Carbon Pulse

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

California issued more than 3.5 million new compliance offsets this week, as analysts revised their 2030 outlook for credits with direct environmental benefits to the state (DEBs) in light of greater projected supply. 

European carbon prices briefly rose above €30 again on Wednesday, but failed to close above this key level despite today's EUA options expiry and data showing a record build in investor interest in the market.

EU envoys reached an agreement on Wednesday over the bloc’s €17.5 billion fund to support coal regions in transition, in a compromise that excludes all financing for fossil fuel investments.

Nova Scotia’s Dec. 2 cap-and-trade auction settled significantly above the programme’s annual floor price for the second straight sale, according to results published Wednesday.

EU capitals will need to resolve outstanding issues on the bloc’s seven-year budget and coronavirus recovery plan ahead of a key summit starting Thursday afternoon if they want to agree on a higher 2030 emissions reduction target, although signs of a preliminary compromise is building optimism. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has selected California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Commissioner Liane Randolph to replace ARB Chair Mary Nichols, while naming three new appointees to the environmental agency's board ahead of the 2022 Scoping Plan process.

New Zealand’s biggest thermal power generator on Wednesday announced new climate targets that could eliminate more than 2% of annual NZU demand by 2025.

One of the biggest companies due to participate in China’s national emissions trading scheme has announced it aims to peak its CO2 emissions seven years ahead of schedule, as major companies ramp up voluntary pledges in line with President Xi Jinping’s carbon neutral commitment.

Brazil says it can reach net zero emissions by 2060 without needing to lift its near-term Paris Agreement emissions pledge, though campaigners questioned the credibility of goals set by an administration that has allowed Amazon deforestation to rise.

South Korea sold 92% of the CO2 allowances on offer in Wednesday’s monthly auction, but the settlement price rose over 4% from the November sale amid a firmer secondary market.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

The UK should front-load its efforts towards its 2050 net zero goal by setting a 2035 emissions reduction target of 78% under 1990 levels, and should consider forcing airlines to buy domestic removals offsets, the government’s independent advisory body said on Wednesday.

California Governor Gavin Newsom may announce ARB Chair Mary Nichols’ replacement in the next week, with the appointee to guide the state agency through the 2022 Scoping Plan, numerous sources told Carbon Pulse.

Low allowance prices earlier this year may have contributed to fewer California entities surrendering offsets at the interim compliance deadline in November, but participants anticipate the trend skewing back to historic levels next year.

Call it the ‘first-mover disadvantage’. Researchers are urging for carbon credits generated from historical emissions reductions, as well as the older projects that created them, to be all purged in a bid to save the global voluntary offset market.

A strengthened EU ETS resulting from a higher bloc-wide emissions reduction target by 2030 will be an important tool to support industrial decarbonisation, a panel featuring representatives from heavy manufacturers, government, EU legislative bodies, and green groups heard Tuesday.

EUAs touched €30 early on Tuesday but slipped back as markets await signs of progress on a Brexit trade deal, while carbon traders brace for the expiry of the Dec-20 options contracts.

New Zealand carbon allowances on Tuesday notched a fifth straight day of record high prices, with spot NZUs firming almost 5% over the period as willing sellers remain elusive.

Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.7% year-on-year in FY2019, preliminary government data showed Tuesday, keeping the country on track to easily meeting its Paris pledge from five years ago.