Presenting CP Daily, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter. It’s a daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here
TOP STORY
Negotiators risk Paris Agreement integrity in effort to clinch Article 6 market deal
A new global carbon market mechanism under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6 risks undermining the landmark climate treaty if negotiators fail to remove a provision in the draft text, observers said Friday.
COP24
Roundup for Dec. 14, 2018
Numerous delays from ongoing Paris rulebook negotiations have pushed the culmination of the UN climate summit past its scheduled conclusion on Friday, with talks slated to go at least through Saturday morning.
Chile to host 2019 UN climate summit after Brazil withdrawal
Chile has been named as the location of next year’s UN climate summit after Brazil withdrew its offer to host.
EMEA
EU Market: Pre-supply drought rally continues as EUAs top €23 for 15% weekly gain
European carbon prices extended this week’s rally on Friday, hitting a three-month high near €24 amid lighter volume and drying up supply.
AMERICAS
Oregon debating set-aside carbon allowance account for poor hydro years
Oregon’s cap-and-trade programme may include a set-aside account that would help utilities during poor hydroelectric generation years.
ASIA PACIFIC
CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending Dec. 14, 2018
Below is a table of the closing prices, ranges and volumes for China’s regional pilot carbon markets this week. All prices are in RMB, and volumes in tonnes of CO2e. Data sourced from local exchanges.
———————————
BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Carbon, the next cash cow – A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report found the US could increase revenues by roughly $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years if it imposed a carbon tax on GHGs. In the report, the CBO looked at the potential impact of a $25/tonne tax on CO2 from the power, manufacturing, and transportation sectors that rises annually by 2%. The report does not outline the potential emission reductions that could be achieved by that proposal. A bipartisan group of US House of Representatives have floated a $15 carbon tax proposal, but it is unlikely to gain enough support in the upcoming legislative session.
Get on it, man! – Almost 100 Democratic lawmakers want the president to heed the warnings of the second volume of the Fourth National Climate Assessment that was released in November. Democrats signed onto a letter requesting President Donald Trump “reconsider maintaining the nation’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and fully implement and enforce the Clean Power Plan, fuel economy standards, methane emission controls, and safeguards for clean air and clean water,” in order to stave off the worst effects of the climate report. (Politico)
Getting on the bandwagon – The Saskatchewan Environmental Society has criticised the province’s climate plan and urged officials to adopt some form of carbon pricing in its new report. The organisation issued a host of recommendations to reduce emissions, including the adoption of a carbon price on emissions that would rise gradually and predictably in the future. The society said it would support the federal government’s ‘backstop’ plan if the province opted not to put a price on carbon, and the report also comes on the heels of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce also endorsing CO2 pricing.
More offshore – Wind energy companies bid record-shattering amounts Thursday for the rights to develop federal waters off the Massachusetts coast. On the first day of the auction, entities offered the US Department of Interior a combined $285 million for three tracts, with the second sale primed to resume on Friday. That lowest bid, $91 mln, already surpasses the highest total of $42 mln last year. Several companies authorised to participate in this auction are the American arms of European entities EDF and Equinor. (Axios)
Grammar check – RGGI revised its final post-2020 Model Rule on Friday for formatting and grammatical errors, the regulator announced. The changes do not effect any of the key elements of the programme that would go into effect in 2021. RGGI announced in Dec. 2017 that it would alter its cap annually by 3%, install an Emissions Containment Reserve (ECR), and implement a bank adjustment in the post-2020 period. The nine states are working to approve those changes via various legislative and regulatory processes.
And finally… Finally getting it – A growing percentage of Americans see climate change as an “imminent” threat driven mainly by human activity, and more than two-thirds want Washington to work with other nations to combat it, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday. The poll, taken from Nov. 29 through Dec. 10, found that 35% of American adults now see global warming as an imminent threat, up from 32% in 2017 and 24% in 2015. More than half, or 57%, also think global warming is caused by “human activity” or “mostly human activity,” up from 47% in 2012. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
Got a tip? Email us at news@carbon-pulse.com
