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TOP STORY
Fourteen offset programmes apply for ICAO’s CORSIA aviation mechanism
UN aviation body ICAO’s expert panel will consider 14 emissions unit programme applications for the global offsetting mechanism CORSIA, with the submissions ranging from Kyoto era offset programmes and REDD initiatives to jurisdictional schemes in China, the Middle East, and Poland.
AMERICAS
California cap-and-trade rulemaking process could get pushed to 2020, sources say
California regulator ARB is likely to begin revamping various parts of its WCI-linked ETS in 2020, regulatory sources said, but agency officials have not ruled out starting the process later this year.
Washington state CO2 taxes could have disrupted stock prices without other safeguards -study
Failed efforts to impose a carbon tax in Washington state would have likely exerted significant financial pressure on downstream firms in the Pacific Northwest state by creating a stranded asset risk, according to new research.
EMEA
EU Market: EUAs dip further below €29 as trade war fears pervade
EUAs edged lower early on Tuesday, though a strong auction helped steady prices, which continue to appear shaken along with wider financial markets by this week’s escalation of the US-China trade war.
ASIA PACIFIC
Australian developer offers cash prize for soil carbon projects
Project developer AgriProve is offering a cash prize to farmers who come up with high quality soil carbon projects as part of a A$150 million ($102 mln) budget to help drive new sector activity in the Australian carbon market.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Off the table – Germany’s Christian Democrats (CDU) will next month decide against carbon taxes in favour of more market-oriented solutions to tighten climate policy, a senior party official told the Rheinische Post newspaper on Tuesday. “We have to be the ones who set standards with technology,” said Carsten Linnemann, a deputy chairman of the parliamentary group of chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative alliance. “A CO2 tax by contrast does little.” Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the political leader of Germany’s main governing party, aims to present the CDU’s position on strengthening climate policy by mid-September. (Montel)
German budget – The German finance ministry is mulling a review of the federal budget based on sustainability criteria in order to prepare the issuing of a green state bond, a ministry source said. The €360 billion/year state budget would have to be screened for ‘green expenses’ that could then be used to back the environmental credentials of the issued bonds. Expenses could be investments in e-mobility, energy efficiency or other activities aimed at emissions reduction and should initially serve to “create a market” for the instrument. (Clean Energy Wire)
Going the wrong way – Over the first six months of the year, China approved new coal mines with a total capacity to produce 141 million tonnes of coal annually, compared to just 25 Mt during all of 2018, Reuters reports, citing government documents. The move comes as industry groups are pushing for the world’s biggest-emitting nation to keep increasing its coal-fired generation capacity, although observers said much of the newly-approved capacity would likely replace old or depleted mines.
Paris only – In Australia, the NSW independent planning commission is in the process of deciding whether to approve a new coal mine, jointly owned by Glencore and Peabody. The commission has proposed – but not decided – that approval could be given on the condition that the coal from the mine is only sold to countries that are part of the Paris Agreement, according to the Guardian. This would guarantee that carbon emissions from the coal will be regulated by the global climate treaty even when it is burned outside of Australia, the commission argues. Some observers back the idea, while others say it is meaningless given that “almost everyone” is part of Paris, and current commitments still leave the world on a path to 3C warming.
Little by little – Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) continues to generate a small trickle of carbon credits, which is expected to increase over the next few years as more projects get registered. This week, two Thailand-based projects earned a total 2,519 credits, of which the Japanese government retained 1,260 because it had subsidised equipment used in the pair of energy-saving schemes, according to the environment ministry.
Survey worries – Europeans are more worried about climate change than unemployment, the economy, or terrorism, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey of EU citizens. The data were gathered before the record-breaking temperatures across much of Europe last month and reports of the largest single-day loss of Greenland’s ice sheet. Ursula von der Leyen, the incoming president of the European Commission, has vowed to raise as much as 1 trillion euros ($1.12 trillion) in investment to fight climate change over the coming decade. (Bloomberg)
And finally… Electric dreams – Four Japanese companies have teamed up form new company e5 Lab to build the world’s first zero-emission tanker by mid-2021, which will be powered by large-capacity batteries and will operate in Tokyo Bay. The venture between Asahi Tanker, Exeno Yamamizu, Mitsui OSK Lines, and Mitsubishi comes as the global maritime industry is facing an onslaught of legislation to improve its environmental performance. (Bloomberg)
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