Carbon Pulse

The European Commission detailed its expected MSR auction withdrawals and aviation allowance volumes for 2021 late on Friday, confirming an expected drop in both once the UK exits the scheme at year-end.

Pennsylvania Democratic legislators and an environmental group lobbed support behind a proposed RGGI-modelled cap-and-trade regulation during the first of 10 virtual public hearings this week, while Republicans questioned the legality of the state’s actions, according to public comments.

European carbon prices entered new territory on Friday, leaping above the €31.00 mark that had stood as the all-time high since 2006 as EU leaders agreed to tougher 2030 emissions targets.

Canada will hike the CO2 price under its ‘backstop’ carbon pricing regime by C$15/tonne annually between 2023 and 2030, hitting C$170 ($133) by the end of the decade as the country rolls out new measures to overachieve on its Paris Agreement target, the government announced Friday.

With the Green Deal, the EU is producing a regulatory storm that will stretch far into the future, deep into today’s profit models, and way beyond Europe’s borders. Companies should bring the Green Deal into the heart of their business in order to secure the competitive advantage of regulatory pre-alignment, argues Christiaan Gevers Deynoot of South Pole. 

China’s Hubei province sold just over a third of the CO2 allowances on offer at its second auction this week, despite bidding being open to both emitters and financials.

Closing prices, ranges and volumes for China's regional pilot carbon markets this week. All prices are in RMB, and volumes in tonnes of CO2e. Data sourced from local exchanges.

A group of 30 global investors with over $9 trillion worth of assets under management on Friday vowed to support a reduction of GHG emissions to net zero by 2050 or sooner through their portfolios.

EU heads of state and government early on Friday adopted the 27-nation bloc's upgraded 2030 emissions reduction target of at least 55% below 1990 levels, after a whole night of negotiations at the European Council to persuade Poland.

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

The EU’s heads of state and government continue to discuss the increase of the 27-nation bloc emissions reduction target by 2030 well on to the night, as latest draft conclusions have made some concessions to Central and Eastern member states but differences remain.

A California watchdog group reiterated calls for state regulator ARB to address the WCI allowance surplus to encourage future emissions reductions, saying low prices could minimise the linked cap-and-trade scheme’s contribution to hitting the Golden State's 2030 GHG goal.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices rose toward the 2021 WCI floor price this week with fewer sellers on the secondary market, as RGGI Allowance (RGA) values trended upward after the Q4 auction cleared above traders’ expectations.

United Airlines will eschew the use of traditional carbon credits in favour of direct air capture technology and sustainable aviation fuel in reaching CO2 neutrality by mid-century, the Chicago-based company announced Thursday.

Switzerland’s revised NDC is set to curb the country’s reliance on international credits, but intends to use flight ticket tax revenues to help compensate for emissions linked to fossil fuel imports.

ENGIE are recruiting for a Carbon and Compliance Consultant to be based in Canary Wharf, London. As an integral part of a carbon and compliance team, this position will be working on numerous client contracts to ensure compliance with energy audits and reporting.

US biofuel credit (RIN) prices mostly trended down this week from multi-year highs, while a coalition of agriculture and biofuel groups challenged the EPA’s granting of several dozen Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance waivers for 2018.

European carbon prices jumped to a three-month high on Thursday on the back of rising energy prices, a looming supply shortage, and optimism surrounding efforts to adopt stronger EU climate targets, with EUAs now within sight of this summer's 14-year high as well as their all-time peak.

Hubei’s Wednesday auction for ETS participants sold just over half of the 2 million allowances on offer, with the remainder transferred to Friday’s open-for-all sale.