Carbon Pulse

The Canadian government will lessen the short-term carbon intensity reduction targets for its proposed Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) in response to the coronavirus pandemic, while making the GHG abatement goals more ambitious later on in the decade to maintain the stringency of the policy, the environment ministry said Monday.

RGGI members are evaluating a draft Virginia RGGI regulation for any inconsistences with the Northeast US cap-and-trade programme ahead of its scheduled 2021 entrance, with the state aiming to complete those changes this summer, a state official said.

EU leaders urged their Chinese counterparts at an online summit on Monday to outline a path towards net zero emissions, though the talks ended without major progress on climate diplomacy.

Denmark’s political groups have agreed a climate deal that will include an increased carbon tax, the government said on Monday, defying concerns about the impact of the coronavirus on the country’s economy.

Governments can effectively stabilise their carbon prices using auction reserve prices and supplementary taxes, according to a paper published by OECD advisors on Monday.

A judge approved Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) bankruptcy plan on Saturday ahead of a deadline for the California utility to participate in a fund to ease future wildfire liabilities.

EUAs bounced back from a brief dip below €24 early on Monday to remain near their four-month high even as wider markets faltered on some signs of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections in Germany.

One of China’s biggest oil companies has agreed to buy carbon credits along with two shipments of LNG from Shell, seeking to offset all the life cycle emissions associated with the shipment in the first such deal for mainland China.

The Shanghai government has released the 2019 allocation for its emissions trading scheme, keeping the number of allowances in play at the same level as before despite including more companies, while also tripling the amount of offsets emitters can use for compliance.

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

In the latest episode of our Carbon Pulse Conversations podcast, we chat with Neelesh Nerurkar, vice president of Washington DC-based research firm ClearView Energy Partners, to discuss current developments and politics surrounding the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

WCI regulated parties and speculators held their California Carbon Allowance (CCA) holdings largely steady as secondary market levels slipped underneath the 2020 reserve price again this week, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data released Friday.

The California-Quebec Q3 carbon auction will include slightly more current vintage allowances than the May sale that failed to sell out, while the final quarterly auction of 2020 is slated to see the lowest amount on offer this year, according to an auction notice posted Friday.

The European Commission is making plans to aims to reach 40 GW of installed electrolyser capacity EU-wide by 2030, according to a leaked version of the 27-nation bloc’s hydrogen strategy to be unveiled in July.

Offset certifier Gold Standard plans to differentiate post-2020 vintage carbon credits depending on whether host nations make corresponding adjustments to their emissions inventories, a firm line that may force offset buyers to drastically rethink their voluntary climate strategies.

EU leaders on Friday failed to reach a consensus on their next seven-year budget after several Eastern EU member states came out against a proposal to tap ETS auction revenues.

Colombia is slated to release its roadmap for its cap-and-trade programme in the near future as the government readies for the market launch next summer, a project development firm said Thursday.

EUAs extended a four-month high early on Friday, building on the previous session's peak above €24 amid oil and equity price gains that continue to be influential for carbon.

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

Six major Chinese government agencies have issued a joint statement to dampen new coal plant investments, but the effort is unlikely to have any material impact on new coal-fired capacity this year, according to analysts.