Carbon Pulse

China’s carbon market was paralysed on Wednesday as traders stepped back to digest news that the government will allow all CCER types to be used for compliance in the national emissions trading scheme.

Carbon prices lost touch with their recent highs on Wednesday morning, drifting in concert with energy markets amid a slowdown in trading activity.

Over 700 institutional investors representing $52 trillion in managed assets have called for governments to take ambitious policy action to avoid a “catastrophic” rise in global temperatures and to manage climate risk, according to a statement from the combined group of financial heavyweights released on Wednesday.

A digital currency protocol backed by carbon credits has purchased close to 7 million VCS units in the first week after its launch, while reaching a market cap of over $1.1 billion.

Some Chinese lenders have begun offering interest rates linked to emission levels, as the nation’s financial sector strive to develop new climate-related products.

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Nearly half of all energy-related CO2 emissions in major economies are now subject to a carbon price, though rates remain too low to lead a successful transition to net zero, the OECD said in a report published Tuesday.

California gasoline consumption rose to a new pandemic-era high in July despite remaining far off levels from two years ago, as diesel retraced from a 10-year record, according to state data published Monday.

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.

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