Carbon Pulse

Strong growth in global electricity demand of 6% in 2021, brought about by the recovery of global GDP from the Covid-19 induced slump from the year before and extreme weather conditions, saw electricity CO2 emissions spike by nearly 7% to reach a record level in the year of COP26, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated on Friday.

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EDF has downgraded its estimate for nuclear output for 2022, the French utility announced late Thursday, as a result of extensions of the outage periods for five of its reactors due to defects.

EU nations will need to ramp up their efforts in order to achieve the long-term ETS emissions reductions targets set out under the bloc’s new climate package, a European agency warned Thursday.

Slovenia has announced that it will pursue a coal phaseout by 2033 at the latest, as the Balkan nation becomes the 23rd European country to announce an exit strategy.

California’s WCI-linked cap-and-trade programme requires reform to align with the state’s 2030 emissions reduction goal, but the extent of these changes depends on the programme’s intended role in the Golden State’s overall climate policy package that remains unclear, according to an oversight committee draft report.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices unravelled this week amid bearish views about the February WCI auction and wider macroeconomic conditions, before the return of compliance buyers helped regain support, while RGGI Allowances (RGAs) came off slightly as liquidity dried up.

Carbon credit provider Vertree has partnered with major oil tanker pooling service Tankers International to offer to compensate the climate impact of voyages with nature-based units.

The volume of carbon offsets traded on Xpansiv’s CBL platform nearly tripled in 2021 to outpace the voluntary market’s rapid fundamental growth amid a surge in interest in standardised trade, the company said on Thursday.

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*PREMIUM LISTING - We are looking for an ambitious and experienced applicant, who shares our mission of a low carbon future, to join our Carbon Desk. The chosen applicant will be responsible for growing SCB’s presence; developing new business relationships and revenue streams within voluntary carbon markets in the UK and Europe.

The first seven large-scale projects to receive funding from the EU's Innovation Fund will prevent 73 million tonnes of CO2 over the next decade, European Commission officials said on Thursday.

The European cement industry has reacted strongly against calls for EU carbon border measures to more quickly replace the sector's free allocation of EU ETS allowances, arguing that this would strike a fatal blow against the competitiveness of the bloc's producers.

Peru is among the latest countries to join a group of nations that have pledged to apply corresponding adjustments to voluntary carbon market units, potentially forcing changes to how the country's raft of offset projects can sell their credits.

A new venture led by a carbon market veteran launched on Wednesday, with plans to tokenise offsets from GHG removal projects and make them tradeable on blockchain.

The implementation of Canada’s ambitious climate and clean energy policies is running up against its position as a major fossil fuel exporter, while the government should better leverage its advantage in clean electricity generation, the IEA said in its review of the country’s energy policy on Thursday.

EUA prices dropped for the fourth time in the last five sessions as technical selling dominated, while energy prices continued to drift amid improving renewables output and easing LNG supply concerns.

A carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in China’s western Xinjiang region that will become China’s biggest of its kind when it is fully operational plans to launch its first phase this year.

Danish shipping giant Maersk has accelerated its net zero emissions target by a decade to 2040, and has set a more ambitious interim emissions goal to be reached by 2030.

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