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TOP STORIES

ANALYSIS: EU industry could face fines, permit clawbacks after landmark court ruling

Following a major court ruling, Europe’s big industrial emitters may face fines or even be required to return EU carbon permits that have been mistakenly allocated since 2013, experts have warned.

EMEA

Business warns coal-exiting EU states over need to cancel carbon units

Business group IETA is urging EU member states to cancel EUAs when they implement coal power phaseouts to avoid a collapse in carbon prices.

Iceland’s bankrupt WOW Air served with record EU ETS non-compliance fine

Grounded Icelandic airline WOW Air has been hit with a record €27 million penalty for non-compliance under the EU ETS.

EU Market: EUAs lift 1.6% amid power gains, lighter auction volume

EUAs ticked further above €26 to a four-day high on Monday as higher power prices boosted generator margins and observers said lighter auction volume could provide support this week.

AMERICAS

Quebec to intervene in Saskatchewan’s Supreme Court appeal over Canada CO2 price

Quebec will intervene on behalf of fellow conservative-led province Saskatchewan’s Supreme Court appeal against the Canadian federal government’s ‘backstop’ carbon pricing plan, it announced on Monday.

VOLUNTARY

GHG removal trading platform considers expansion beyond Nordics

The Puro GHG removal trading platform led by Finnish utility Fortum is considering expanding beyond its Nordic base after holding three pilot auctions for the voluntary carbon market.

ASIA PACIFIC

New Zealand launches tender to build CO2 auctioning platform

The New Zealand government launched a tender on Monday for information and advice on building an auction platform for its ETS, with the intention to start selling carbon allowances next year.

ICYM

FEATURE: Growing anti-climate political rhetoric highlighting need for ‘just transition’ plans

A growing trend of right-wing populist politicians embracing anti-climate change and anti-carbon pricing rhetoric is putting more pressure on governments to develop and communicate ‘just transition’ plans to help affected communities.

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Conference Producer, Carbon Forward – London

Care about climate change? An exciting opportunity has emerged for a Conference Producer to manage the organisation of Europe’s flagship carbon market events.

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SAVE THE DATE

CARBON FORWARD 2019: Survive and thrive in the global carbon markets

Learn how to survive and thrive in carbon markets by joining us at the 4th annual CARBON FORWARD conference & training day where we will be joined by the pre-eminent experts to discuss a programme developed by environmental market experts and based on feedback from companies like yours.

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Job listings this week

• Policy Analyst, ClimeCo – Calgary
• Research Fellow (Fossil Fuels), Stockholm Environment Institute – Bogota, Colombia
• Impact Specialist, Climate Neutral Group – Utrecht

Or click here to see all our job adverts

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Updraft – An increased rollout of onshore wind turbines across Europe could technically provide the continent with more than 10 times its existing electricity needs, according to a new paper. Taking into account changing wind speeds, available land, and futuristic turbine designs, the researchers say their estimate gives a “significantly higher” figure than most previous assessments of wind potential. (Carbon Brief)

HFC hoopla – US Senators John Neely Kennedy (R-LA) and Tom Carper (D-DE) are working on a bill that would authorise the EPA to create rules to reduce the use of HFCs, but they’ll need to win the backing of a sceptical White House, Republican congressional representatives and industry stakeholders, according to a Politico report. The legislation would put US in step with dozens of other countries that are curbing their use of HFCs under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which took effect earlier this year and the US has not yet ratified. It would do so, however, without citing Kigali – an omission made to make the bill more palatable for the White House. But in order for the bill to move ahead, lawmakers will need the support of a reluctant John Barrasso, the EPW chairman, as well as EPA, where Administrator Andrew Wheeler has said the agency has no legal authority to regulate HFCs.

Disasters, weekly – Climate-related disasters are happening much faster than predicted at a rate of one per week, but most are lower impact events that draw little international attention despite still causing death, displacement and suffering, according to Mami Mizutori, the UN secretary-general’s special representative on disaster risk reduction. (The Guardian)

Bigger than you think – Australia’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions are 1.4% of the global total, but if you count its fossil fuel exports, the country is responsible for as much as 5%, according to a new report the Australian Conservation Foundation has done for Climate Analytics. As LNG exports increase and the country keeps opening new coal mines, that share could rise to as high as 17% in 2030, prompting the authors to conclude Australia is aiming to become an ‘emissions superpower’. (The Guardian)

Make tree-planting domestic again – In the first year of New Zealand’s ‘One Billion Trees’ programme, only 12% of the 91 million trees planted were domestic species. That’s far too little, and the number should ideally be as high as 90%, climate scientist Jim Salinger told Radio NZ. He said plantation pine trees will end up as pulp and paper once they are harvested, meaning the carbon will be released back into the atmosphere in three decades, limiting the effect of the programme. However, Forestry Minister Shane Jones dismissed the criticism, saying the government aims to ensure two-thirds of the trees are native. Jones said the reason the native tree number was so low in the first year is those species take longer to plant than just “shoving a pine tree in the ground”.

Open for lawsuits – The publication of the US Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule in Monday’s Federal Register formally opens the 60-day window to sue over the rule, and challengers are hitting the ground running. The American Lung Association and American Public Health Association , which is represented by the Clean Air Task Force, filed today, with environmental groups, Democratic attorneys general, and others also expected to sue.

Last call for comments – A consultation on the futures of carbon pricing in the UK closes this Friday, July 12 at 2245 GMT. Stakeholders that have not already participated are encouraged to use the online response tool to respond. If it is not possible to respond using the online tool, comments may be sent via email or by post. More details are available here.

You’re hired! – Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk announced the appointment of Jerry V. DeMarco on Monday as the new assistant auditor general and who would also assume the duties of the Commissioner of the Environment. DeMarco, who is set to the join the office on Aug. 1, previously served as the managing lawyer of a charitable environmental law organisation and worked the past 14 years as an environmental adjudicator. Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government announced last year that it would eliminate several watchdog groups, including the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. Former Environmental Commissioner Dianne Saxe had called the current state of environmental policy in the province as “very frightening” and “very inadequate” during her final public appearance in her former role.

And finally… Clean climate – US President Donald Trump boasted about his administration’s environmental record on Monday, saying America can lead the world in fighting pollution at the same time it is promoting fossil fuels, in a speech green groups derided as “utter fantasy”. Trump, who has dismantled scores of environmental rules and rejected mainstream climate science since taking office, gave the speech at a time of growing national support for strong environmental protections. He is widely seen as vulnerable on that issue ahead of next year’s presidential elections. Trump said America was a leader in providing clean drinking water, had slashed air pollution and was cutting carbon emissions, all while bolstering industry and reducing regulation. (Reuters)

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