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TOP STORY
Funding issues throw spanner in the works for Brazilian REDD -report
REDD activities in Brazil are facing a finance gap that is threatening the nation’s efforts to halt carbon emissions from deforestation, a report has found.
ASIA-PACIFIC
China’s REC market off to slow start as green credentials questioned
Trading has been slow in the first month of China’s green certificate scheme amid a lack of demand and clarity over how it fits in with the country’s other environmental and climate programmes.
Chinese car-share firm partners with carbon specialists
A car-share company affiliated with the BAIC Group, one of China’s biggest electric vehicle makers, has teamed up with the Elion Carbon Asset Management Company to examine the potential for monetising low-carbon transport efforts.
SK Market: Korean CO2 price shackled as market awaits news
South Korea’s CO2 price hasn’t budged for a month as the market awaits news on next year’s allocation and new offset rules.
EMEA
EU Market: Carbon rises after bidder causes auction to clear at record 34-cent premium
European carbon allowances rose on Tuesday after the day’s auction cleared at an astonishing 34 cents above market following aggressive bidding by a single participant.
UK Committee on Climate Change starts hunt for new chief executive
The UK’s advisory Committee on Climate Change, an independent body that provides the government expertise on climate science and policy, economics, business competitiveness, and financial management, has started the hunt for a new chief executive.
AMERICAS
RGGI states to reap $3.2 billion more in proceeds under most ambitious CO2 cut scenario -study
RGGI’s member states would raise $3.2 billion more in revenues by choosing the most ambitious emissions reduction option over the existing cap cut of 2.5%/year, a new study shows.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Inside the fence – Trump administration officials are planning to replace the US Clean Power Plan with a narrower set of regulations aimed at thermal efficiency improvements at coal-fired power plants, S&P Global Market Intelligence reports quoting anonymous sources. The new rules – similar to those floated by EPA boss Scott Pruitt as an alternative to the CPP back in 2014 when he challenged the federal rules as Oklahoma attorney general – would require only plant upgrades that can be made “inside the fence” of existing power plants. In contrast, the CPP compelled plant owners to seek additional emissions abatement from other sources, such as procuring renewables, while also laying the groundwork for states to use trading mechanisms to hit their federally-imposed emissions reduction targets. The so-called ‘fenceline provision’ was a key argument that CPP critics, including the current EPA administrator, used to challenge the regulations in court last year. Environmentalists said they will sue over any rollback of the carbon rules. Read more on this from Utility Dive.
Methane blow – Dealing a legal blow to the Trump administration, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday that the EPA cannot suspend an Obama-era rule to restrict methane emissions from new oil and gas wells, The New York Times reports. The 2-to-1 decision from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is a legal setback for Trump and Pruitt, signalling that their efforts to simply delay environmental and public health actions are likely to face an uphill battle in the courts and require a more painstaking process. Pruitt had imposed a 90-day moratorium, which he later extended to two years, on enforcement of parts of the EPA’s methane regulations, while also arguing that his action was not subject to court review. But the appeals court ruled that the agency’s decision was “unreasonable,” “arbitrary,” and “capricious,” adding that the EPA did not have authority under the Clean Air Act to block the rule.
Fizzle, not a bang – Environmentalists say that the forthcoming Department of Energy (DOE) study that is expected to make the case for supporting US baseload power plants and electric grid reliability is “more likely to end with a fizzle than a bang” because the department has limited regulatory authority to prop up coal and nuclear plants that provide baseload power. (InsideEPA, $)
Stop that! – The Beijing municipal government has filed its first lawsuit against a company breaking environmental regulations, according to local media reports. The lawsuit is against a steel company accused of discharging hazardous industrial waste, but is a signal Chinese authorities are stepping up action against polluters ignoring regulations – including those about to be brought into the national emissions trading scheme. (Sixth Tone)
Colombian CERs wanted – Terra Commodities has posted an expression of interest to buy around 200,000 issued CERs from projects originated in Colombia. The firm says the credits can come from any sector and must have been generated in 2010 or later. Colombia earlier this year introduced a $5/tonne carbon tax, with which emitters can comply using Colombian offsets. And with CER prices currently languishing at below $0.25 on European exchanges, that could prove to be a profitable trade.
And finally… Sea levels aren’t the only thing rising around here – Late-night TV host Stephen Colbert and former US Vice President and climate campaigner Al Gore share some of their best climate-change-themed pick-up lines for those seeking a date to accompany them to An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power?, the follow-up to Gore’s 2006 documentary.
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