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TOP STORY
EU ETS prices to average €36 next decade as many expect further market tightening -survey
EU carbon prices will average €36.05 over 2021-2030, according to an annual survey of market observers and participants, marking a massive 63% year-on-year gain in expectations.
EMEA
Top EU ETS emitter Ryanair to publish monthly CO2 data
Ryanair, the largest emitting airline in the EU ETS, will start publishing monthly CO2 emissions output data, it said on Wednesday.
EU carbon prices could hit €40 by year’s end, analysts predict
EU carbon prices will climb towards the top of the coal-to-gas fuel-switching range for Western European utilities by the end of this year, possibly to as high as €40, according to analysts.
EU Market: EUAs retreat back towards €24 as oil slump weighs late on
EUAs dipped back towards €24 on Wednesday as a drop in oil prices triggered a sell-off in key energy contracts, even as EUA demand prospects appeared to be improving.
AMERICAS
Alberta eliminates C$30 carbon levy, but timeline for federal replacement uncertain
Legislation eliminating Alberta’s C$30 carbon tax entered into force on Tuesday, but the timeline is still uncertain for the federal government to impose its ‘backstop’ fossil fuel levy on the Canadian province in response.
Washington state legislators, localities planning next steps for LCFS push
Washington state lawmakers will engage with fellow legislators and stakeholders for the rest of 2019 as they restart efforts to pass a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) bill next year, while a Seattle-area clean air agency is planning its own rulemaking process for a regional clean fuels programme.
New Jersey could finalise RGGI regulations next month -source
New Jersey could finalise regulations as early as next month as it works to join the US RGGI carbon market in 2020, a regulatory source told Carbon Pulse.
US carbon tax could incentivise fuel switching in power sector, study finds
A national US carbon tax could reduce the amount of coal-fired generation and cause power sector emissions to decline by as much as 22% in the short term, according to a study published Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Guangdong resumes carbon offset market after 10-month suspension
The Guangdong provincial government on Wednesday announced it had reopened the local carbon offset market following its suspension of the programme last August amid concerns over some of the project methodologies.
India launches first emissions trading experiment
India on Wednesday launched a regional air pollution emissions trading market, marking a shift to a more market-based approach to dealing with environmental issues as a voluntary carbon trading programme is also on the steps.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Tax time – France on Thursday will propose a new tax on flights in Europe to encourage travellers to switch to less polluting forms of transport, a source in the transport ministry told AFP. The French government will propose that the EU adopt a new tax on air travel, which could be in the form of an extra levy on fuel or tickets, or changes to the EU ETS. “Different charges could be considered to reinforce the principle of ‘polluter pays’ and France believes that they should be weighed up in order to find the best way of doing it,” the source said. “Given the scale of the climate challenge, France believes that we need to go further and more quickly,” the source added. France is among at least five western EU nations that have voiced support for a new bloc-wide air travel tax, with the issue expected to be debated at the next Environment Council meeting on June 26. This will come just days after a conference being planned by the Netherlands, on June 20-21, on ways to enhance cooperation at the EU level on carbon pricing in the aviation sector.
German flights too? – Meanwhile, Germany’s governing centre-right CDU/CSU alliance is considering ending the tax exemption for kerosene in a bid to reduce the aviation sector’s impact on emissions, news agency DPA reports. EU lawmakers are increasingly targeting the sector, whose fast-rising emissions have failed to be curbed, including through the bloc’s ETS. Read Carbon Pulse’s article on the latest developments, including prospects for a bloc-wide air travel tax and the focus of a conference later this month on EU level carbon pricing in the aviation sector.
International Inslee – Washington governor and US Democratic presidential candidate Jay Inslee on Wednesday unveiled the third portion of his climate plan, this time focusing on global climate action. Inslee, who has made climate change the key issue of his campaign, said he would not only keep the US in the Paris Agreement, but set a new goal of reducing emissions by 50% by 2030, up from the country’s current Paris NDC of 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. He would also see the US ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase out HFCs, along with expanding the Arctic Council’s efforts to bring down black carbon and other pollution in the northern polar region. In addition to committing to ICAO’s CORSIA offsetting mechanism for international aviation and the IMO’s yet-to-be-determined shipping carbon programme, Inslee would launch a domestic companion programme to CORSIA that would reduce aviation emissions “in a manner consistent with medium- and long-term decarbonisation goals,” rather than the carbon neutral growth to be pursued from 2020 under the ICAO’s current design. The plan would also see the US reinstate its $2 bln contribution to the UN’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) cancelled by the Trump administration, while doubling the country’s $3 bln total investment in the GCF’s next replenishment period. Meanwhile, Inslee tweeted Wednesday afternoon that the Democratic National Committee refused his request to hold a climate-centred debate for the party’s candidates, adding that the organisation will not invite him to future debates if he participates in another climate debate (Buzzfeed)
Disclosing status – Climate risk disclosures in financial filings have improved since 2016, but only about a quarter of companies disclosed information aligned with more than five of the 11 recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), set up by the G20’s Financial Stability Board. In its second status report, the TCFD showed 785 companies and organisations, with a combined market capitalisation of more than $9.2 trillion, had committed to supporting the TCFD’s so-far voluntary framework, a more than 50% increase from the first status report published in September. (Reuters)
Can you take me higher – United Airlines on Wednesday carried out what it called the “most eco-friendly commercial flight of its kind in the history of aviation,” with a trip from its Chicago headquarters to Los Angeles using a 30% biofuel blend. In addition to other measures such as using recyclable or biodegradable products on the flight, United compensated for the remaining emissions by purchasing offsets from the Alto Mayo Forest Carbon Project in northern Peru, run by the airline’s new offset partner Conservation International.
Soaring storage – The US energy storage market set a growth record in Q1 of this year, deploying 148.8 MW – a 232% increase year-on-year – according to the latest Wood Mackenzie US Energy Storage monitor. California led the country in residential and non-residential storage market growth, but New Jersey, Arizona, and Massachusetts dominated front-of-the-meter capacity. (Utility Dive)
Ever heard of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act? – It’s a US federal proposal to put a $15 fee on every tonne of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere (that increases by $10 each year) and rebates all of the revenue back to Americans. Backed by the grassroots environmental group Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL), the bill has gained bipartisan support and more than 40 cosponsors in Congress. CCL estimates the policy will reduce US emissions by at least 40% in its first 12 years, create 2.1 million jobs across the country, and protect low-income communities. If you haven’t been following this bill and the momentum behind it, the time to get plugged in is now. Can this piece of legislation garner widespread support? How did CCL effectively mobilize thousands of Americans to lobby for this proposal? Can revenue neutral carbon pricing be equitable? Can we finally put a price on carbon that accounts for the environmental damage and health issues caused by pollution? Joining Climate XChange to tackle these questions and many more are Adele Morris (Senior Fellow and Policy Director of the Climate and Energy Economics Project at the Brookings Institution) and Daniel Richter (CCL’s Vice President of Government Affairs). Register here
And finally… Tree reprieve – The Canadian federal government on Tuesday announced that it will put up C$15 mln over four years to rescue the 50 Million Tree Program that was cut by Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s administration in its latest budget. In a statement to CBC News, federal environment minister Catherine McKenna said that while Ford cut programmes that support tree-planting and climate change, Ottawa would continue to invest in a clean future for the environment and future generations. The 50 Million Tree Program had an annual budget of C$4.7 million and had planted more than 27 million trees across the province since 2008. Its goal was to have 50 million planted by 2025, but the non-profit group that oversees the programme was told this year that its funding was being eliminated.
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