Carbon Pulse

The combined value of the two US-listed carbon allowance ETFs has topped $100 million while daily trading volumes surge, as investors continue to swarm into the fast-growing asset class.

The Canadian ‘backstop’ carbon charge on fossil fuels climbed C$10/tonne on Thursday to C$40 ($31.80) after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Ottawa’s landmark climate strategy last week, while British Columbia’s own CO2 tax rose by a smaller C$5.

Germany on Thursday awarded payments to shut down 1.5 GW of coal power capacity by December, marking another oversubscribed tender towards the country's coal phaseout.

Interest in offsets is rising in China with traders taking punts on units they think will be eligible in the national ETS, while Chongqing and Guangdong performed best among the regional pilot markets over the past month.

Verified emissions in the EU ETS excluding aviation dropped by between 11.2% and 12.6% in 2020, according to incomplete and preliminary like-for-like data examined by analysts, confirming estimates that the coronavirus and related lockdowns may have caused the largest ever fall in greenhouse gas output under the 16-year old scheme.

Supermarket chain Woolworths has received its biggest batch of carbon credits yet for its energy efficient lighting projects across Australia, as miner Orica has registered its first-ever project eligible to generate offsets.

A new Greek startup, inspired by the beached cargo ship that briefly blocked the Suez Canal, is floating the idea of generating carbon offsets from the incident and other similar events that feature disruptions to global trade or transport, including the movement of fossil fuels.

Greening Australia is seeking a commercial development manager to join its Perth office.

As the Executive Director, Climate Change you lead a multidisciplinary team of professionals in the effort to meet the provincial vision for a sustainable future in Nova Scotia. You lead by example with a focus on outcomes, and facilitate a culture of trust both within and outside of your team.

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

UN climate finance envoy Mark Carney's Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) hopes to conclude this summer with a report describing provisional agreement on environmental principles for verified emissions reductions (VERs), but must now confront long-standing issues around the role of REDD+ projects and governance. 

The Canadian federal government can mandate that provinces increase the ambition of their own programmes going forward after the Supreme Court of Canada’s judgement upheld the constitutionality of the federal ‘backstop’ CO2 pricing regime, according to experts. 

India’s power minister shied away from revealing any intentions to set a net zero objective for the country in an IEA high-level summit on Wednesday, while demanding developed nations start considering negative emissions targets.

Germany adopted a regulation on Monday that entitles EU ETS-covered companies to compensation for costs faced under its national emissions trading scheme (nEHS) for transport and heating fuels.

Virginia will not oppose utility Dominion Energy’s rate request to cover RGGI allowance procurements over the next 18 months, while the generator revealed the value of its hedged position in the Northeast cap-and-trade scheme, according to filings released this week.

Asset manager VanEck on Wednesday launched a new ETF focused on companies that generate at least 50% of their revenues from hydrogen projects or have the potential to do so.

President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled a $2 trillion infrastructure plan on Wednesday that would create a clean energy standard for the power sector, allocate funding to electric vehicle charging stations, and jump start research and development for clean technology.

EUAs were little changed by midday on Wednesday giving back early gains following a weaker auction despite an upcoming holiday pause to the sales.

Romania has granted CE Oltenia €241.4 million help cover its 2020 EU ETS obligations, according to an emergency ordinance adopted as the utility’s restructuring is still under EU investigation.

Japan’s environment ministry has launched a review of its Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), with a view to making the scheme consistent with the Paris Agreement on issues such as avoiding double counting of carbon credits.