Carbon Pulse

This week’s quarterly RGGI auction settled slightly above the secondary market at $4.02/short ton, the market’s operator announced Friday, while compliance buying dropped significantly from the previous sale in March.

The Australian federal government and the Energy Security Board (ESB) on Friday provided fresh details on the country’s proposed National Energy Guarantee (NEG) but refused to discuss the scheme’s overall emissions ambition, which may lead to its ultimate demise.

A court in The Hague on Tuesday sentenced a 46-year-old Pakistani man to eight years in jail over his role in masterminding a €6.5 million tax fraud scheme via the EU ETS.

New Zealand’s opposition leader on Friday backed the establishment of a climate change commission, brightening the outlook for a non-partisan body to set up national carbon budgets and oversee the emissions trading scheme.

China’s five major state-owned power companies last year racked up combined losses of 13.2 billion yuan ($2.1 bln) from generating coal-fired electricity, a sign of the challenges facing the industry in the world’s biggest-polluting nation.

The Australian government bought its lowest volume of offset credits yet at last week’s seventh Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) auction, purchasing just 6.67 million units.

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California carbon allowances (CCAs) began to recover this week after last week’s Progressive Conservative victory in Ontario sent prices downward, while on the east coast some atypical trading activity took place in the short interim between Wednesday’s RGGI auction and Friday’s result publication.

The prospect of a quick Ontario exit from the tripartite WCI cap-and-trade market could prove a headache for participants and stakeholders on both the primary and secondary markets, according to analysts speaking at a webinar on Thursday.

A £150 million ($199 mln) lawsuit against UK bank RBS brought by creditors over its alleged 2009 role in EU carbon trading tax fraud opened in London on Thursday.

Late selling on Thursday prompted European carbon prices to close below €15 for the first time in two weeks, despite a bullish auction result.

EU lawmakers struck a provisional deal on a 2030 target of 32% renewables early Thursday but failed to reach agreement on an energy efficiency bill.

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California regulator ARB handed out just shy of 790,000 carbon offsets across three different project types this week, as compliance demand helps boost prices.

Achieving emissions reductions in line with Ontario and Quebec’s climate goals will not occur under forecast WCI carbon prices, though it will see billions of dollars sent to California or elsewhere by the two provinces, according to a study released Wednesday.

Global CO2 emissions from energy use climbed 1.6% in 2017 as output rose in both rich and emerging economies amid a pick-up in industrial activity, according to oil major BP.

EU carbon prices inched higher on Wednesday after the market managed to absorb a large UK auction and as EU lawmakers were poised to set new clean energy goals.

EU lawmakers are on course to set 2030 renewables and energy efficiency goals of above 30% later today, Europe’s climate chief Miguel Arias Canete said Wednesday.

A British man has received a maximum 15-year disqualified order for his role in a £7 million tax fraud involving emissions allowances.

China climate officials are eager to include offsets in the national emissions trading scheme as a means to fund forestry and renewable energy projects, according to a senior official, offering a glimmer of hope for beleaguered developers.