Carbon Pulse

California’s 2021 carbon market floor price aligned with traders’ expectations on Thursday as federal data continued to show US inflation improving after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Germany-based utility RWE saw its ETS-covered thermal generation fall 26% year-on-year over the first nine months, the company said on Thursday, which along with an easing in hedging represents a bearish signals for EUAs.

British businesses are unlikely to get clarity on the government’s post-Brexit carbon pricing plans until wider negotiations around a UK-EU trade deal are completed, the minister in charge of the brief said Thursday.

Belgium’s environment minister said on Thursday she will not table a proposal for a carbon tax, with the measure meeting with opposition among the federal government’s coalition partners when floated earlier this week.

The looming entry into force of New Zealand’s ETS reforms could spur new products and potentially draw new participants into the 12-year old carbon market, a conference heard on Thursday.

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

Organization: UN-Habitat Position: Innovation and climate action consultant Duty Station: Brussels, Belgium | Initially Remote Deadline for Application: 23 November 2020

Colombia may not launch the pilot phase of its cap-and-trade programme under development until 2024, while the country seeks to finish the design of the ETS by year-end, a government official said Wednesday.

California granted nearly 1.2 million new compliance offsets this week as state regulator ARB pushed its streak of 1-mln plus issuances to five consecutive periods, according to data published Wednesday.

Czechia has received EU clearance to begin paying partial compensation for indirect carbon costs to its energy intensive industries.

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team may be already crafting a new GHG reduction target as the incoming administration works to swiftly return the US to the Paris Agreement, while Congressional bipartisan support for climate policy could still occur even with Republican control of the Senate, experts said Wednesday.

The UN could begin issuing carbon credits from former CDM projects under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.4 mechanism as early as 2023, an event heard Wednesday.

State-owned Romanian utility CE Oltenia has crafted a restructuring plan that envisages €1.33 billion in government grants to help pay its EU ETS bills for five years, the company said.

EU carbon prices rose nearly 4% on Wednesday to test Monday’s one-month high, but profit-taking and technical selling caused the day’s gains to completely unravel, traders said.

Power consumption in EU energy firm E.ON’s markets reached last year’s levels during the second half of Q3, the company said in its quarterly results on Wednesday.

Oil and gas firm Woodside told investors on Wednesday it aims to develop a large-scale carbon offset portfolio to 2030 to meet new emissions targets, and has identified the potential to store as much as 3.4 billion tonnes of CO2e underground.

New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission is expected to recommend an increase in the country’s Paris target, according to climate minister James Shaw.

The coming decade will be crucial for mobilising funds for zero-carbon shipping fuels, an industry report released Wednesday said, renewing calls for the creation of a $5 billion R&D fund to help the maritime sector decarbonise.

South Korea on Wednesday sold just over half the allowances on offer at its monthly KAU auction, with prices coming in well below secondary market levels as expectations about oversupply tamed interest.

New Zealand carbon allowances have inched up to all-time high levels again as supply remains tight with sellers happy to wait and see where prices go once the ETS reform kicks in next year.