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TOP STORY
EU carbon price plans for buildings and transport “political suicide”, says lead ENVI lawmaker
Bringing buildings and road transport into the EU ETS would be “political suicide” because of the cost the bloc’s poorest families would bear, according to the European Parliament’s environment committee chair.
ASIA PACIFIC
South Korea sells less than 1% of CO2 allowances on offer at KAU auction
South Korea offered almost 5.6 million KAUs at its last permit auction before next week’s 2020 compliance deadline, but sold fewer than 1% of the units as the market is heavily oversupplied.
NZUs could rise to CCR trigger level ahead of next auction, brokers warn
New Zealand carbon prices may rise to NZ$50 in the secondary market even before the Sep. 1 auction, which could mean the next government sale triggers the release of 7 million permits from the cost containment reserve, brokers Jarden said Friday.
Bhutan to set up carbon fund to help finance climate plans
Bhutan has submitted an updated NDC to the UN, pledging to remain carbon neutral but also planning a number of climate initiatives that it intends to finance in part through a carbon fund and a domestic REDD+ programme.
EMEA
Euro Markets: EUAs extend 5-week rally to bring all-time high back into view
EUAs stretched their five-week rally on Friday after a strong auction, but then slipped back on pre-weekend profit-taking to notch a solid 6.1% weekly gain to leave prices within reach of their record.
French govt advisors suggest creation of EU carbon central bank
Several economic advisors to the French government have suggested an EU carbon central bank as an alternative to a price corridor to manage long-term carbon cost stability, according to a paper released on Friday.
AMERICAS
US Supreme Court overturns biofuel waiver ruling in victory for small refiners
Small refineries regulated under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) do not need to continuously receive compliance waivers to qualify for such relief in future years, the US Supreme Court ruled Friday in a split decision that overturned a lower court ruling.
Speculators’ CCA length sees more gradual rises as prices hit new peak
California Carbon Allowance (CCA) positions held by financial firms increased slightly over the past week, but the week-on-week gains slowed considerably after seeing a torrid pace over the previous month, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.
California gasoline sales gain YoY in March for first time since pandemic began
California gasoline consumption recorded the first year-on-year rise for 13 months in March, but the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to push Golden State gas fuel demand beneath historic levels, according to state data released this week.
US Carbon Pricing and LCFS Roundup for week ending June 25, 2021
A summary of legislative and regulatory action on carbon pricing, clean fuel standards, and clean energy at the US subnational and federal level this week, including developments in federal methane regulations, California, and Iowa.
VOLUNTARY
Singapore Airlines launches voluntary offset programme
Singapore Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary Scoot on Friday launched a voluntary offset programme for its passengers, which will be extended to cargo customers from next month.
ICYM
ANALYSIS: Removal-based credits, governance body proving contentious in offset taskforce consultation
Plans from the private sector-led Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) to distinguish between voluntary emissions reductions (VERs) that avoid or remove GHGs are emerging as a key sticking point in an ongoing consultation, as some worry about potential overstep with existing crediting standards or conflicts of interest that may arise through the creation of a governance body.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Carbon Pulse has teamed up with CME Group to provide its clients with regular updates on the global carbon markets. Check out these briefs for the latest insights on pressing trends and events impacting markets, published every other week. Registration required
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EMEA
Farming filip – EU negotiators have struck a deal on reforms to the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy, ending three years of struggle to agree to spend €387 bln, around a third of the EU’s 2021-27 budget, on payments to farmers and support for rural development from 2023. The deal aims to shift money from intensive farming practices to protecting nature, and rein in the 10% of the bloc’s agriculture GHG emissions. It requires countries to initially spend 20% of payments on eco-schemes such as restoring wetlands or organic farming. (Reuters)
ASIA PACIFIC
A little bit greener – China has gotten a lot of criticism in recent years for funding high-polluting projects under its Belt and Road Initiative. This week 29 of the involved nations, including Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Vietnam, signed a “Green Development Partnership Initiative”, which mentioned the Paris Agreement and the need for every country to deal with climate change. The agreement lacked specifics, though observers said China has previously refrained from imposing green objectives on participating nations, and that this deal might add some impetus to focus on cleaner projects.
AMERICAS
Bridge brief betrayal – President Joe Biden’s administration sided with Canadian pipeline company Enbridge on Wednesday, when it filed a brief asking a federal court to throw out a legal challenge from tribes and environmental groups over the construction of the Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline. While the Army Corps of Engineers could still revoke the permits, issued in the final days of the Trump administration, the administration’s defence of the pipeline is “a betrayal of the Indian people,” Winona LaDuke, executive director and a co-founder of Honor the Earth, told the New York Times. On Thursday, Minnesota Public Radio reported Enbridge had received an amended permit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources allowing them to pump nearly 10 times as much water from the ground to build the pipeline – which Native groups worry will threaten vital water resources – than their permits originally allowed. (Climate Nexus)
VOLUNTARY
October skies – The airline industry’s global trade group IATA will propose a net zero 2050 target and ask carriers to adopt the goal at its annual meeting in Boston in October, according to its boss Willie Walsh. While airlines including IAG, Delta, and United have made net zero commitments, IATA hasn’t updated its own 2050 goal of a 50% cut under 2005 levels since 2009, while the sector’s emissions have soared. Walsh argues that while there’s little that carriers can do on their own, there’s a credible path toward carbon neutrality if governments, oil companies, and planemakers pitch in to do their share by supporting sustainable fuel development, building cleaner planes, and enabling more efficient routing. (Bloomberg)
AND FINALLY…
Donor demand – Individuals and companies linked to the oil and gas industries have donated at least £419,000 to the UK’s ruling Conservative party in the past year, while the government mulled controversial new licences to explore the North Sea for fossil fuel production sites it eventually cleared in March, The Guardian reported in a collaboration with climate investigative journalism website DeSmog. The paper pointed out that the companies or their senior personnel listed as donors made no direct representations to the government over the award of oil and gas licences, adding that ministers held no meetings with the companies in the past year. A government spokesperson said the UK was working hard to cut fossil fuel demand and eliminate Britain’s contribution to climate change, but stressed that there will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas.
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