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TOP STORY
GCF approves funding for host of forest carbon projects
The Green Climate Fund board on Wednesday approved $308 million in funding for new projects of which over 40% will go to forest carbon projects, although the International Finance Corp. withdrew an application for a controversial REDD bond scheme.
EMEA
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal confirms output cuts amid weak market conditions
The world’s biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal has confirmed it will go ahead with previously announced production curbs at its Polish unit due to weak market conditions.
Swiss Federal Council brings EU 2020 carbon market link a step closer
Switzerland’s Federal Council on Wednesday approved measures paving the way for the linking agreement between the country’s carbon market and the EU ETS to enter into force on Jan. 1, 2020.
EU Market: EUAs clamber back from 1-mth low though technicals stay weak
EUAs lifted on Wednesday to edge away from the sub-€24 one-month low of the previous session, as positive economic data and a lack of auction supply supported.
Italy’s Enel advances hedging as coal output drops
Italian utility Enel advanced its EU forward power hedging considerably over Q3 while its coal-based output fell away, giving a bearish signal for EUAs.
ASIA PACIFIC
SK Market: Monthly KAU auction clears at record high
South Korea’s monthly CO2 allowance auction cleared at a record high 36,850 won ($31.55) Wednesday, even well above the secondary market that had surged 1.7% to fresh highs earlier in the day.
AMERICAS
Inflation rises to 1.8% to set California’s ETS 2020 floor price at $16.68
California’s 2020 floor price for its WCI-linked carbon market is set to rise to $16.68 after year-on-year inflation for October came in at 1.8%, according to government data released Wednesday.
California offset issuances rise to 820k with bumper mine methane capture credits
California handed out nearly 821,000 new compliance offsets this week, with the mine methane capture (MMC) and forestry protocols making up a bulk of that new supply, according to data released Wednesday.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
IEA’s world – The world’s CO2 emissions are set to continue rising through 2040 unless there is much greater ambition on climate change, despite the “profound shifts” already underway in the global energy system, the IEA said in its flagship 810-page World Energy Outlook 2019. Moving towards a more ambitious scenario that could give a 50% chance of keeping warming below 1.65C would require “significant reallocation” of investment away from fossil fuels towards efficiency and renewables. The IEA report also found that the amount paid in fossil fuel consumption subsidies worldwide is far above subsidies for renewables, and is massive compared to revenues from carbon pricing systems. “This imbalance greatly complicates the task of achieving an early peak in emissions,” the report states. (Carbon Brief, Axios)
Bloc tactics – Western Canadian provinces seeking more independence from Ottawa should not seek support from the sovereigntist Bloc Quebecois because of the regions’ differing stances on climate policy, party leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Wednesday. Blanchet spoke after emerging from a meeting with newly re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill, where both leaders focused on areas where they could see themselves getting along, including in combating climate change. “If they were attempting to create a green state in Western Canada, I might be tempted to help them,” Blanchet said. “If they are trying to create an oil state in Western Canada, they cannot expect any help from us.” The Bloc more than tripled their seat count to 32 during the October election, giving them sway in Trudeau’s minority Liberal Party government. However, Blanchet added his meeting with Trudeau suggested there will not be anything in the prime minister’s upcoming Dec. 5 throne speech – such as plans to interfere with the Quebec secularism law – to cause his Bloc MPs to vote against it. (The Canadian Press)
Zero of the day – Think-tank Energy Innovation on Tuesday published its fourth and final Forbes column on strategies to hit economy-wide net zero emissions in the US by 2050. The strategies include a 100% by 2050 clean energy standard, an all-electric vehicle by 2030 sales mandate, an all-electric building mandate by 2035, and electrifying and hydrogenising the industrial sector. That was followed on Wednesday by fellow think-tank C2ES publishing its own report for the US acheiving carbon neutrality by mid-century. That agenda includes a long-term federal framework that incorporates economy-wide carbon pricing, complementary federal, state, and local measures addressing key sectors like power, transportation, and industry, and recommendations to drive innovation, mobilise finance, and ensure a just transition.
Ad it up – A Republican-backed group pushing for the US Congress to pass a federal carbon tax launched a six-figure advertising campaign on Wednesday. The campaign from the Americans for Carbon Dividends, the lobbying arm of the Climate Leadership Council, will indefinitely run the 30-second ad, titled “The Bipartisan Climate Solution,” in the Washington DC market on platforms including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, on social media sites YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, and on streaming service Hulu. The Climate Leadership Council’s proposal – which is not yet encapsulated in legislation – would impose a $40/tonne carbon tax that rises by 5% annually, and return the money to Americans through quarterly rebates. While the group recently stripped from its plan a controversial provision that would have protected oil and gas companies from certain lawsuits based on their historical emissions, it retains keeping a plan to scrap or prevent carbon regulations of power plants and all other stationary sources imposed by the US EPA to avoid overlapping policies. (Washington Examiner)
And finally… Death in Venice – The city of Venice is preparing to declare a state of emergency following record-breaking flooding Tuesday night that has killed one and flooded 85% of the city. As the high-water mark hit 74 inches (188 centimetres) Tuesday – the highest tide in 50 years, and the second-highest flood ever recorded – St. Mark’s Square was flooded by more than 3 feet (1 metre) as tourists and residents waded through knee-deep water. St. Mark’s Basilica was flooded for just the sixth time in 1,200 years, but four of these floods have occurred within the past 20 years. “These are the effects of climate change… the costs will be high,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in a tweet. (Climate Nexus)
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