Newsletters > CP Daily: Monday July 29, 2019

CP Daily: Monday July 29, 2019

Published 22:59 on July 29, 2019  /  Last updated at 22:59 on July 29, 2019  / Carbon Pulse /  Newsletters

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

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TOP STORY

ANALYSIS: Alberta offset prices seen higher after gov’t comments, but uncertainty remains

Alberta offset prices could rise over the remainder of the year after the government suggested it will abandon a lower CO2 price in overhauling its large emitter trading programme, but several outstanding political and design-related factors leave some doubts.

INTERNATIONAL

New REDD standard targets heavily forested countries for national-scale GHG reductions

A new REDD standard will look to incentivise national-scale emission reductions in high forest cover, low deforestation (HFLD) countries, and the resulting carbon credits will be designed for use in a variety of compliance and voluntary markets.

AMERICAS

TCI’s approach to regulating transportation emissions could miss some suppliers -source

Small US fuel suppliers may be able to duck their compliance obligations under the Transportation and Climate Initiative’s (TCI) proposed carbon market if its 10 member jurisdictions opt to use a federal designation in determining the programme’s regulated entities, a regulatory source told Carbon Pulse.

EMEA

EU Market: Early EUA gains unravel as energy, Brexit fears weigh

European carbon prices rose on Monday as traders looked to the start of a month-long supply squeeze, but the bulk of the gains were short-lived amid bearish factors and mounting concerns over the rising risk of a no-deal Brexit.

ASIA PACIFIC

NZ Market: NZUs get bump on fresh demand

New Zealand carbon allowances moved to a 5-week high on Monday as fresh demand entered the market.

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SAVE THE DATE

CARBON FORWARD 2019: Survive and thrive in the global carbon markets

Learn how to survive and thrive in carbon markets by joining us at the 4th annual CARBON FORWARD conference & training day where we will be joined by the pre-eminent experts to discuss a programme developed by environmental market experts and based on feedback from companies like yours.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Warning – The British government on Monday reiterated its warning for holders of accounts in the UK’s Kyoto Protocol National Registry that under a no-deal Brexit, they may lose access to the platform as well as their transaction history after Oct. 31.  The government said it “continues to explore options including retaining access to the existing Kyoto Protocol registry and the procurement of an alternative Kyoto Protocol registry system … [However,] if existing registry access cannot be retained in the event of an Oct. 31 no-deal exit, there is likely to be a gap in service before the new system can be implemented.” The government is making preparations with a view to establishing a new system by early 2021, but it suggested that:

  • Account holders who use their accounts to hold and trade CERs and ERUs should consider opening an account in another country’s Kyoto registry for this purpose
  • CDM project developers should consider this information carefully before approaching the UK’s Designated National Authority for new letters of approval (LOA)
  • CDM project developers who have previously received an LOA from the UK Designated National Authority should consider whether to reapply for an LOA from a different Designated National Authority and the timescales for securing this

To mitigate risk, accountholders should also consider downloading their previous UK registry account histories before the UK leaves the EU and retaining the data for record-keeping purposes. Under a no-deal Brexit, UK-based entities will also lose access to their accounts in the EU ETS Union Registry, and therefore should make similar preparations.

Amazon bungle – The right-wing administration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has reduced the monitoring of industry in protected areas of the Amazon, The New York Times reports. An analysis of public records by the paper shows that enforcement actions, such as fines and warnings against loggers, ranchers, and miners illegally operating in the Amazon, have dropped by 20% since the Bolsonaro administration took power seven months ago. Over that period, government figures show the Amazon has lost more than 1,330 square miles (3,440 sq. kilometres) of forest cover – a nearly 40% increase from 2018. The Times report comes as Bolsonaro has raised his rhetoric on the Amazon in recent weeks, calling the government’s own deforestation figures “lies” last week and telling foreign journalists “the Amazon is ours, not yours.”

Carbon competitiveness – Massachusetts senator and US Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Monday released her trade plan that includes a CO2 border adjustment for imported goods made using “carbon-intensive processes”. The strategy calls for protecting domestic green policies from possible World Trade Organization challenges, and defends the border adjustment as a means of preventing companies from moving to countries with weaker GHG standards. Warren’s proposal would also require that the new or existing trade agreements only include countries that are parties to the Paris Agreement, bucking the US’ planned Nov. 2020 exit from the 2015 climate pact under President Trump. (CNN)

Jay on justice – Washington governor and US Democratic presidential candidate Jay Inslee is proposing to open a federal office of environmental justice if elected next November. In the policy unveiled Monday, Inslee would turn the White House Council on Environmental Quality into the Council on Environmental Justice. The plan would also guarantee $1.2 trillion of his climate policy’s overall clean energy investments would go straight to low-income communities, along with creating an energy fund to help these families pay their bills. (The Hill)

Waivers in weeks – The US EPA hopes to rule in the next few weeks on last year’s 38 small refinery exemption (SRE) applications under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Monday. The agency had reportedly been close to issuing a decision on the compliance waivers in June before President Trump intervened and demanded a review of the programme, after hearing from angry Midwestern farmers about the issue. Wheeler added that a decision would follow in the next month “at most”. (Reuters)

And finally… Godspeed us to sea – Teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will sail across the Atlantic next month on a high-speed racing yacht to attend UN climate summits in New York and Chile as part of the 16-year-old’s sabbatical year in the US. The yacht, owned by German property developer Gerhard Senft, is equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines to generate zero-carbon electricity. On her voyage to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ September climate summit in New York and December’s COP26 in Santiago, Thunberg will be joined by the boat’s skipper, her father, the grandson of Monaco’s late Prince Rainer III and Grace Kelly, and a film-maker. (The Guardian)

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