Carbon Pulse

Virginia utilities will not receive RGGI compliance accounts until some time in 2021, with power generators set to operate under general market accounts until the state officially joins the Northeast US cap-and-trade scheme next year, a government official told Carbon Pulse.

The Green Climate Fund this week approved a $136 million payment to Argentina and Costa Rica for emissions reductions achieved over the last decade, growing its portfolio of forestry-based carbon projects.

A new fintech platform that aims to facilitate institutional and retail investment in carbon allowances has secured $4.5 million in new funding, adding to the expanding suite of ETS-focused vehicles as growth in ESG investing gathers pace.

The Dutch government has decided to push ahead with plans to introduce a flight ticket tax from next year but backed down from levying cargo flights, the Netherlands' Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

Verra is looking for a Director of Communications to lead the organization’s branding, marketing, and communications efforts. 

Major European utilities EnBW and Engie reported lagged hedging rates in their Q3 results on Friday, though the overall steep drop in EU thermal generation is likely to eclipse any bullish signal this may have provided for EUAs.

The World Bank Group seeks a Senior Climate Change Specialist for its US office. The role will work across teams and regions to deepen existing engagements where carbon pricing policies and/or markets have the potential to support countries in transitioning to low carbon economies and mobilizing finance.

Aloha Carbon is currently seeking candidates for a Market Research Analyst. The position would support innovation in sustainability businesses by understanding and analyzing Hawaii and U.S. market conditions of industrial sectors in fuel and energy, transportation, construction, and food production.  This analysis will help to refine innovative projects to reduce cost and environmental impact of business activities in these sectors.

The Manager, Product Marketing will help stand up a Carbon-specific digital marketing apparatus, driving grower engagement from lead generation and conversion through to grower retention. S/he will manage grower messaging across platforms, collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to deliver critical communications to prospective and current customers, shape the annual marketing plan, and help build Carbon-specific digital marketing capabilities.

Closing prices, ranges and volumes for China's regional pilot carbon markets this week.

Distribution of Australian carbon credits returned to regular levels this week after a busier period, while experts told a webinar they expect any crediting under the Safeguard Mechanism to face restrictions.

Singapore-based Pavilion Energy this week signed a first LNG contract with Qatar Petroleum that quantifies the fuel’s GHG emissions from well to discharge port, which the company hopes can become a new industry standard and drive demand for carbon offsets.

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

"Trading carbon is going to be for real, and the demand for it is going to grow. So the question is how do we bring this together in one place," said Goldman Sachs International CEO Richard Gnodde.

RGGI allowance (RGA) prices inched to a new four-year high this week on thin secondary market volume, while California Carbon Allowance (CCA) values rose by double digits on optimism about a COVID-19 vaccine and a federal administration under President-elect Joe Biden.

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits reached a two-month high on Thursday, while the Oregon Clean Fuels Program (OCFP) posted a small surplus during the second quarter of the year as gasoline usage plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic.  

EUAs dropped below €26 on Thursday to prolong this week's fall-back, as rising coronavirus infection rates tested wider market optimism about vaccine prospects. 

The rules that require EU nations to spend a share of the cash raised from auctioning CO2 allowances on climate action could be part of the revision of the upcoming ETS Directive next year, the European Commission official in charge of carbon markets said Thursday.

California’s WCI-linked cap-and-trade programme must go further to drive emissions reductions, and state regulator ARB will discuss potential options for doing so at its board meeting this month, agency head Mary Nichols said Thursday.

Here is a summary of Carbon Pulse's free side events at this week's IETA-ICAP Carbon Markets Virtual Pavilion, along with links to the audio recordings. (Video recordings not available to due to file size considerations)