CP Daily: Friday August 4, 2023 ?

Presenting CP Daily, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter. It’s a daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here[1]

TOP STORY

US tech giant Amazon is among more than 60 companies identified by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) late on Thursday for falling to meet a deadline in submitting their emissions reduction goals for validation.

EMEA

Germany’s plan to tender 24 GW of hydrogen and fossil gas units from 2024 could lead to the release of almost 5 MtCO2 emissions per year as industry is expected to take time to build a low-carbon hydrogen supply chain, analysts told Carbon Pulse.

European carbon ended the week on a bearish note as prices erased Thursday’s gains to post a 5.7% weekly decline as trading activity diminished sharply after the busiest Monday-Thursday in nearly two months, while UK Allowances consolidated even as the British market recorded its biggest weekly drop in nearly a year.

EU industrial companies should set out climate plans featuring emissions intensity goals and planned measures for every five-year period through 2050 to ensure they can continue to receive their full free allocation of carbon allowances, the European Commission said on Friday.

Greece’s largest electricity producer PPC reported a 26% fall in fossil burn covered by the EU ETS over the first six months of 2023, compared to last year.

ASIA PACIFIC

Papua New Guinea has published its REDD+ safeguard guidelines, designed to enforce and ensure transparent and fair benefit sharing and distribution activities for local communities and stakeholders.

Prices for China’s carbon permits edged up over the past week with a relatively sustained trading volume, as observers expect activity in the national carbon market to pick up this month after the announcement of carryover rules.

China has expanded the scope of the domestic Green Electricity Certificate (GEC) market through the announcement of new rules on the renewables scheme, a move that could add policy complexity to the country’s national offset market.

A New Zealand exchange-traded fund tied to the country’s emissions trading market has seen its value fall further by some NZ$12 million ($7.3 mln) as a result of the destabilisation of the NZU price, quarterly figures showed.

AMERICAS

The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday withheld a sitting permit for an ethanol carbon capture and storage (CCS) project that is part of a diversified carbon removal forward credit purchase agreement announced earlier this year.

A small Oregon carbon services provider has introduced a new independent GHG programme for the validation and monitoring of community and nature-based projects, the company announced this week.

Emitters continued to favour this year’s California Carbon Allowance (CCA) vintage contract as prices went on a wild ride this week, while both speculators and producers reduced their RGGI Allowance (RGA) holdings, data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed Friday.

A pair of investors in the California Carbon Allowance (CCA) market in recent weeks have departed for firms primarily focused on the voluntary credit space, Carbon Pulse has learned.

VOLUNTARY

A software aviation firm announced Friday the upcoming launch of its carbon offset platform for commercial and private jet fleet operators, and will source the credits from biochar projects.

BIODIVERSITY (FREE TO READ)

Experts have mostly reacted positively to the British government’s publication of pricing tiers for statutory biodiversity credits, underlining that the high costs for this ‘last resort’ option mean that developers will be forced to consider their nature impact before undertaking projects, while also incentivising a local supply of units to emerge.

The first nature improvement assets are expected to be issued this year by a provider of digital infrastructure for the burgeoning nature-based financing market, which sees itself challenging some of the conventions of the voluntary carbon market (VCM).

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CONFERENCES

North America Climate Summit – Sep. 19-21, New York City: The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) looks forward to welcoming delegates to our flagship North America Climate Summit (NACS) 2023, an official accredited event of New York Climate Week 2023 and the UN General Assembly 2023. The Summit is the ideal forum to take stock of the world’s evolving net zero landscape and clean growth opportunities, and a zoom into North America. Hear from policymakers, business leaders and innovators who are leading the pack in building, scaling and collaborating on carbon pricing and markets for net zero. Register here[10]

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Carbon Pulse has teamed up with CME Group to provide its clients with regular updates on the global carbon markets. Check out these briefs for the latest insights on pressing trends and events impacting markets, published every other week. Registration required[11]

INTERNATIONAL

Bad gas – A natural gas well blowout in a remote region in Kazakhstan has triggered a huge methane leak, scientists say, showing the risks of prospecting for fossil fuels, Bloomberg reports[12]. Satellites observed giant clouds of methane spewing from the site at least nine times in the month leading up to July 23, French geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS said. Its findings were broadly corroborated by scientists at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research.

EMEA

Bavaria takeover – The government of the southern German state of Bavaria seeks to take over all Uniper-owned hydropower plants in the region, to turn them into a state-owned operating company, Clean Energy wire reports[13]. The takeover plans involve 97 hydropower plants in Bavaria with a combined capacity of around 970 MW, which together generate around one third of the state’s hydropower. A joint operating company for the hydropower plants with the federal government is also under consideration. Uniper was nationalised last year after it lost billions of euros due to the collapse of gas trading between Germany and Russia, but announced record earnings in H1 2023 in a turnaround following the bailout.

Unified train system – The European Commission has approved a €22.2 mln Dutch scheme[14] to promote the shift of freight transport from road to rail. The Netherlands is planning to upgrade its traffic management equipment on freight locomotives to join the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS), the single European railway management system that aims to replace the different national systems.

ASIA PACIFIC

Something in the water – Pacific anti-nuclear advocacy groups and campaigners have condemned the Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s backing of Japan’s plans to release over one mln tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, Radio NZ reports[15]. Rabuka announced he was ‘satisfied’ with Japan’s efforts to demonstrate that the release will be safe. Japan aims to gradually release 1.4 mln tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater from the defunct Fukushima power plant over a period of 30-40 years. The International Atomic Energy Agency has released a report saying Japan has checked off all the boxes to ensure the imminent release of the treated water would be consistent with international standards. However, the Alliance for Future Generation Fiji said it was ‘deeply concerned’ with Rabuka’s stance, arguing that releasing the wastewater would have far-reaching consequences for the entire Pacific region.

Renewables consumption – China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has set separate renewable power consumption targets for local governments, according to a notice published Friday. Major regional economic hubs, such as Beijing and Shanghai, are asked to ensure 20-30% of their total electricity consumption is from renewable resources this year, while the target can be up to 70% for some resource-rich provinces like Sichuan and Qinghai, the notice showed. In the first half of this year, China’s installed capacity of renewables jumped by 18 % to 1.32 bln kilowatts from a year ago, making up almost 49% of the country’s total, Yicai[16] reports.

AMERICAS

Carbon capture recruiting – Renowned materials scientist Phil De Luna will join[17] Deep Sky, a Montreal-based carbon capture company. Most recently working as a Sustainability Expert on decarbonisation issues at McKinsey, De Luna now joins Deep Sky as Chief Carbon Scientist and Head of Engineering. A Governor General Gold Medal winning-scientist, De Luna has published over 50 papers in high impact scientific journals, serves on the board of Carbon Management Canada, and was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2019. De Luna’s goal at Deep Sky will be to develop and deploy breakthrough technology as part of Deep Sky’s efforts to build large-scale removal and storage infrastructure in Canada. In July, Deep Sky partnered[18] with California-based Captura to pilot an ocean-based CO2 removal facility in eastern Quebec.

INVESTMENT

Two-thirds to a trillion – Morgan Stanley said it’s more than two thirds[19] of the way towards achieving its target to finance $1 trillion of low carbon and sustainability investments by the end of the decade. The Wall Street firm said in an ESG report this week that it has allocated $700 billion of financing, with more than $550 billion of that directed to green activities. The bank said numerous groups contributed to the program, including its securitised products, commodities, and wealth management divisions. The funds went to areas including clean energy, carbon removal, and social housing. (Bloomberg)

SCIENCE & TECH

Ocean extreme – The oceans have reached their highest ever recorded temperature, with the average daily global sea surface temperature breaching a 2016 record this week, according to EU climate change service Copernicus. The mercury hit 20.96C, which is far above the average for this time of year. Oceans play a vital role in regulating the climate by soaking up heat, producing half of Earth’s oxygen and driving weather patterns. Warmer waters also have less ability to absorb CO2 and can accelerate the melting of glaciers, exacerbating sea level rise. (BBC News) [20]

AND FINALLY…

Surf’s Up! – Wave heights are getting bigger along the California coastline as global temperatures have risen, finds a new study[21] published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, which looked at nearly a century’s worth of data, found that the average height of winter waves has grown by about a foot since 1969. The number of storm events that led to waves exceeding 13 feet in height has also increased, it said. Bigger waves may be a boon to surfers but they are also a risk to the state’s picturesque beaches and expensive properties. Almost three-quarters of California beaches may be completely eroded by rising sea by the turn of the century, according to federal estimates, while between $8-$10 bln worth of existing property is likely to be underwater within the next few decades, according to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.

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References

  1. ^ Subscribe here (eepurl.com)
  2. ^ Carbon Development Director, Impact Carbon – Remote/Flexible Location (carbon-pulse.com)
  3. ^ Compliance Officer, Verra – Remote (Worldwide) (carbon-pulse.com)
  4. ^ Land Use Methodology Development Manager, GreenCollar Group – Australia/US (carbon-pulse.com)
  5. ^ Senior Program Officer, Forest Carbon Innovation Operations, Verra – Remote (Worldwide) (carbon-pulse.com)
  6. ^ Senior Engineer, Oil & Gas Sector with Carbon Market and Upstream Emission Reduction Project Expertise, ICA-Finance – Oslo (carbon-pulse.com)
  7. ^ Senior Program Officer, REDD+ Remote Sensing and GIS Analysis, Verra – Remote (Worldwide) (carbon-pulse.com)
  8. ^ Senior Carbon/Commodities Trading Analyst, RepuTex Energy – Melbourne (carbon-pulse.com)
  9. ^ click here (carbon-pulse.com)
  10. ^ Register here (reg.eventmobi.com)
  11. ^ Registration required (www.cmegroup.com)
  12. ^ Bloomberg reports (www.bloomberg.com)
  13. ^ Clean Energy wire reports (www.cleanenergywire.org)
  14. ^ scheme (ec.europa.eu)
  15. ^ Radio NZ reports (www.rnz.co.nz)
  16. ^ Yicai (www.yicaiglobal.com)
  17. ^ will join (finance.yahoo.com)
  18. ^ partnered (carbon-pulse.com)
  19. ^ more than two thirds (www.bloomberg.com)
  20. ^ (BBC News)  (www.bbc.co.uk)
  21. ^ new study (www.ncei.noaa.gov)
  22. ^ (twitter.com)
  23. ^ Share on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)

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