Carbon Pulse

California regulator ARB does not have a timeline for the next rulemaking process that will alter future power and industrial sector allocations under the state’s ETS, with some sources saying the state could wait until the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is known.

The Senior Vice President, Climate Change strengthens these efforts by fostering a supportive ecosystem that allows sub-national actors to drive meaningful change in the climate arena. The Senior Vice President also complements work at the sub-national level by designing, coordinating, and leading WWF's engagement with the US Federal government on climate policy in collaboration with WWF's Government Affairs team, and through engagement with bodies such as the Climate Leadership Council.

Companies may see the cost of removing GHG emissions through direct air capture (DAC) technologies bottom out at $100 per tonne in the near term, even as some entities say they can realise cheaper abatement opportunities, experts said.

EUAs fell back towards €20 on Monday despite signs that Europe's economy may have hit a bottom after weeks of stifling virus containment measures.

France will seek this week to convince EU nations to adopt a carbon price floor and to strengthen the carbon market's MSR, teeing up an early test of EU resolve on climate ambition in the face of coronavirus concerns.

Virginia environmental justice organisations have labelled a recently-passed climate bill inadequate despite it setting a 100% carbon-free power sector goal and allowing the state to join the RGGI ETS, while Governor Ralph Northam (D) removed the final hurdle to link with the US Northeast cap-and-trade programme next year.

Switzerland will reopen its emissions trading registry in mid-May following a two-month closure, and with it the country’s EU-linked carbon market, the government said Monday, also announcing an extension to this year’s compliance deadline and the dates for the next allowance auction.

China’s Guangdong province sold out all 400,000 CO2 allowances on offer at Monday’s auction, with bid interest almost eight times higher than the volume available.

Countries should update their Paris emission pledges this year even as the annual UN climate summit is postponed and the world grapples with the coronavirus crisis, Germany’s environment minister Svenja Schulz said on Monday.

NZUs rose 20 cents to their highest since mid-March on Monday as the nation prepared to ease restrictions in place over the past five weeks, including sending the forestry industry back to work.

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

The Netherlands government has pledged to achieve an additional 8 million tonnes of emissions cuts by year-end, with most coming from EU ETS-covered coal power and industrial facilities.

Speculators' total California Carbon Allowance (CCA) holdings remained mostly flat week-on-week as prices climbed on the secondary market, while compliance entities further trimmed their position, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data released Friday.

The Program Officer will review and approve offset project listing applications, data reporting and verification documents; constructively engage with ARB and other regulatory agencies, project developer clients and verification bodies to formulate responses to technical issues; and engage with relevant state agencies, clients and other market stakeholders.

The Forestry Program Officer is an important technical role within the American Carbon Registry (ACR), providing support to the Director of Forestry, and other members of ACR staff on all aspects of registry management, including, but not limited to reviewing project listing applications, data reporting and verification documents; formulating responses to technical questions raised by project developers and verification bodies; supporting business development and outreach activities; and helping to coordinate the development and/or approval of new quantification methodologies.

The REDD+ Program Officer is an important technical role within ART (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions) providing support to the ART Secretariat and staff on all aspects of implementation of the ART.  This will include providing technical support and training to ART Participant Countries and jurisdictions, developing technical analyses, development of outreach materials, coordinating expert committees, review of documents, report writing and registry operations. 

The Canadian environment ministry pushed back the release of a draft regulation for the national Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) on Friday, though it kept the 2022 start date intact for the implementation of the programme’s liquid fuel stream.

EUAs dipped below €21 on Friday and were poised to end a tumultuous week at a loss, with oil prices continuing to strongly influence price direction.

In the latest Carbon Pulse Conversations podcast, we speak to Megan Boutwell, vice president of operations at US-based consultancy Stillwater Associates, about the coronavirus-related impacts on the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and neighbouring transportation sector clean fuels markets.

Nearly 20 Pennsylvania Republicans have asked Governor Tom Wolf (D) to withdraw his executive order that requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to draft a RGGI-modelled cap-and-trade programme by this summer.