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TOP STORY

EU airline emissions could fall 11% under “negligible” tax, leaked report shows

Taxing aviation fuel in the EU would cut the sector’s emissions by 11% while having only a “negligible” impact on GDP and jobs, according to a European Commission report leaked on Monday.

EMEA

EU Market: EUAs suffer late plunge to €25 on technical breach

EUAs crumpled below €25 in the final hour of Monday after breaching technical support as investors were rattled by the heightened US-China trade dispute.

AMERICAS

Alberta offset stakeholders cautious amid new government’s policy uncertainty

Alberta compliance offset traders and developers are taking a wait-and-see approach to making long-term investments as they await more details on how the new UCP government intends to overhaul the Canadian province’s large emitter programme.

More ambitious GHG target necessary for Canadian CFS to reduce emissions -study

Canada’s existing GHG reduction goal under its proposed Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) will likely fall short of lowering emissions from its baseline level, a conference heard on Monday.

New Hampshire House passes post-2020 RGGI bill

The New Hampshire House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would install the northeast US RGGI cap-and-trade programme’s post-2020 Model Rule, pending final governor approval.

INTERNATIONAL

Norway, UN shipping agency launch $1.1 mln CO2-cutting drive  

Norway and the UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) announced a joint project on Monday to help the shipping industry cut emissions by at least 50% from 2008 levels by 2050.

ECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE

Brazil slashed GHG emissions 70% before Bolsonaro, and nobody noticed

Last week, Brazil’s top security adviser said that the Amazon forest was his country’s to exploit, regardless of the impact on greenhouse gas emissions. “I don’t accept this idea that the Amazon is world heritage, this is nonsense,” General Augusto Heleno Pereira said. “The Amazon is Brazilian, the heritage of Brazil and should be dealt with by Brazil for the benefit of Brazil.”

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Job listings this week

• Group Lead Carbon Advisor, BP – Sunbury, UK
• Energy Finance Analyst, Climate Policy Initiative – London
• Analyst – Power & Utilities, Carbon Tracker Initiative – London
• Sales Manager, First Climate Markets – Frankfurt
• Renewable Energy Expert, First Climate Markets – Frankfurt
• International REDD+ Consultant, Laos Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry – Vientiane
• Evaluation Consultant, UN Habitat – flexible

Or click here to see all our job adverts

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Polish border – Poland’s energy minister Krzysztof Tchorzewski has suggested the EU should apply a carbon levy to goods imported from countries where there is no climate strategy, Gazeta reports. “If not all economies in the world bear the costs of carbon dioxide emissions, then we will experience negative industrial and economic changes in Europe.” Elsewhere, in the run-up to the May 23 European elections, most political parties in France also support the idea, EurActiv reports. Even the far-right Rassemblement National under Marine Le Pen is proposing to “promote localism … and overtax globalised imports that are un-ecological.” This comes days after steelmaker ArcelorMittal announced production cuts, partly blaming a four-fold increase in Russian imports. (see Carbon Pulse’s story here)

Cement first – HeidelbergCement, the world’s fourth largest cement company, has said it would cut emissions in line with the 1.5-2C goals of the Paris Agreement, in a first for the industry. It committed to slash direct emissions by 15% per tonne of its products by 2030 from 2016 levels while also cutting indirect emissions from its power use by 65% a tonne. It joined the Science-Based Targets initiative, under which corporations submit their strategies for independent assessment. The announcement was made at the Petersburg Climate Dialogue in Berlin on Monday. (Climate Home)

Two decades – Carmaker Daimler is pushing to develop a raft of electric and hybrid cars as a way to reach its aim of having a car fleet which is carbon neutral by 2039. Its Mercedes-Benz arm wants to have a passenger car fleet which is carbon neutral in 20 years. To achieve this goal, Daimler wants at least half of its new car sales to be electric and hybrid cars by 2030 and wants to have carbon neutral production process by 2022. The announcement was also made at the Petersburg Climate Dialogue in Berlin on Monday. (Reuters)

Gas count – The IPCC has updated guidelines for governments to estimate greenhouse gas emissions so the most up-to-date scientific research is included. Reuters reports. The scientific panel said the new 2019 guidelines built on 2006 methodologies by updating gaps and out-of-date science. They include new technologies and emissions sources across the energy, industrial processes, waste, agriculture and forestry sectors. But campaigners say the updated measures fail to addresses key weaknesses, particularly on bioenergy. They warn inconsistent rules mask the true climate impact of burning wood pellets and other fuels, at a time that their use and trade is growing. (Climate Home)

Truckin’, got my cells charged in – Germany has opened the first stretch of a so-called electric highway that will connect hybrid trucks to overhead wires, allowing them to recharge while travelling on the country’s main transportation arteries. The 10-kilometer (6-mile) stretch south of Frankfurt on Germany’s A5 autobahn was opened last week, the German state of Hesse said in a statement. One truck is using it now, with four more planned by 2020. (Bloomberg)

Dire straits – A group of Torres Strait islanders off Australia’s north coast are set to file a human rights complaint to the UN against the Australian government on Monday on over inaction on climate change, which they say is threatening their homes, their lawyers said. The complaint by eight Torres Strait Islanders marks the first climate change litigation brought against Australia based on human rights, said ClientEarth, the UK-based law firm handling the complaint. (Reuters)

And finally… Mainstreamed – Carbon pricing got a further push into the mainstream on Sunday when comedian John Oliver touched on the subject during a segment about climate change and the Green New Deal – the non-binding resolution put forth by US Congress newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Oliver started his Last Week Tonight monologue by mocking “fun recycling ideas” people have to save the planet, and the segment ends with Bill Nye, The Science Guy warning viewers that the planet is “on fucking fire” as he set a globe ablaze. “There are a lot of things we can do to put it out. Are they free? No, of course not. Nothing’s free you idiots.” Watch for yourself (YouTube video is not available in all regions).

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