’s and Malaysia’s biggest exports: palm oil. (Climate Home)
You’re doing it all wrong – The proposal by Germany’s coal exit commission to gradually phase out the fossil fuel by 2038 is tantamount to a “planned economy” approach and does little to curb carbon emissions in an efficient way, Christian Lindner, head of the pro-business party FDP, said in a guest commentary for Handelsblatt. “Instead of initiating an indirect steering effect through setting targets, German policy entangles itself in steering details,” he wrote, adding that this approach “will not convince people in India or China”. The “actual goal” of reducing CO2 emissions quickly, efficiently and at low costs “almost doesn’t play any role at all anymore”, he argued. Lindner also criticised the sums proposed to buffer structural change and limit power price increases. “Instead, ecological effects should be given a price,” he says, adding that market mechanisms like the EU ETS should figure much more prominently in the commission proposal. (Clean Energy Wire)
One more to go – The GOP-controlled Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 11-10 along party lines on Tuesday to confirm US EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler to head the agency. Ranking Member Tom Carper had asked to delay Wheeler’s nomination due to a number of issues that concern Senate Democrats, including the agency’s proposal to weaken vehicle fuel economy standards. The full Senate must now vote to confirm the acting agency head. (Utility Dive)
Funding call – The Government of Alberta’s Climate Change Innovation and Technology Framework (CCITF) has announced the Clean Technology Development 2019 Open Call with C$20 million in available funding. Applicants can receive up to C$3 mln per project for initiatives in cleaner oil and gas, methane reduction, low-carbon electricity, green buildings, and others. Expressions of interest forms are due by Feb. 21.
Suh-long – The head of one of the nation’s largest environmental groups is resigning after four years at its helm. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said Monday that Rhea Suh, its president since 2015, will leave at the end of June. The group will start looking for a replacement soon. (The Hill)
And finally… Bluer planet – Climate change could alter the distribution of microscopic organisms known as phytoplankton, according to researchers at MIT. Swathes of temperate regions such as the North Atlantic oceans are likely to turn a more brilliant blue as the micro-organisms diminish while colder waters near the north and south poles could turn a brighter shade of green as the creatures proliferate. (BBC)
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