— COMING IN FEBRUARY: Carbon Fast Forward – Manchester —

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TOP STORY

Carbon offset projects so far largely unscathed by Australia’s fires

Australia’s catastrophic bushfires have burned over 8 million hectares of land but so far have not had a major impact on the nation’s mostly land-based carbon offset industry, according to market participants.

ASIA PACIFIC

Australian developers renew push to earn carbon credits from killing camels

Australian firm RegenCo is lobbying the environment ministry to issue carbon credits for culling feral camels as part of a strategy to manage the country’s large population, which experts say is responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions.

Guangdong to auction 400k CO2 permits on Feb. 12

China’s Guangdong province will auction off 400,000 carbon allowances under its emissions trading scheme on Feb. 12, the China Carbon Exchange in Guangzhou said Tuesday.

AMERICAS

US coal power declines drive 2.1% emission cut in 2019 -report

US emissions reversed course in 2019 on a record plunge in coal-fired generation, but flat or rising discharges from other sources leave the country far off track from meeting its UN Paris Agreement goals, according to preliminary estimates published Tuesday.

Excess WCI allowance supply rises as emitters position for full compliance deadline

Surplus compliance instruments in the WCI cap-and-trade programme inched above the 275-million mark after accounting for California and Quebec emissions in 2018, according to the carbon market’s Q4 Compliance Instrument Tracking System Service (CITSS) report published Tuesday.

WCI speculators’ carbon holdings dip with December expiry

Speculators’ carbon allowance holdings in the WCI-linked ETS dipped to a three-month low at the end of the year, but the group still holds significant length in the California-Quebec cap-and-trade market, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data.

US Midwestern states should aim for uniform approach in LCFS implementation -report

The Midwest should aim for harmonisation in the design of low-carbon fuel standards (LCFS) and potential credit fungibility across state lines, as well as incorporate a variety of regional factors to benefit agricultural communities in America’s heartland, according to a white paper released Tuesday.

EMEA

German power emissions slide 18% in 2019 as CO2 price hits lignite -report

German power sector emissions fell 18.1% in 2019 as higher EU carbon prices helped make hard coal- and lignite-based generation unprofitable, though slowing renewables investment risks slowing the pace of decarbonisation, according to a report released Tuesday.

EU Market: Prices end higher after hitting 3-wk low ahead of auction restart

European carbon prices firmed Tuesday after sliding to a three-week low early in the session amid the resumption of EUA auctions.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Shut it – If China wants to meet its Paris Agreement obligations at lowest possible cost, it must stop all ongoing construction of new coal-fired power plants and quickly shut down older, inefficient plants, according to a study by the government-backed Energy Research Institute and the University of Maryland Center for Global Sustainability. (Reuters)

List of demands – With the UK seeking a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, the bloc will demand that Britain implements a system of carbon pricing that is as effective as the EU ETS, sources told the Guardian.  The EU will also “at the very least” seek a commitment from the British government that it will not lower existing environmental standards in key areas such as industrial emissions, air quality targets, nature and biodiversity protection, and environmental impact assessments.  The sources suggested French President Emmanuel Macron may push for a closer alignment to ensure the UK stays in line with Brussels as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushes her new green deal.  However, the EU’s opening negotiating position on the future relationship will reportedly lack detailed demands to avoid an early clash with Boris Johnson as both sides seek to take the heat out of the trade talks that will advance after the Jan. 31 Brexit deadline. When she visits London on Wednesday, von der Leyen is expected to sketch out the potential pitfalls in the 11 months Johnson has set as the timeframe within which to agree a comprehensive deal, as the EU seeks to move the Brexit talks into a more collaborative phase which avoids the clashes of the last three years. The EU’s negotiating position will be revealed in draft form with “headline principles” in early February, before its formal adoption by the EU27 at a meeting of ministers on Feb. 25.

UK slouches – Growth in low carbon power generation stalled in the UK last year after doubling in the decade since 2010, according to analysis from Carbon Brief. Power from renewables grew by nearly a tenth, but that was offset by falling nuclear generation due to ongoing outages to mean that the amount of power generated by low carbon technologies increased by just 0.6% in 2019. (Press Association)

Soil scratch – Agricultural technology company Indigo Agriculture has closed $200 mln in financing, part of which will be used for the Massachusetts-based entity’s development of a soil carbon offset market. The latest funding round saw contributions from delivery services company FedEx and financial entity Pacific Western Bank, bringing the total amount raised by Indigo to $850 mln, according to a press release. The financing will help the adoption of Indigo Carbon – a market providing growers financial incentives to enrich their soils – with the deployment of technological solutions to assist in measuring, monitoring, and verifying soil carbon levels.

California dealin’ – California lawmakers will introduce a revised “California Green New Deal” after a similar bill attempt stalled last year, Politico reports. Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta and his colleagues said Monday the new legislation “will have targets” addressing not just the environment but housing, homelessness, education and infrastructure. “They will be specific, they will have a measurable, accountable outcome by a certain date,” Bonta said, adding that California’s existing target of carbon neutrality by 2045 is “not fast enough.”

Saving lives – The human toll from coal-fired pollution in America has been laid bare by a study that has found almost 27,000 lives were saved in the US in just a decade due to the shift from coal to gas for electricity generation. The shutdown of scores of coal power facilities there has reduced the toxic brew of pollutants suffered by nearby communities, cutting deaths from associated health problems such as heart disease and respiratory issues, the research found. An estimated 26,610 lives were saved in the US by the shift between 2005 and 2016, according to the University of California study published in Nature Sustainability. (Guardian)

And finally… Interested and engaged– The American Petroleum Institute is launching an advertising campaign to sell the oil and gas industry as being interested in reducing emissions and combating climate change. API is running a series of ads beginning Tuesday on TV, on digital media, in airports, and on outdoor billboards across the country. API, the largest US oil and gas trade group, is spending seven figures on the ad campaign, titled “Energy for Progress.” The first ad, “Solving Big Challenges Requires Energy,” aims to highlight the willingness of the oil and gas industry to “work together” on solutions to climate change through developing cleaner technologies. “On the issues that matter, like climate change, we are more alike than we think,” the 30-second ad says. “We want cleaner solutions, and that means working with each other.” (Washington Examiner)

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