CP Daily: Wednesday September 23, 2015

Published 18:20 on September 23, 2015  /  Last updated at 18:20 on September 23, 2015  / /  Newsletters

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

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MEPs push EU states to ringfence EUAs for climate finance

The EU Parliament’s environment committee on Wednesday urged member states to ringfence some of the revenue to be raised from auctioning post-2020 EUAs for foreign climate aid, piling further pressure on finance chiefs to stump up money for poorer nations.

 

Germany doubles CHP funding in push to hit 2020 emissions target

Germany will double its support for combined heat and power (CHP) plants through a revision to an existing law, the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy announced Wednesday, in an effort to cut the country’s CO2 output by 4 million tonnes and bring it closer to meeting its 2020 emissions goal.

 

EUAs hold above €8 amid strong auction demand

EU carbon prices kept above the €8 mark throughout Wednesday and were boosted by strong demand from a rare Polish auction and favourable signals from the energy complex.

 

EU ETS not driving innovation, not delivering -lead MEP

The EU ETS is failing to deliver emission reductions now or drive innovations for future cuts said Ian Duncan, the MEP that will steer the market’s proposed Phase 4 changes through the bloc’s Parliament.

Bite-sized updates from around the world

It is vital that policymakers in Paris don’t just put a price on carbon, but also allow for market mechanisms as part of any international climate agreement, argues the World Energy Council’s Joan MacNaughton. (Energy Post)

Montenegro today published its INDC, pledging to cut emissions by 30% below 1990 levels by 2030. The Balkan nation, which in 2013 had a population of just over 600,000 and GDP per capita of €5,400, intends to bring its CO2e output down to or below 3.67 million tonnes by 2030, and to sell carbon credits to help achieve that goal.

Mauritania also published its INDC, offering to cut its emissions by 22.3% below BAU levels by 2030. However, the West African nation said just 12% of that goal (so a 2.7% cut) was unconditional, with the remaining 88% (or 19.6% cut) predicated on receiving $8.2 billion in foreign aid.  It also asked for a further $9.4 billion to help it adapt to climate change, while making no mention of whether it intended to use international market-based mechanisms. Check out all INDCs published so far in our Tracker table.

Europe should create CCS hubs to capture CO2 by bundling projects across national borders and industries to drive down costs with economies of scale, industry group ZEP said in an action plan. (Reuters)

Further signals emerged from Australia Wednesday that there is no immediate climate policy change afoot, as the new energy minister, Josh Frydenberg said northern Australia’s A$5 billion infrastructure fund might well be spent on funding coal projects. (Fairfax)

India, US sign MoU on climate change – India and the US have signed a significant MoU on energy security, climate change and clean energy that Secretary of State John Kerry said reflects the commitment of the two countries to make the Paris summit later this year a success. (NDTV)

And finally… Coal is finding its way back into favour in the US, one pizza at a time. Bloomberg reports there is a growing appetite for coal-fired pizza, creating new demand for anthracite (black) coal.

 

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