EU Commission chief warns that bloc won’t sign weak climate deal

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned that the EU will not sign up to a global climate deal at any price and urged other nations to match the bloc’s ambition.

SocGen ups EUA price forecast 6% on Paris deal optimism

French investment bank Societe General increased its EU carbon price forecasts for the first time since March, citing the effect of supply-curbing reforms and optimism over prospects that a global climate deal will be struck in Paris in December.

EUAs climb to 2-week high as spirits lifted among bulls

EU carbon prices hit their highest levels for 10 sessions on Wednesday as traders bet on further near-term gains after prices moved out of a brief downward trend.

China’s first carbon efficiency index to launch on Oct. 8

Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and China Securities Index (CSI) will on Oct. 8 launch China’s first carbon efficiency index, which will include data for a number of China’s biggest emitters.

Bite-sized updates from around the world:

US-China: Climate change challenge and opportunity – With the all-important Paris Conference just around the corner, now could be the perfect time for the world’s two largest economies to draft a long-term carbon mitigation policy a structured plan to wrestle the world’s temperature rises to below two degrees by the middle of this century, writes Greenpeace’s Li Shuo. (The Diplomat)

China must embrace its global climate obligations, Premier Li Keqiang said, adding that complaints that China’s slowing economy was dragging down global growth had to take into account the strenuous efforts it was making to clean up its environment. (Reuters)

Red lines on a green field – Shyam Saran, a special climate change envoy for India’s Prime Minister between 2007 and 2010, offers some personal observations ahead of the Paris talks. His tips for what India should do this time around: make consistent, credible and unambiguous high-level statements, carefully watch the host country’s actions, ensure that the key principles of CBDR are not diluted or eliminated, and project the logic of its negotiating position and its ambitious domestic actions and future plans. “We must not be seduced by notions of being in the big league or at the high table and thereby sacrifice our interests and lose the bargaining clout that we have precisely because much of the developing world takes its cue from us.” (Hindustan Times)

Ecuador favours a small tax on oil exports to help pay for climate projects rather than depending on rich countries for cash, Ecuadorian climate envoy Daniel Ortega Pacheco told RTCC. He said a 3-5% tax on every barrel of oil exported to the developed world could raise US$30 billion a year for the UN-backed Green Climate Fund.

Australia’s CEFC backs large-scale solar programme – The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) today announced a A$250 million boost to the construction of large-scale solar developments in Australia. When fully deployed, the CEFC financing programme will represent the largest lending commitment to the large-scale solar sector in Australia to date.

UK lawmakers debate CCS levy – Lawmakers in the upper house of the UK parliament are debating an amendment to an energy bill this week that could see North Sea oil and gas extraction companies forced to pay for a portion of their fuel’s oil and gas content to be stored underground. The measure could help boost the prospects of fledgling CCS projects, but would hurt profits at the companies, which have already seen profits dented by falling oil prices. The levy would not affect power generators or refiners whose CO2 output is already regulated under the EU ETS and/or UK carbon floor price. (Financial Times)

And finally… Renewables accounted for a whopping 32% of German power production in the first half of the year (yes, that’s a record).  This has contributed to the country’s power prices dropping below €30/MWh ($33.50) for the first time in years.  (Süddeutsche Zeitung, in German and courtesy of Clean Energy Wire)

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