Carbon Pulse

A subsidiary of Sinopec, China’s biggest refinery group, has made a 1.3-million yuan ($200,000) profit by swapping Shanghai CO2 permits it had saved as a result on government clampdown on overcapacity in the sector for cheaper carbon credits.

EU carbon prices maintained their recent level above €15 on Wednesday despite dipping after a weak UK auction that featured extra unsold volume from a previous failed sale.

The head of environmental markets and strategy at Australia’s biggest carbon project developer has left the company to set up his own offset advisory firm.

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The EPA published preliminary 2019 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) on Tuesday, with the biofuels industry arguing that the modest increases in the yearly quotas were more than cancelled out by the agency’s failure to act on several compliance waivers issued this year.

EU carbon prices held just above €15 for the second straight day on Tuesday after the day’s auction cleared relatively strongly and despite analyst warnings that the recent rally may have petered out.

The EU ETS has witnessed a dramatic change over the past year as carbon prices have quadrupled, the market has attracted new participants, and the developments have given confidence to existing participants that the world’s biggest carbon market will remain the EU’s main climate policy tool.

Speculative buying in excess of 160 million tonnes has likely helped EU carbon prices double in value over the first half of the year, analysts said.

New Zealand carbon allowances rose to four-week highs on Tuesday as the emergence of more buyers continued to push prices up.

Japan has awarded small grants to 17 projects that aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions and generate carbon credits under its Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM).

Representatives for major Australian business groups on Tuesday met with Coalition MPs to urge them to approve the National Energy Guarantee (NEG).

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

Fourteen EU environment ministers on Monday urged the European Commission to include 2050 net zero options in its upcoming long-term climate strategy and for the bloc to signal this year its willingness to up its Paris pledge.

France’s environment ministers are pushing for the EU’s trade policy to be brought into line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, in what many will see as a retaliatory move aimed at the US.

EU carbon prices drifted lower on Monday but remained above €15 amid a looming increase in supply.

Using greater amounts of carbon tax revenues to stimulate clean energy research and capital investment could bolster company economics and help gain support for carbon pricing, according to new research published on Monday and coming on the heels of the latest US carbon tax push.

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China State Council on Sunday released a raft of environmental policy orders, reaffirming its plans to establish a national emissions trading scheme by 2020 despite recent doubts and giving environmental regulators more power.