Carbon Pulse

California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) rose this week as the market received more clarity on next year’s price floor and ahead of the final 2018 auction, while RGGI prices slid on thin activity.

Ontario will eliminate the province’s environmental watchdog next year, the government announced Thursday, after the independent body raised numerous concerns with Premier Doug Ford’s decision to roll back various green programmes including cap-and-trade.

Germany should cancel EUAs to avoid damping the EU ETS carbon price signal from a coal phase-out due to start next year, the country’s coal commission has reportedly recommended.

California regulator ARB may revert back to its original plan to approve cap-and-trade amendments in December rather than January, while also proposing slight changes to its mechanism for accounting for indirect emissions, according to a presentation released Thursday.

EUAs plunged to near €18 on Thursday as a number of UK ministers resigned over the Brexit deal agreed by British and EU negotiators late Wednesday, prompting fears that it will collapse and prompt emitters to sell surplus carbon units before they are locked out of the scheme next year.

China will launch its mandatory renewable energy certificate (REC) scheme next year, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said as it this week rolled out updated draft rules for what will be the first of several planned national market mechanisms to cut carbon emissions and reduce energy use.

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

The UK government’s cabinet of senior ministers has backed a Brexit text crafted by negotiators, Prime Minister Theresa May said late Wednesday, increasing the chances that lawmakers will endorse the EU divorce deal that keeps the country in the EU ETS until the end of 2020.

California regulator Air Resources Board (ARB) issued more than 835,000 offsets over the past three weeks, including roughly 51,000 credits before the WCI market's Nov. 1 compliance deadline, state data showed Wednesday.

EU carbon prices slipped back below €20 in another wavy session on Thursday, closing down nearly 2% despite a bullish auction result.

A mounting allowance surplus spurred by declining fuel sales in the WCI cap-and-trade programme should result in smaller price gains than previously expected following Wednesday’s auction and into the next decade, according to analysts.

European carbon allowances are forecast to remain above €20 even in the case of a massive sell-off by the investors who helped prices triple in the past year, analysts said.

RGGI prices and trading activity increased significantly on the secondary market during the third quarter, but the ETS saw fewer transfers between unaffiliated companies, according to a report published Wednesday.

The Nova Scotia environment ministry published regulations Wednesday that outline the annual emissions cap for its carbon market that would begin in Jan. 2019 and auction sale procedures that would start the following year. 

The European Commission has cautioned stakeholders over their suggestion that the EU carbon market is being manipulated, as participants called for more transparency.

California’s 2019 cap-and-trade price floor should rise to $15.62 after year-over-year inflation increased slightly to 2.5% during October, data showed on Wednesday.

German utility RWE advanced its EUA hedging over Q3, albeit at a slower rate than the previous quarter, the company said Wednesday, providing a mixed signal for carbon.

Thailand is expecting to put in place over the next eight months a number of the elements that will make up its national carbon market, but the lengthy process of imposing a national climate change act means the programme won’t launch until after 2020.