Carbon Pulse

The US can come within touching distance of its Paris Agreement emissions target even without any new policies from the federal government, according to California Governor Jerry Brown and former New York city mayor Michael Bloomberg, who launched a report on Wednesday outlining 10 policy initiatives for cities, states and companies including carbon pricing.

New Zealand carbon allowances fell slightly on Wednesday, slipping for a second consecutive day even though market participants expect the spot contract to hold above NZ$25.

Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator on Wednesday introduced a new offset method aimed at driving deeper emission cuts at industrial facilities whose involvement in the scheme has been minimal so far.

The European Commission is “happy” to see EU carbon allowances at their current elevated levels and is not at the moment considering supply-side intervention to dampen the recent price spike.

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European carbon prices could reach €30-50 by 2021 as companies hoard units, but prices may fall sharply once those firms start selling, analysts said.

California and Ontario officials are continuing to negotiate the financial costs associated with the Canadian province’s decision to exit the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) but reimbursement costs are not part of that discussion, Air Resources Board (ARB) Chairwoman Mary Nichols told Carbon Pulse.

A coalition of environmental groups is suing the Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) government for cancelling the province’s cap-and-trade programme without public consultation.

California Governor Jerry Brown publicly ridiculed a Trump administration proposal that could ease regulations on methane emissions leaks in the US, while simultaneously calling on the expansion of carbon pricing mechanisms to other areas of the world.

EU carbon prices shed more than a euro on Tuesday, giving back over half of the previous session’s massive gains that had seen prices hit a fresh decade-high €25.79.

Offset developer Bluesource has secured an undisclosed investment from private equity firm GEF Capital Partners to help further expand its services in the North America market, the two companies announced Tuesday.

EU carbon traders are mired in doubt about when regulators could meet to discuss market intervention, even as soaring EUA prices close in on a likely trigger point.

The South Korean government has ordered Samsung Electronics to withdraw a CDM project that originally aimed at generating nearly 770,000 carbon credits per year over a decade.

Oregon lawmakers are likely to approve legislation in 2019 that would enable the US state to create a cap-and-trade market to eventually link with the WCI programme, several regulatory sources said.

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As the first indigenous-led conservation effort to be financed through the sale of carbon offsets, the Suruí Forest Carbon Project (PCFS in Portuguese) dramatically slowed deforestation and incubated sustainable livelihood programs in Brazil’s Sete de Setembro Indigenous Territory (TISS), but a dramatic surge in illegal mining activities throughout the region in which TISS is located has forced the Paiter-Suruí indigenous people and their partners to suspend the program indefinitely.

Policymakers and industry have been caught off-guard by the rapid surge in EU carbon prices, and according to experts, the prospects to intervene may be limited and the idea generally unwelcome by many due to the painstakingly-constructed market reforms that triggered the year-long rally.

New Zealand carbon allowances on Monday continued their upwards March, although the upward trajectory has slowed and volumes have dropped.

Australia’s government won’t pursue the proposed National Energy Guarantee (NEG) policy and has decided not to legislate its emissions targets under the Paris Agreement, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

European carbon prices jumped by more than €2 early on Monday, extending their 10-year high and accelerating a bull run that has caused prices to triple this year.