Carbon Pulse

China’s northern city of Shenyang is expected to launch trading in its municipal carbon market this July, with the programme spanning around 500 companies initially, local media reported Friday.

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

California gasoline and diesel consumption narrowed the year-on-year gap in October, but both fuel sources remain significantly down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to state data published Thursday.

US biofuel credit (RIN) prices skyrocketed this week to levels not seen in several years as traders expect President Joe Biden’s administration to more stringently enforce the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and set higher fuel quotas going forward.

California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit bank declined by nearly 6% during the third quarter of 2020 as petroleum gasoline and diesel sales rebounded following the temporary lifting of COVID-19 economic and travel restrictions, analysts estimated on Thursday.

RGGI allowance (RGA) prices collapsed across the week on thin volume to hit a two-month low, while California Carbon Allowances (CCA) inched down on the secondary market ahead of the February auction.

EUAs climbed 2% on Thursday as colder weather forecasts supported energy prices, with carbon resilient a day before the resumption of daily auctions.

Verra is looking for a multitasker Junior Program Officer to perform a variety of administrative tasks for the day to day operation of the Program Team and help manage the processing of projects and stakeholder inquiries coming to Verra Secretariat for Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, the Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ framework (JNR), the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards and the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta).

US tech giant Microsoft said on Thursday that it has contracted over 1.3 million removal-based carbon credits, with California compliance-eligible and voluntary market forestry projects making up the majority of these units as the company seeks a transition to long-term technological solutions.

With rapid growth in carbon markets driving a new wave of innovative new approaches, Verra is seeking a Methodologies Manager to oversee the  methodology  development process for the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, ,and the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta). 

Organization: DeSmog UK Position: Operations Manager Duty Station: London, England, UK | (flexible working possible) Deadline for Application: 14 February 2021

Organization: Green Climate Fund (GCF) Position: Portfolio Results Data Analyst Duty Station: Incheon, Republic of Korea Deadline for Application: 21 February 2021

Organization: Vertis Position: Forestry & Soil Carbon Consultant Duty Station: Madrid, Spain Deadline for Application: 31 January 2021

Organization: Rocky Mountain Institute Position: Director – Climate Finance Access Network Duty Station: Remote through the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, at which point candidates should live near one of RMI’s U.S. locations with a preference for New York, NY or Washington, DC. Deadline for Application: 15 February 2021

Organization: Climate Policy Initiative Position: Independent Contractor - Analyst Duty Station: Brazil Deadline for Application: 19 February 2021

Organization: US Agency for International Development Position: Senior Advisor for Land and Climate Change Duty Station: Washington D.C., US Deadline for Application: 8 February 2021

Organization: Climate Policy Initiative Position: Senior Analyst Duty Station: San Francisco, CA, US Deadline for Application: 19 February 2021

Owen Hewlett of Gold Standard welcomes the Taskforce to Scale the Voluntary Carbon Market's intention to make sure companies can take responsibility for their emissions, but argues that scale alone should not be the marker of success.

While the ETS and carbon pricing are critical components of the EU decarbonisation process the functioning of the EU ETS has long been impacted by a what was seen as a “structural” surplus of emission allowances (EUAs), or what was labelled a “supply-demand imbalance”, explains Andrei Marcu of think-tank ERCST.

Laos and Fiji have secured deals with the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility that would see them receive payment for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation over the next five years.