G20 seeks to ease climate funding to cities

Spanish Market: Emissions
21/05/24

Climate funds need to make it easier for countries and especially individual cities to access resources, a G20 working group said in Brazil today.

Experts, representatives of G20 member countries and financial organizations gathered in Rio de Janeiro to discuss ways to leverage financing to face extreme climate events. The two-day event was hosted by the G20 — which Brazil presides over this year — the country's finance minister, global network Finance in Common (FiCS) and the Brazilian NGO climate and society institute (iCS).

Delegates agreed that climate funds — especially the green climate fund, the adaptation fund, the global environment facility fund and the special climate change fund, which will hold a combined $30bn in the next five years — need to allow better access for cities to combat climate change. That means easing bureaucracies and identifying bottlenecks, according to Ivan Oliveira, deputy secretary for sustainable development at Brazil's finance ministry.

Guaranteeing funding for climate projects can take many years, Oliveira said. But "climate change requires climate funds to deliver quickly," he added.

FiCS' chairman Remy Rioux — who is also the chief executive of France's development agency — pointed to the different accreditation processes for different climate funds as hindering climate financing. A single accreditation process would ease access, he added.

"We will do our best to find innovative financial solutions for climate resilience and resilient infrastructure," he said.

Climate projects should also be able to tap into multiple funds more easily, Oliveira said.

Rioux also called for the creation of an international guarantee fund to back individual national banks should they need resources to combat climate change. Additionally, local governments should be able to deal directly with climate funds, instead of having to work through the federal government, he added.

The director of Brazil's development bank Nelson Barbosa also noted that a lack of financial guarantees and exchange rate volatility hinder banks and country's ability to access climate funds.

The G20 working group will present a report with suggestions to address these issues in July, in Belem — the capital of northern Para state — Oliveira said. The city will also host Cop30 in 2025.

Rio Grande do Sul

Brazil's federal government is discussing a line of credit to southern Rio Grande do Sul state, which has been hit by heavy rainfall and historic flooding since late April, Barbosa said.

"A special line of credit will be needed for reconstruction," he said. "We already have lines for adaptation and mitigation and now we have to think about lines to take care of losses and damages. Reality has arrived, and development banks have to deal with the effects of the climate."

But he did not give further specifics on the measures.

On Monday, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for the creation of an international fund backed by "people that pollute the planet" to aid Rio Grande do Sul. He has in the past called on rich nations to fund global efforts to mitigate climate change.

Rains in Rio Grande do Sul have left 161 people dead, 85 missing and over 581,600 people displaced, according to the state's civil defense. Rebuilding the state will cost over R19bn ($3.7bn), according to the state government.

By Lucas Parolin

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16/12/24

UK government weighs ETS, Corsia interaction

London, 16 December (Argus) — The UK government has launched a consultation on how to balance coverage of aviation emissions between its emissions trading scheme (ETS) and the UN's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia). One option being considered by the government is to apply solely the UK ETS to flights leaving the UK to the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. Corsia would apply to all other international flights from the UK. This would entail no changes to the UK ETS as it is currently structured, and would be "administratively simple to deliver and comply with", the government said. But it would mean not fully implementing Corsia as intended. And as Corsia administration obligations lie with an operator's state, any exemptions to the scheme set by the UK government would only apply to those operators attributed to the UK. The other option under consideration is to apply both the UK ETS and Corsia to these flights, and then compensate operators for the cost of their Corsia compliance, to avoid double-charging for the same emissions. Airlines would be compensated retrospectively following the three-yearly Corsia compliance deadline. This compensation could be financial, or in the form of either UK ETS allowances or reduced UK ETS obligations. The latter would require consideration of UK ETS supply adjustments to account for lower demand from the aviation sector, the government said. Applying both schemes would keep the covered flights fully compliant with Corsia, but could impact supply and prices in the UK ETS depending on how compensation is delivered, the government said. And the need to determine the costs incurred by operators under Corsia could also increase administrative burdens. The consultation is open until 10 February 2025. By Victoria Hatherick Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

13/12/24

Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

London, 13 December (Argus) — Canada has set a new 2035 climate goal, aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45-50pc by 2035, from a 2005 baseline. This builds on its 2030 target of a 40-45pc emissions reduction, again from 2005 levels. Canada's emissions had been in 2015 projected to rise by 9pc by 2030, from 2005 levels, "but we are now successfully bending the curve", the Canadian environment and climate change ministry said. The newly-announced target is in line with a pledge Canada made at the UN Cop 29 climate summit last month. Countries that are party to the Paris climate accord must submit new national climate plans by 10 February 2025, to cover a timeframe up to 2035. Canada, the EU, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland committed at Cop 29 to set out new plans with "steep emissions cuts" that are consistent with the global 1.5°C temperature increase limit sought by the Paris Agreement. The plans are known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Canada's NDC is being considered by the cabinet, and the country plans to submit it by the deadline, Canadian climate change ambassador Catherine Stewart told Cop 29 delegates on 21 November. Tackling climate change is "both an environmental imperative and an economic opportunity", she added. The target was informed "by the best available science, Indigenous Knowledge, international climate change commitments, consultations with provinces and territories and expert advice", the ministry said. Canada will also "seek feedback on how to help companies take advantage of the economic opportunities that come with building a clean economy" in the near term, it added. Although the plan is not yet available, the ministry said that it will examine the role of carbon removal technologies for the energy transition. "Canadians are increasingly experiencing record-breaking extreme weather," the ministry noted. The country experienced record wildfires in 2023. Carbon emissions from wildfires this year were second only to the "unprecedented" levels in 2023, EU earth-monitoring service Copernicus found this month. Canada has a legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EPA defends 'good neighbor' efficacy

11/12/24

EPA defends 'good neighbor' efficacy

Houston, 11 December (Argus) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded to concerns raised by the US Supreme Court in June by defending the efficacy of the "good neighbor" plan in reducing NOx emissions regardless of the number of participating states. The high court's concerns were over the issue of severability — that is, how effective the good neighbor plan would be in lowering ozone season NOx emissions if only some of the original 23 states participated. In other words, it is the question of whether the emissions limits placed on states as part of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) cap-and-trade program under the plan would have changed based on the number of participating states. In a notice published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, EPA rejected the idea that the effectiveness of the good neighbor plan — and as a result, the NOx emissions limits imposed on each state — would wane if the number of participating states changed. Instead, the agency said that its plan is "by design severable by state" because the NOx emissions limits are imposed on individual sources rather than the states themselves. Each participating state's emissions obligations depend on the number of obligated power plants, their emissions and the types of emissions reduction measures they already have in place. As a result, pausing the imposition of tighter NOx limits under the good neighbor plan in certain states does not affect the NOx limits imposed in other participating states, EPA said. In a similar vein, EPA addressed concerns that the larger version of the CSAPR Group 3 seasonal NOx allowance trading program established under the good neighbor plan would become more illiquid if it covered fewer states than planned, which could lead to a smaller supply of allowances and higher prices. Calling those concerns "unjustified", the agency said that states can withdraw their sources from a trading program by submitting their own ozone reduction plans. EPA also cited previous instances from past cross-state ozone programs where the number of participating states has changed, noting that there has been no evidence of allowance shortages. EPA also responded to concerns that it used an inconsistent methodology to determine emissions obligations for each source — including the emissions reduction strategies that could be used and their associated costs. The agency said it used a methodology that was "nearly identical to prior good neighbor rules" and considered NOx reduction technologies that have been in place "for decades throughout the US." The severability issue was raised by the Supreme Court in June, when it paused implementation of the good neighbor plan nationwide. The court majority said that EPA did not provide a sufficient explanation in response to public comments from states that highlighted those concerns — especially because, until the court issued its stay, only 10 states were participating in the good neighbor plan because of lower court stays. But in September, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit allowed EPA to respond to the issue of severability, while it paused related litigation. EPA finalized the "good neighbor" plan last year to help downwind states meet the 2015 federal ozone standards. It imposed more rigorous CSAPR ozone season NOx emissions limits on more than 20 states and called for new NOx limits for industrial sources. Illiquidity has been persistent in the CSAPR market, depressing activity and keeping prices steady for almost a year because of uncertainty surrounding the numerous legal challenges against the plan. The ozone season runs from May-September each year. With plan halted for the time being, EPA has returned to less-stringent seasonal NOx budgets and reshuffled the remaining participating states into the Group 2 and new "expanded" Group 2 markets, leaving the Group 3 market empty. By Ida Balakrishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop 29 grids, storage pledge signatories released

11/12/24

Cop 29 grids, storage pledge signatories released

London, 11 December (Argus) — The final list of signatories for pledges on expanding energy storage and grid capacity taken at the UN Cop 29 climate summit, was released today, almost four weeks after the commitment was first finalised, with 58 countries out of almost 200 Cop parties taking part. Signatories commit to a collective goal of increasing electricity storage capacity to 1500GW by 2030, a sixfold increase from 2022. Another pledge is to add or refurbish 25mn km of grid infrastructure by 2030, and recognise the need for an additional 65mn km by 2040. Lack of firm, clean power generators to back up intermittent renewables is a major barrier to increasing renewable penetration, while distributed resources require large investments in power grids to transport electricity to consumers. The list of 58 signatory countries includes the so-called troika of Cop host countries the UAE, Azerbaijan and Brazil. The US and all other G7 member states are present, with the exception of France. Also absent among major economies are China and Russia, while Saudi Arabia spoke in support of the pledges during Cop but does not appear on the list of signatories. In comparison, almost 120 countries had signed a pledge to triple global renewable capacity double global energy efficiency by 2030 during the Cop 28 summit in Dubai last year. The grids and storage pledges were one of the centrepiece announcements made by the Azeri host, following on from the calls made in Dubai on renewable capacity and energy efficiency, but also on transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems. But divergences on mitigation — actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions — during the summit this year, meant that the completed pledge, as well as any other specific mentions of fuels and energy transition technologies, were not included in final outcome texts. By Rhys Talbot Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Norway to end new international fossil fuel financing

10/12/24

Norway to end new international fossil fuel financing

London, 10 December (Argus) — Norway will from January no longer provide public finance for new unabated international fossil fuel projects, in line with a commitment it made in December last year. Norway's export credit agency, Eksfin, provides most of the country's financing for overseas fossil fuel projects. Eksfin provided between 8.78bn Norwegian kroner and 10.98bn NKr ($786mn- 983mn) over July 2021-June 2023 for fossil fuel projects, civil society organisation Oil Change International found. Norway signed the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) at the UN Cop 28 climate summit in 2023. The CETP aims to shift international public finance "from the unabated fossil fuel energy sector to the clean energy transition". The CETP, which now has 41 signatories, was launched at Cop 26 in 2021, with an initial 39 signatories including most G7 nations and several development banks. Signatories commit to ending new direct public support for overseas unabated fossil fuel projects within a year of joining. Abatement, under the CETP, refers to "a high level of emissions reductions" through operational carbon capture technology or "other effective technologies". It does not count offsets or credits. Australia, which also signed the CETP at Cop 28, said last week that it would no longer finance overseas fossil fuel projects. "Norway is also working to introduce common regulations for financing fossil energy within the international main agreement for state export financing in the OECD", the Norwegian government said today. Norway's policy "helps increase momentum" for an OECD deal that could end $41bn/yr in oil and gas export financing, Oil Change said. Countries are involved in "final negotiations" on the deal today, Oil Change added. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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