Carbon Pulse

Calls are emerging for the New Zealand government to raise the price ceiling for NZUs immediately to avoid emitters paying the NZ$25 fixed price for 2018 compliance instead of surrendering permits.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Monday said his government would not try to legislate an emissions target for the electricity sector under the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) as opposition from a handful of MPs from his own party meant the policy would likely not make it through parliament.

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

Average prices in California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in July gained almost 10% to extend the previous month's record high, while regulator ARB published the latest formal rulemaking documents on programme amendments this week.

European carbon prices climbed back above €18 on Friday amid rising energy prices, lodging a 1.4% weekly gain and consolidating near the ten-year peak reached earlier in the week.

The New York grid operator’s (NYISO) plan to exempt wholesale market suppliers holding active Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) contracts under its CO2 pricing proposal drew criticism from a clean energy group this week for undermining market design and the state’s business environment.

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

New Zealand carbon allowances rose to record highs again on Friday as emitters continued to hedge against the risk that the government might increase the NZ$25 price ceiling during the current compliance year.

Investor Ant Financial and automaker BAIC Group have bought shares in the Beijing Environmental Exchange, increasing the bourse’s registered capital by 67% to 500 million yuan ($72.7 mln).

North American methane-cutting projects are becoming more lucrative as regulators and standards update their offset crediting calculations, but developers are still seeking alignment with other policies and considering whether more profitable incentives lie elsewhere.

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

WCI prices continued to rise even after Tuesday’s quarterly auction as traders considered several factors in predicting the result of the year’s first joint sale without Ontario.

A trebling of EU carbon prices over the past year has driven emission reductions as more power generators opt to switch from coal to cleaner gas, with only a recent hike in gas prices preventing even deeper cuts.

European carbon prices dipped below €18 on Thursday, easing back following a week-long rally that had pushed prices to a 10-year high amid some of the tightest auction volumes of the year.

China will shortly release technical guidance to power companies slated to be brought into the sector’s simulation cap-and-trade programme, an official said Thursday, a sign that work on the carbon market might be moving ahead after months of organisational uncertainty.

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

California regulator ARB’s attempt to reverse a November court ruling on successor liability under the state’s cap-and-trade programme was rejected by a US District Court judge late last month, who argued the appeal would affect the validity of the natural gas facility’s sale.

A new study from UC Davis found that “grasslands and rangelands are more resilient carbon sinks than forests in 21st century California.” While forests remain vital to global climate mitigation efforts, the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires has heightened the need to explore additional carbon sinks in fire-prone regions. Grasslands lock carbon into the soil, and they don’t release it during wildfires.

A rare Ontario summer legislative session explicitly designed to repeal the law underpinning the province’s carbon market and GHG targets ended on Tuesday without having acted, the first delay in Premier Doug Ford's anti-carbon pricing agenda since taking office in June. 

The postponement of weekly German EUA auctions from November could be enough to push prices above €20 before the end of the year as the market tightens, analysts said on Wednesday.