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OUR TOP NEWS:
EPA to next target methane emissions from US oil & gas sector -media
The US Environmental Protection Agency will later on Tuesday propose regulations to curb methane emissions from the country’s oil and natural-gas industry as the next step in President Obama’s climate change strategy, American media reported citing unnamed sources.
Scottish Power confirms closure of coal-fired plant in March 2016 due to CO2 prices
UK utility ScottishPower confirmed on Tuesday it will close its Longannet coal-fired power plant at the end of March 2016, citing a combination of high carbon prices and transmission fees.
EUAs inch higher to keep 2.5-year highs in reach
EU carbon prices recovered from an early dip on Tuesday to consolidate much of last week’s 54-cent rise that saw prices set a new 33-month record high of €8.36.
Voluntary market data from CTX as of August 14, 2015
Table of Verified Emission Reduction (VER) prices and offered volumes, based on voluntary market data from Carbon Trade Exchange.
COMMENT: Emissions trading in China – Early lessons from low-carbon pilots
The Chinese market will significantly alter the balance of power in global carbon markets in the mid-term, writes Lasse Ringius, a senior carbon finance specialist at the World Bank’s IFC.
Norway’s wealth fund bars 4 Asian firms on deforestation grounds
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, said it will divest from four major Asian companies due to concerns that they are involved in deforestation.
Bite-sized updates from around the world:
Two ‘D’ republics submit INDCs: The heavily forested Democratic Republic of Congo became the 56th UNFCCC party to send its INDC. It has pledged to cut emissions 17% from BAU levels by 2030, a reduction of just over 70 million tonnes over 430 million tonnes in 2009 by taking action on land use, agriculture and energy. It includes a pledge to plant 3 million hectares of forest by 2025, sequestering about 3 million tonnes of CO2e.
It was closely followed by the 56th, with the Dominican Republic pledging to cut emissions 25% below 2010 levels by 2030, with a five-year review. It said the goal was conditional upon “favorable and predictable support, feasible climate finance mechanisms, and corrections to the failures of existing market mechanisms.”
For details on all the INDCs to date, first check our INDC Tracker.
INDCs should present some form of a development roadmap and GHG emission budget for major sectors of the economy from now to 2030, argues former Sindicatum CDM policy head Gareth Phillips, now the African Development Bank’s Chief Climate and Green Growth Officer. “If COP21 in Paris produces a climate agreement, those budgets will become binding and every funder will need to ask the question ‘Is this project part of your INDC?’ Even if Paris fails to reach an agreement, funders may elect to refer to INDCs as an indicator of “acceptable” investments. (Sindicatum blog)
The trillion-dollar hole in Abbott’s climate policy logic: A new report from global investment giant Citigroup has blown a great big hole in the Abbott government’s logic for aiming low on emissions reduction and renewable energy growth. (Renew Economy)
Islamic experts urge more Muslim action on climate change: A group of Islamic experts urged the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims on Tuesday to do more to fight global warming, in a new example of religious efforts to galvanize action before the UN climate summit in Paris in December. (Reuters)
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