Carbon Pulse

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) on Thursday said the state will not be participate n the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P) after Connecticut rejected the programme, spelling a likely end to the proposed fuel sector cap-and-trade system. 

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices leapt once again to fresh all-time highs this week prior to the Q4 WCI auction, as RGGI Allowances (RGAs) set their own new top before melting towards the 2021 Cost Containment Reserve (CCR) trigger price.

Carbon standard manager Verra is seeking greater clarity on where corresponding adjustments may be appropriate for the voluntary carbon market, it said in a note on Thursday in the wake of a UN decision that may see host nations require such measures.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promoted Canada’s approach to carbon pricing including a potential carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) during his trip to Washington DC, ahead of the Three Amigos Summit with leaders from the US and Mexico.  

The EU’s securities market regulator ESMA has found no evidence of anti-competitive trading behaviour in the bloc’s carbon market, it said in a preliminary assessment published late Thursday at the request of member states.

The US EPA on Thursday proposed to once again push back multi-year compliance deadlines for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), with the agency also offering a different approach for setting true-up dates for the federal biofuels programme from 2022 onwards.

Exchange operator ICE on Thursday announced it is planning to hold voluntary emissions reduction (VER) auctions for REDD+ project developer Permian Global.

European carbon prices slid in quiet trading amid weakness across the wider energy complex on Thursday morning, as concerns eased over gas supply this winter.

Analysts have compiled and released for the first time a list of CO2 emissions from 100 listed Chinese companies, dominated by a group of power companies each releasing hundreds of millions of tonnes into the atmosphere every year.

French oil major TotalEnergies has committed to participating in developing a large-scale soil carbon project in Australia, and to apply Aboriginal fire management techniques to offset schemes in sub-Saharan Africa, it announced Thursday.

China’s State Council has set up a 200-billion yuan ($31.4 bln) lending facility aimed at improving coal production and consumption efficiency.

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

*PREMIUM LISTING - The Client Advisor’s primary responsibility is to manage a portfolio of clients participating in Climate Smart’s training and certification program, and support them to measure their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, develop plans for GHG reduction, and achieve certification as ‘Climate Smart businesses’

*PREMIUM LISTING - You will be responsible for overseeing the successful delivery of technical projects, identifying market opportunities for our clients, and providing tangible steps to bridge any gap to market access. You will provide carbon market expertise as a technical resource for projects and be responsible for the quality and on-time delivery of projects, with the support of the team’s depth of technical expertise.

Year-to-date CO2 output under the RGGI cap-and-trade system exceeded allowance holdings by compliance entities during the third quarter, while higher trade volumes and open interest were associated with more speculators in the market, according to a report published Wednesday.

*PREMIUM LISTING - We are looking for an Environmental Markets Correspondent based in North America to help us bolster and expand our coverage. The role is full-time and based from home/remotely within the US or Canada.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) on Wednesday lifted its suspension of utility Dominion Energy’s rate case request for recovering RGGI-related costs, and in the process rejected an environmental group’s petition against the power generator.

Higher-than-expected zero-emissions vehicle (EV) uptake will reduce California GHG emissions and likely prevent an allowance shortage from arising this decade under the WCI-linked cap-and-trade programme, analysts said.

Last week’s UN agreement on Article 6 is bullish for the role of market-based mechanisms in supporting global climate action. But the new dawn comes with added complexities, write Sebastien Cross and Tommy Ricketts of BeZero Carbon.

Language on fossil fuel subsidy reform in the decision of the COP26 UN climate conference was dismissed by some as another empty promise, but others believe it could pave the way for drastic cuts in government support for oil, gas, and coal.