Carbon Pulse

The European Commission unveiled its much-anticipated climate law to bind the EU to a net zero 2050 emission goal on Wednesday, pledging to add in a higher 2030 target later this year.

The chart below shows how European carbon prices have outperformed the rest of the energy complex so far this year. EUAs are down just 1.7% since January 1, while coal, oil, natural gas and power have all fallen between 7% and 21%.

China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has loosened restrictions on building new coal-fired power plants in around a third of the nation’s regions and provinces.

Oil and gas producer Santos has said it will seek government support in the form of carbon crediting as part of a funding strategy for a carbon capture and storage project that may eventually store up to 20 MtCO2e annually over half a century.

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

A trio of New York-based power generators regulated by the Northeast US RGGI cap-and-trade system failed to surrender enough allowances to meet their interim 2019 obligations, including the Empire State’s last two coal-fired facilities that are in the process of shutting down, according to public data released Tuesday.

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) prices received a jolt on Monday as a company reportedly was short covering for the final quarter of 2019, halting a month-long regression in credit values.

EU carbon prices slipped further towards €23 on Tuesday, with a surprise US rate cut failing to lift financial markets for long as investors feared for further COVID-19 coronavirus impacts.

UN aviation body ICAO should initially restrict carbon credits eligible for its CORSIA international offset mechanism to those generated during a five-year window, an expert panel has recommended, according to two sources close to the process.

The Ghanaian and Swiss governments have signed a memorandum of understanding to further cooperation under the Paris Agreement’s market-based Article 6, building off a project the European nation’s carbon credit procurement agency selected last year.

The development and scheduled Jan. 2021 launch of a British emissions trading scheme remains on track, a senior UK official said Tuesday, though he would not comment on the government’s EU ETS linking intentions should a wider post-Brexit trade deal fail to materialise by early next year.

The much-anticipated EU climate law seeks to give the European Commission powers to set a “trajectory” towards climate neutrality in 2050, by setting five-year emission reduction benchmarks, according to a leaked draft.  

Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator distributed fewer than 40,000 new carbon credits in its latest issuance round, around 10% of the average weekly volume so far this year.

New Zealand carbon allowances have dropped to their lowest levels since December amid concerns the coronavirus will impact the economy negatively for at least a year.

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

The California Compliance Offset Protocol Task Force (OPTF) may provide guidance on altering existing methodologies in addition to developing new ones, state regulator ARB confirmed Monday, as the expert committee began its work to increase the supply of in-state credits under the state’s carbon market.

Stakeholders requested a variety of changes to the US Transportation and Climate’s Initiative (TCI) draft Memorandum of Understand (MOU) to better align the proposed regional fuel sector ETS with existing North American carbon markets and improve environmental integrity and equity, according to public comments.

The Director will be responsible for developing, supporting, and executing the Network’s activities. They will work closely with other members of the GGON secretariat, working groups and members to drive a variety of cross-organizational campaigns and initiatives to advance network objectives.

The candidate will work under the direction of the Climate, Energy, and Environment Department’s Vice President and Managing Director to analyze and research key international climate policies and trends, as well as to undertake in-depth research to develop new connections and insights.

The Climate Litigation Network (CLN), a project of the Urgenda Foundation, is looking for a Legal Associate to support its work on international climate change litigation, starting immediately.