Carbon Pulse

Virginia’s inclusion and new post-2020 changes to the power sector RGGI carbon market could significantly alter the outcome of Wednesday's quarterly auction, with some traders anticipating a clear at or slightly above the secondary market levels.

A former stock exchange boss has been tasked with positioning London as the global hub for carbon offset trade, the UK’s finance minister said Wednesday in a mixed budget for climate action that included maintaining its top-up power sector carbon price for another year.

EUAs slipped back towards €37 on Wednesday amid weaker energy prices, giving back the previous session's gains that had renewed bulls' hopes that prices might re-test their record, while data showed investor interest continues to hit record levels.

The voluntary carbon market can build a common understanding for a new financing claim beyond offsetting that represents the same commitment of taking responsibility for unabated emissions by mitigating carbon beyond boundaries, writes Sarah Leugers of Gold Standard.

China’s biggest pilot emissions trading scheme will keep offset limits for compliance purposes well below 0.5% of emissions for 2020, and also get the compliance cycle back on track after COVID-driven interruptions sparked major delays for all of the nation’s pilot markets last year.

(Free read) - Carbon Pulse has significantly strengthened its unrivalled voluntary markets coverage by hiring one of the longest serving environmental journalists on the beat and a world renowned expert in the role of forestry and other land uses in combatting climate change.

Five RGGI facilities failed to comply at the Mar. 1 deadline for the three-year compliance period, according to preliminary CO2 Allowance Tracking System (COATS) data.

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A California task force finalised recommendations on Tuesday to increase the supply of compliance offsets with a direct environmental benefit to the state (DEBs), with state regulator ARB slated to examine whether to proceed with the suggestions.

Energy and commodity trading group Vitol said Monday that it will use voluntary emission reductions (VERs) to offer carbon-neutral liquified natural gas (LNG) to its customers, building on a raft of similar approaches and deals from fossil fuel companies in recent months. 

African offset developer Aera has sold a 35% stake to public-private infrastructure firm Arise, aiming to help fuel its expansion plans and tap Asian demand.

EUAs lifted back above €38 on Tuesday, reversing course after three straight days of losses as the market found support even after a weaker auction.

US President Joe Biden's (D) administration will urge nations to set more ambitious climate pledges during its spring climate summit, while the US will lay out its own revised nationally-determined contribution (NDC), Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said at CERAWeek by IHS Markit on Tuesday.

A private sector voluntary carbon market (VCM) taskforce on Tuesday moved into the second phase of its development with three working groups and a ten-member advisory board to provide input on increasing the quality of voluntary emission reductions (VERs) and develop standard contracts and governance principles.

US biofuel credit (RIN) values under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) surged on Tuesday to threaten records not seen since the last decade on continued strength in the bean oil-heating oil spread, though some market participants were confounded by the new heights.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into Germany’s €4.35 billion scheme to compensate the early closures of lignite-fired power plants, to review if the programme complies with the bloc’s state aid rules, the EU’s executive announced Tuesday.

The UN has registered a Programme of Activities (PoA) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), with the initiative's two Singapore-based proponents aiming to generate carbon credits across the entire South East Asian region.

Interrupted by week-long Lunar New Year celebrations, China’s pilot carbon markets saw a drop in activity in February as traders got busy tracking down potential sources of offset supply for use in the national emissions trading scheme.

A strong China-led rebound from last year’s coronavirus restrictions pushed global energy-related CO2 emissions above historical levels towards the end of 2020, International Energy Agency (IEA) data showed Tuesday.

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