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TOP STORIES
Oregon ETS bill “dead” as Republican Senators set to return Saturday, GOP leader says
Oregon Senate Republicans will return to the legislature this weekend after receiving assurances from Democrats that their proposed cap-and-trade bill will not move forward during the 2019 session, the GOP party leader said Friday.
Ontario court deems Canadian ‘backstop’ CO2 pricing plan constitutional
The Ontario Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Ottawa has the authority to impose its ‘backstop’ carbon pricing policy on the recalcitrant province, marking the second provincial court in as many months to rule in favour of the federal government on its landmark climate strategy.
EMEA
Netherlands greenlights plans for carbon tax on ETS-covered industry
The Netherlands government on Friday announced plans to impose a carbon tax on industrial firms included in the EU ETS as part of its national climate strategy.
EU Market: EUAs drop further below €27 amid quarter-end profit-taking
EUAs fell further below €27 early on Friday as quarter-end profit-taking saw carbon give back more of the week’s gains that had pushed prices to a two-month high.
German emitters slow EUA auction buys in May as prices slip -report
German emitters slowed their EU Allowance buying in May as prices slipped, a government report published on Friday showed.
AMERICAS
Canada releases federal offset paper as it finalises OBPS, delays CFS regulations
The Canadian environment ministry published a discussion paper on Friday for developing a federal offset programme for use under its ‘backstop’ output-based pricing system (OBPS), while it also finalised those regulations for the large emitter trading system and delayed draft regulations for the Clean Fuel Standard (CFS).
US Carbon Pricing Roundup for week ending June 28
A summary of legislative and regulatory action on carbon pricing and clean energy at the US sub-national and federal level taken this week, including Massachusetts approving long-term hydroelectric contracts, Maine’s renewable energy bills, and California legislation targeting WCI offsets.
ASIA PACIFIC
Coal mine power stations take lion’s share of Australia’s latest offset issuance
Three EDL-operated coal mine methane power stations earned over 330,000 carbon credits this week as Australia’s weekly offset issuance neared 800,000.
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending June 28, 2019
Closing prices, ranges and volumes for China’s regional pilot carbon markets this week.
VOLUNTARY
Finland to overcompensate for EU presidency flight emissions
Finland will buy 130,000 Gold Standard CERs from developer South Pole to overcompensate for flight emissions during its upcoming six-month term holding the rotating EU Presidency.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Probable pause – Poland will “probably” support a net zero emissions 2050 target for the EU by the end of this year, marking a surprising reversal for the country that was among four that blocked the target last week at an EU leaders’ summit. Energy minister Tomasz Dabrowski said his government would “need to know what the cost will be, and in what way we can mitigate the social impact of the whole transformation”. Separately, European economists have issued a call for governments to adopt national carbon taxes and toughen the EU ETS to underpin any new pledge of climate neutrality. The “economists’ statement on carbon pricing”, launched this week by the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, marks an intervention in the EU’s heated debate on adopting a net zero target and reflects a concern that European politicians – while potentially willing to sign up to ambitious long-term targets to slash emissions – will be reluctant to push through the tax increases required to cut carbon emissions in the least costly way. (Financial Times)
Lean fifteen – The climate questions came and went again last night, and while some US Democratic candidates used the time to tout their policy plans, President Donald Trump emerged as the top talking point. Overall, the 20 US Democratic presidential hopefuls spent just 15 minutes discussing climate change over a combined four hours of debate this week, drawing criticism despite far surpassing the amount of time spent on the issue in all of the 2016 debates. Moderators at Thursday night’s second debate once again introduced climate-related topics late into the evening, spending just eight minutes on the issue and directing questions that climate journalists called “simplistic,” “muddled,” “shallow,” and “poorly-worded”. (Climate Nexus, Politico)
Not the only ones – French lawmakers on Thursday voted into law the first article in a national climate and energy package that sets goals for the country to cut its GHGs and go carbon-neutral by 2050. The French National Assembly also approved the closure of all of France’s 2.3 GW in coal-fired power capacity by 2022. The announcement was drowned out in the English media by Britain passing similar net zero legislation the same day. (Reuters)
Raising the stakes – Norway wants to cut its GHG emissions 90-95% below 1990 levels by 2050 without using any carbon credits, Climate Change Minister Ola Elvestuen has told newspaper Dagbladet in an interview. The minister says he wants to change the nation’s climate legislation to enshrine the new target in law. Norway’s current legal goal in to cut emissions 80-95% by 2050, allowing for a limited use of international credits.
Fun fact – Air New Zealand has discovered customers in the UK are more than twice as likely to offset the carbon impact of their flights than those in Australia and New Zealand. Just under one in 10 journeys from the UK were offset compared to 7.2% from the US, 6% from Canada, and 4.2% from Australia. But more of the airline’s passengers have chosen to tick the carbon offset box in the past 12 months. This saw them offset 174,000 trips and 50,000 tonnes of carbon, up 34.5% on the previous financial year. The findings were among a number of “fun facts” collated by Kiwi carrier about its 2018-19 financial year operations. (AirlineRatings)
And finally… I’ll be back… as a car salesman – Former California Governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the Golden State as an undercover car salesman in a new commercial, trying to convince prospective electric vehicle buyers to buy a gas-powered car instead. The ad, organised by EV non-profit group Veloz, uses a tongue-in-cheek approach to extol the virtues of electric cars by highlighting the drawbacks of their gas-powered counterparts. Schwarzenegger, who goes by the name Howard Kleiner in the commercial, tries to argue that pollution caused by gas-powered vehicles is actually a good thing because it helps stem population growth, while also repeatedly revving the engine of a Hummer. The video can be viewed here for your enjoyment. (BGR)
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