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TOP STORIES
Cross-sector alliance pushes for EU ‘green recovery’ as EU ministers divided
Pressure is mounting on EU institutions to tie post-coronavirus stimulus packages with the EU Green Deal, as ministers from the 27-nation bloc appear divided over the role of sustainability in tackling the crisis.
CARBON PULSE CONVERSATIONS 002: ClearBlue Markets
In the second episode of our new coronavirus-era podcast, Carbon Pulse speaks with Toronto-based analysts and consultants ClearBlue Markets about the pandemic’s effects on the WCI cap-and-trade programme and Canadian carbon pricing systems.
ASIA PACIFIC
Draft China energy law pushes carbon emissions cuts, but vague on policy
China’s National Energy Administration on Friday published a draft version of the nation’s first-ever energy law, stressing the need to cut carbon emissions in its energy system and proposing to give renewables preferential access to the grid.
Beijing delays ETS compliance deadline, holds off on aviation
The Beijing municipal government has pushed back the 2019 compliance deadline for its emissions trading scheme to October, while holding off introducing obligations for its aviation sector.
China’s Guangdong to hold CO2 auction on Apr. 27
China’s Guangdong province will hold the first of two planned auctions for the 2019 compliance year of its emissions trading scheme on Apr. 27, the local emissions exchange said Tuesday.
Australian agency flags potential climate risk to offset programme
Australia’s Climate Change Authority is making potential climate risk to the country’s carbon offset portfolio a key issue in this year’s legislated review of the government’s Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), the agency said Tuesday.
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending Apr. 10, 2020
Closing prices, ranges and volumes for China’s regional pilot carbon markets.
EMEA
Virus impact prompts Netherlands to delay carbon tax on ETS-covered industry -media
The Netherlands will postpone plans to implement a carbon tax from next year on industrial firms included in the EU ETS due to the coronavirus impact, national media said on Friday, citing unnamed cabinet sources.
EU Market: EUAs tumble back below €20 after breaking technical supports
EUAs slid 6% on Tuesday after a weak auction and mixed signals from wider markets helped pushed carbon below a key technical support level near €20.
Estonia not leaving the EU ETS, says prime minister
Estonia has no intention of leaving the EU ETS, the country’s prime minister told national media on Tuesday, following a formal call from its finance minister to temporarily exit the bloc’s carbon market amid the coronavirus crisis.
AMERICAS
Financial participants trim California carbon position amid further price drops
Speculators cut California Carbon Allowance (CCA) holdings for a fourth straight week amid further volatile trading, with compliance entities growing their position, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Friday.
California’s carbon floor price set to rise by at least 5% in 2021, despite inflation cut
California’s ETS floor price is on track to rise sightly more than 5% next year despite inflation dropping month-on-month in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to federal data released Friday.
PJM estimates greater COVID-19 power impacts after accounting for weather
US regional grid operator PJM has seen significant reductions in peak and total power demand as a result of the widening COVID-19 pandemic, likely cutting CO2 obligations from RGGI-covered electricity generators in the Mid-Atlantic.
Maine seeks written comment period for RGGI rulemaking due to COVID-19 pandemic
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has requested that a public hearing on the proposed post-2020 RGGI Model Rule updates be shifted into a written comment period due to the coronavirus situation.
LCFS Market: California prices rise following PG&E sale
California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) prices have bounced back after utility Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) credit auction last week, though national and state-level fuel data still suggest bearish near-term fundamentals for the transportation sector programme.
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Job listings this week
- Chief Executive Officer, Beyond Zero Emissions – Melbourne
- Team Leader, Emissions Trading Scheme Compliance, NZ Environmental Protection Authority – Wellington
- Analyst in Environmental Policy, Legislative Branch, Library of Congress – Washington DC
Or click here to see all our job adverts
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Pledge pause – China could delay submitting its updated Paris pledge until after the Nov. 3 US presidential election as officials focus on reviving the economy from an unprecedented virus-led slowdown, experts have warned, with one suggesting China and India could send nominal NDC updates to the UN before the end of the year and decide to enhance their targets at a later date. (Climate Home)
Don’t waste it – The New Zealand government should use the economic stimulus package being developed amid the coronavirus crisis to speed up progress on climate change rather than exacerbating the problem, the Climate Change Commission – an advisory body to the government – has said in an open letter. The panel provided a series of principles officials should adopt when developing a package, Stuff reported, including ensuring that the national ETS provides a clear signal for credible low-carbon investment, which means the ongoing market reforms have to be completed as planned.
A shade lower – Japan emitted 1,240 MtCO2e in FY2018, the environment ministry confirmed Tuesday. That’s a shade lower than the 1,244 Mt its preliminary data suggested back in November, as reported by Carbon Pulse. That brings the East Asian nation to near the halfway mark to meeting its Paris target to cut GHG greenhouse gas output 26% below 2013 levels by 2013. But despite the success, Japan decided against upping its target when it released a new NDC last month.
This one goes to 11 – Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) on Sunday signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, an omnibus clean energy bill that includes the implementation of the state’s RGGI-aligned ETS regulation. The bill authorises Virginia to implement its current power sector cap-and-trade regulation, with the new ability to implement state-run allowance auctions. Experts anticipate the earliest Virginia can join the regional Northeast and Mid-Atlantic carbon market is 2021, which would expand the number of member jurisdictions to 11. (WWBT)
May the task force be with you – US Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders endorsed presumptive nominee Joe Biden on Monday, which included a new plan for them to form joint “task forces” on six big topics including climate change. The makeup of the climate change task force was not available, though a Biden campaign aide told Axios the groups would be “comprised of policy experts and leaders that represent the diverse viewpoints of the Democratic party”. Sanders, who suspended his campaign last week, is staying on the ballot for the remaining US primary elections in order to exert further influence at the nominating convention later this summer.
And finally… It’s a jungle out there – Global tech and shipping behemoth Amazon has fired two employees who were outspoken critics of its climate policies and who had publicly denounced the conditions at its warehouses as unsafe during the coronavirus pandemic. One of the fired workers, Emily Cunningham, a user experience designer who is part of the group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, had offered on Twitter to match donations up to $500 to Amazon warehouse workers, arguing that the company’s current lack of safe and sanitary working conditions put them and the public at risk. Amazon’s external communications policy prohibits employees from commenting publicly on its business without corporate justification and approval from executives, but Cunningham said the company wanted her gone for a while after criticising Amazon’s climate policies at a shareholder meeting last year and condemning its work with oil and gas companies on social media and in news reports. (The Washington Post)
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