Carbon Pulse

EU greenhouse gas emissions fell 10% in 2020 as pandemic restrictions curbed factory and transport output, while renewables overtook fossil fuels for the first time in the bloc’s power mix.

The European Commission on Tuesday released its annual report on the functioning of the EU ETS, which covered the market’s developments in 2020 and into 2021.

Former environmental campaigner Steven Guilbeault was named Minister of Environment and Climate Change as part of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new Liberal Party cabinet sworn in Tuesday, only days before the country’s delegation leaves for COP26.

National determined contributions (NDCs) will not have enough impact on reducing global GHG output by 2030 to align with Paris Agreement warming goals, a UN report released on Tuesday warned while touting the potential of emissions trading to drive more ambition.

More companies are making commitments to establish net zero emissions targets, although a large share of them seem unwilling in the short term to act on their promises, a survey released on Tuesday suggested.

China’s State Council on Tuesday released an action plan to show how it intends to meet the goal of peaking emissions by 2030, but most of the content was plans already revealed.

China’s environment ministry on Tuesday said all domestic offsets will be eligible for use in the first compliance cycle of its national emissions trading scheme, including units generated almost two decades ago that have been banned from all the eight regional pilot markets for years.

EUAs forged higher on Tuesday morning as the market tested technical levels in thin trade, while energy prices continued to gain.

Spain has unveiled several ideas for curbing EU ETS speculation as part of wider proposals to reform the bloc’s energy market, with Madrid urging the EU to explore the plans as part of its work to amend the Fit for 55 climate policy package.

Australia on Tuesday committed to reaching net zero emissions by mid-century while keeping its 2030 target unchanged, relying on technology developments and offsets to meet its ambition rather than new policies.

China’s environment ministry has ordered regional authorities to re-examine all ETS emissions data for 2019 and 2020 with just weeks to go before the first compliance deadline, amid revelations of reporting fraud this summer.

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

British Columbia (BC) released a new climate plan Monday that will meet or exceed federal carbon pricing requirements and implement the most stringent Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in North America alongside a swath of other strategies to meet its emissions reduction targets.

Carbon trading and advisory firm ClearBlue Markets has hired a new director of nature-based solutions (NBS), with the offset expert joining after spending just eight months at Natural Capital Partners (NCP).

Standardised voluntary emissions reduction (VER) prices for CORSIA- and nature-based units trended up towards fresh record highs on exchanges this week, with voluntary carbon market (VCM) participants citing involvement by speculative firms and crypto traders for the increase.

Climate finance flows in 2020 fell short of the $100 billion per year promised to developing countries and central to achieving the Paris Agreement, but a new delivery plan released Monday shows this could happen by 2023.

Fossil fuel companies are brazenly greenwashing by marketing shipments bundled with offsets as "carbon neutral", environmental campaigners concluded on Monday in a report scrutinising the burgeoning trade. 

EUA prices retreated from an early rally on Monday morning in relatively thin trading, as natural gas prices rose on reduced pipeline flows despite predictions of milder weather.

Opec powerhouse Saudi Arabia will target net zero emissions by 2060, the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, announced at a conference in Riyadh over the weekend.

China on Sunday published its long-awaited “1+N” climate policy blueprint without offering any changes from previous documents, though analysts expect more detailed action plans to emerge ahead of COP26.