Washington state race may shift climate priorities

Spanish Market: Emissions
29/10/24

Washington state's gubernatorial race is likely to lead to a change in the attention given to climate change-related policy as governor Jay Inslee (D) exits office.

The race between state attorney general Bob Ferguson (D) and former US representative and King County Sheriff Dave Reichert (R) remains one-sided as it approaches election day 5 November, in a solidly Democrat-leaning state. Ferguson retains a wide lead over his opponent, with a Cascade PBS/Elway survey earlier this month showing 56pc of likely voters supporting the attorney general and 37pc backing Reichert.

Washington voters have not elected a Republican governor since 1980, backing Democrats in 10 straight elections.

"The numbers are going to be really hard for him because there is so many people that will see whoever's name has a ‘D' next to it and that is how they'll vote," said Todd Donovan, a professor of political science at Western Washington University.

While Democrats have a good chance of retaining the governor's seat, it is unlikely that a Ferguson administration will feature the same focus on climate change as his predecessor.

Inslee, a three-term governor, has been a vocal supporter of climate policies such as the state's Climate Commitment Act dating back to his time in the US House of Representatives. That includes an unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid, which focused heavily on climate and clean energy.

The state climate law authorized the "cap-and-invest" program, which launched in January 2023 and requires large industrial facilities, fuel suppliers and power plants to reduce their emissions by 45pc by 2030 and by 95pc by 2050, from 1990 levels.

But climate policies remain a distant-third campaign issue for both candidates, with each focusing more on abortion, housing and crime.

Climate is an area where Inslee led the conversation, and not the party, says Donovan.

"The Democrats are more in defensive mode defending [Inslee's] legacy and the climate policies in the face of these initiatives," he said of the current election.

This defense has centered around Initiative 2117, which would repeal the cap-and-trade program. Democrats have focused the campaign around stopping the initiative on how it could affect funding, including $3.3bn lawmakers appropriated for climate-related projects earlier this year, rather than the impacts of climate change, Donovan said.

Ferguson supports retaining the program but has called for changes, such as ensuring farmers receive the promised exemption from emissions obligations for fuel, which was a point of contention in the original rollout of the program.

Reichert supports the repeal of the program, citing it as adding to higher consumer fuel prices in the state while putting Washington on an unrealistic timeline for transitioning off fossil fuels, he said during an 18 September debate.

The move is part of Reichert's larger platform, which focuses on limiting state taxes and supporting small businesses.

"We can't put a predesignated date on when we are going to change things and expect things just to work," Reichert said.

Ferguson has tried to position his opponent as a climate change denier in recent campaign appearances and materials, citing a recording of Reichert denying human impact on the climate.

Recent polling in the state shows a softening of support for Initiative 2117, suggesting voters will decide to retain the cap-and-trade program.

If that happens, a Ferguson administration may seek to change the shape of the Washington's carbon market on the other side of the election.

By Denise Cathey

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15/04/25

Net zero banking body ups flexibility for climate goals

London, 15 April (Argus) — The Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) will increase flexibility around climate targets in its framework, allowing its members to set targets aligned with the upper temperature limit sought by the Paris climate agreement. Members voted to introduce less stringent targets "in response to changing external circumstances and member needs", the NZBA said today. The NZBA is a voluntary global initiative with more than 120 banks as members. The group aims to align financing with reaching net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 — in line with the Paris agreement. The Paris accord seeks to limit the rise in global temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit this to 1.5°C. Members "voted overwhelmingly in favour of adopting proposed changes", the NZBA said today. Banks that join the alliance commit to developing long-term and intermediate targets towards net zero GHG emissions and to reporting on progress towards these. The changes to the guidance "acknowledge a wider range of net zero pathways that align with the temperature goals of the Paris agreement… This acknowledgment increases flexibility for banks with exposures to a range of markets and sectors to manage targets and transition across their balance sheet", the NZBA said. The alliance also intends to further support members, including around sectoral engagement and to help members understand new and emerging practices and approaches. "Over 100 member banks have already set independent sectoral targets using net zero by 2050 1.5°C pathways. There is nothing in the adopted changes that would cause them to move away from this. 1.5°C remains the guiding star", an NZBA spokesperson told Argus . But the alliance noted that in recent years "the external landscape for banks has rapidly changed". The amended framework recognises that "net zero transitions in the real economy are progressing at different speeds across sectors and regions and that regulatory requirements for climate risk and disclosure have increased in some jurisdictions", the spokesperson said. Several large US banks exited the initiative earlier this year , days ahead of US President Donald Trump's return to the White House. Netherlands-based, sustainability-focused Triodos Bank today said that it would leave the NZBA, as "the new guidelines fall short of the needed urgency to align loans and investments portfolios" with the 1.5°C goal. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UN carbon market advances on leakage, baseline issues

15/04/25

UN carbon market advances on leakage, baseline issues

Berlin, 15 April (Argus) — The UN's climate arm the UNFCCC has further refined rules relating to greenhouse gas (GHG) leakage and emissions reduction baselines for generating credits under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (Pacm). The mechanism's methodological expert panel drew up a draft standard on addressing GHG leakage at its fifth meeting last week, clarifying definitions such as "positive" and "negative" leakage, the "activity boundary" and "controlled" sources of GHG. The standard clarifies that the avoidance or minimisation of leakage only applies to negative leakage, even while avoidance of leakage is not possible in all instances. The standard will apply to both emission reductions and removals, and will focus on project-level activities, with a future version to address larger-scale activities such as national crediting programmes. And a draft standard on setting the baseline against which emissions reductions are measured, to prevent over-crediting, outlined the importance of ensuring that the downward adjusted historical baseline of emissions is at least as low as the conservative business-as-usual scenario. The panel proposed future regular revisions of the standard to allow for advances in best available technology, or for mitigation actions implemented at larger and therefore more cost-efficient scales. The panel also suggested some guidance may be needed to determine the scenario for certain types of carbon removal activities. The two draft standards will be put to the Pacm regulator — the supervisory body of the mechanism's governing Article 6.4 of the Paris climate agreement — for adoption. The panel was set up in early 2024 after countries at the UN Cop 28 climate summit in December 2023 threw out the supervisory body's proposals for the mechanism. The panel at its meeting also made progress on the concept of "suppressed demand", which must be taken into account by the Pacm to allow some increase in emissions to enable a host country's socio-economic development. It agreed on the conservative level of 1,000kWh/per capita to "minimise" over-crediting. The panel also progressed on addressing the non-permanence of emissions reductions, with a focus on instances of late, incomplete or missing monitoring reports, deciding on appropriate notification timing and relevant consequences. And it continued work on revising methodologies from the Pacm's predecessor, the clean development mechanism (CDM). The Pacm's first credits will be from transitioned CDM projects. But from next year, all Pacm credits must adhere to their own methodologies. The panel will next meet at the end of May. Stakeholders planning to propose new methodologies and methodological tools for consideration at that meeting must submit them by 21 April. By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Europe saw rising weather extremes in 2024: Report

15/04/25

Europe saw rising weather extremes in 2024: Report

London, 15 April (Argus) — Europe experienced a high level of extreme weather events — such as storms, heatwaves and floods — in 2024, a report from EU earth-monitoring service Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) found today. "Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and severe, and southern Europe is seeing widespread droughts", while changes in precipitation patterns, "including an increase in the intensity of the most extreme events" has been observed, the report found. Europe experienced last year the "most widespread flooding since 2013", it added. The extreme weather events "pose increasing risks to Europe's built environment and infrastructure… and urgent action is needed", the WMO and Copernicus said. Last year was the hottest on record , both for Europe and globally. Europe is the fastest-warming continent, the report noted. The global surface air temperature has increased by around 1.3°C since the 1850-1900 period, while Europe's surface air temperature over land has risen by 2.4°C over the same period, the report found. The Paris climate agreement seeks to limit the rise in global temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5°C. Climate scientists use 1850-1900 as a baseline pre-industrial period. The WMO and Copernicus also flagged "a pronounced east-west contrast" in weather conditions across Europe last year. Western Europe experienced above-average precipitation, while conditions across most of eastern Europe were drier than average. Southeastern Europe in particular experienced "record-breaking numbers" of "strong heat stress" days — those with a "feels-like" temperature of 32°C or higher — and tropical nights in 2024. Nights during which the temperature does not fall below 20°C are classified as tropical. Monitoring from agencies such as Copernicus and the WMO form a central basis of multilateral climate talks such as the annual UN Cop summits, and mid-year UN climate talks which take place in Bonn, Germany each June. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia's carbon credit issuances nearly match demand

15/04/25

Australia's carbon credit issuances nearly match demand

Sydney, 15 April (Argus) — Demand for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) rose almost six-fold in the first compliance year of Australia's reformed safeguard mechanism, although total carbon unit surrenders were nearly matched by issuances of the new safeguard mechanism credits (SMCs). A total of 138 facilities out of 219 covered under the scheme surrendered 7.05mn ACCUs and 1.38mn SMCs for the July 2023-June 2024 financial year to manage their excess emissions, up sharply from 1.22mn units a year earlier, according to data released by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) on 15 April. But the combined 8.44mn units surrendered were nearly matched by 8.3mn of SMC issuances to 63 facilities — of which almost 7mn will be now held for future compliance, potentially weighing on market sentiment around ACCUs in the short to medium term. The final SMC issuances for 2023-24 were below the maximum potential of 9.2mn first disclosed by the Climate Change Authority in November 2024. But that was significantly higher than initially forecast and impacted ACCU spot prices in the following months . Some market participants had been expecting most of the SMCs to have been issued to coal miners, who benefitted from a change in the method used to estimate fugitive methane emissions , but oil and gas extraction accounted for just as many issuances as coal mining, each with around 3.07mn units, or 37pc of the total, CER data released on 15 April. Metal ore mining and processing, including ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals, accounted for around 13pc of all issuances, followed by chemicals and other industries. Biggest SMC issuances and surrenders Shell has emerged as the company that received the largest number of SMCs at a facility level, with its Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) terminal issued with 1.07mn units as it reported scope 1 emissions of 1.85mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) for a baseline of 2.93mn t of CO2e. UK-South African firm Anglo American received a higher combined volume of 1.64mn SMCs, of which 1.02mn came from its Capcoal coal mine and 622,997 from its Grosvenor coal mine in Queensland. Chevron received 622,554 SMCs across its Gorgon and Wheatstone operations, while Australian independent Santos was issued 205,500 units across four facilities ( see table ). Meanwhile, SMC surrenders were registered across 27 facilities. Coal miners in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland made the bulk of these surrenders at 991,857 units, including Anglo American and Australian mining company Stanmore Resources ( see table ). Net emissions fall Baselines were reset under the reformed safeguard mechanism, which applies to facilities that emit more than 100,000t of CO2e in a compliance year across several sectors, and now face a 4.9pc/yr decline rate until 2029-30 . Scope 1 emissions covered under the scheme fell from 138.7mn t of CO2e in 2022-23 to approximately 136mn t of CO2e in 2023-24, representing 31pc Australia's total emissions in that year. Net safeguard emissions fell to 127.8mn t of CO2e from 137.9mn t of CO2e a year earlier following the surrender of ACCUs and SMCs. The total liability in 2023-24 reached around 9.2mn t of CO2e across 142 facilities, of which around 0.8mn t CO2e remained in an excess situation on 1 April 2025, according to the CER. The 0.8mn t of CO2e is from five facilities under the operational control of three companies, two of which are in voluntary administration. The third company, Australian independent Fitzroy, failed to manage an excess of 583,079t of CO2e for its Ironbark No. 1 and Carborough Downs Coal Mine facilities for 2023-24. It has entered an enforceable undertaking with the CER and has committed to surrender the required units, start feasibility studies to investigate carbon abatement opportunities at the two facilities, and ensure neither is in an excess emissions situation for the 2024-25 year on 1 April 2026. By Juan Weik Australia's SMC issuances 2023-24 t CO2e Facility Operator Sector SMCs issued FLNG SHELL AUSTRALIA Oil and gas extraction 1,077,261 Capcoal Mine ANGLO COAL (CAPCOAL MANAGEMENT) Coal mining 1,022,648 Ichthys LNG Project INPEX Operations Australia Oil and gas extraction 768,900 Grosvenor Mine ANGLO COAL (MORANBAH NORTH MANAGEMENT) Coal mining 622,997 Gudai-Darri Mine Mount Bruce Mining Metal ore mining 474,391 Kooragang Island ORICA AUSTRALIA Other basic chemical product 430,751 Gorgon Operations CHEVRON AUSTRALIA Oil and gas extraction 388,803 Carmichael Coal Mine Adani Mining Coal mining 351,232 APN01 Appin Colliery - ICH ENDEAVOUR COAL Coal mining 320,457 TAHMOOR COAL MINE TAHMOOR COAL Coal mining 269,773 Wheatstone Operations CHEVRON AUSTRALIA Oil and gas extraction 233,751 Port Kembla Steelworks BLUESCOPE STEEL (AIS) Basic ferrous metal 232,088 Myuna Colliery CENTENNIAL MYUNA Coal mining 155,043 Ravenswood Mine RAVENSWOOD GOLD Metal ore mining 132,501 Bulga Coal Complex BULGA COAL MANAGEMENT Coal mining 128,269 WOR01 South32 Worsley Alumina Basic non-ferrous metal 117,189 Newman Power Station APA TRANSMISSION (ROY HILL) Electricity generation 114,505 Condabri Talinga Orana ORIGIN ENERGY UPSTREAM OPERATOR Oil and gas extraction 104,047 Wambo Coal Mine WAMBO COAL Coal mining 82,414 Spring Gully Reedy Creek Combabula ORIGIN ENERGY UPSTREAM OPERATOR Oil and gas extraction 81,761 Fairview Santos Oil and gas extraction 74,850 Pluto LNG Woodside Burrup Oil and gas extraction 73,370 Pinjarra Alumina Refinery Alcoa of Australia Basic non-ferrous metal 70,123 Virgin Australia National Transport VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS Air and space transport 67,430 CEM NSW Berrima Maldon Boral Cement, lime, plaster and concrete 63,844 Moranbah Incitec Pivot Other basic chemical product 63,529 CSBP Kwinana Facility CSBP Fertiliser and pesticide 62,865 Curtis Island GLNG Plant GLNG OPERATIONS Oil and gas extraction 60,273 Arcadia Santos Oil and gas extraction 57,996 Nowra Plant Shoalhaven Starches Grain mill and cereal product 52,520 Ningaloo Vision FPSO Santos Oil and gas extraction 51,109 Solomon Power Station FMG SOLOMON Electricity generation 49,749 QGC Upstream QGC PTY Oil and gas extraction 47,428 King of the Hills GREENSTONE RESOURCES (WA) Metal ore mining 40,725 Arrow Surat Operations Arrow Energy Holdings Oil and gas extraction 37,987 Birkenhead Operations ADBRI Cement, lime, plaster and concrete 29,000 Moorvale Coal Mine PEABODY ENERGY AUSTRALIA Coal mining 26,921 Roma Hub Santos Oil and gas extraction 21,545 Clermont Coal Operations Clermont Coal Operations Coal mining 21,521 V/Line V/Line Corporation Rail passenger transport 20,960 Lake Vermont Mine THIESS Coal mining 19,541 NKS01 Nickel West Kalgoorlie BHP NICKEL WEST Basic non-ferrous metal 17,666 Duketon South Operations Regis Resources Metal ore mining 16,319 Daunia Mine BM Alliance Coal Operations Coal mining 15,936 Fisherman's Landing CEMENT AUSTRALIA (QUEENSLAND) Cement, lime, plaster and concrete 15,005 Cockburn Operations ADBRI Cement, lime, plaster and concrete 14,615 Boyne Smelters Limited RIO TINTO ALUMINIUM Basic non-ferrous metal 9,745 Mangoola MANGOOLA COAL OPERATIONS Coal mining 9,018 Liberty Bell Bay Liberty Bell Bay Basic ferrous metal 8,762 Port Latta Pelletising Plant GRANGE RESOURCES (TASMANIA) Basic ferrous product 7,519 Australian Gas Networks (Vic) Australian Gas Networks Holding Gas supply 7,487 Opal Australian Paper Maryvale Mill PAPER AUSTRALIA Pulp, paper and paperboard 7,041 Moolarben Coal Mine MOOLARBEN COAL OPERATIONS Coal mining 4,609 Jax Mine Jax Coal Coal mining 4,082 Baralaba Coal Mine BARALABA COAL COMPANY Coal mining 3,841 CTC WA Facility CENTURION TRANSPORT CO. Road freight transport 3,527 Daunia Mine WHITEHAVEN DAUNIA Coal mining 3,353 South West Queensland Pipeline APA (SWQP) Pipeline and other transport 2,633 Queensland Nitrates Ammonium Nitrate Plant Queensland Nitrates Basic chemical manufacturing 2,382 Mount Pleasant Operations MACH Energy Australia Coal mining 2,304 Dongara Operations ADBRI Cement, lime, plaster and concrete 2,264 Collinsville Mine NC COAL COMPANY Coal mining 1,899 Bell Bay Smelter RIO TINTO ALUMINIUM (BELL BAY) Basic non-ferrous metal 1,770 Source: CER Australia's SMC surrenders 2023-24 t CO2e Facility Operator Sector ACCUs surrendered SMCs surrendered DEN01 Dendrobium Coal Coal mining 40,000 196,075 United Coal Mine UNITED COLLIERIES Coal mining 52,973 190,000 Moranbah North Mine ANGLO COAL (MORANBAH NORTH MANAGEMENT) Coal mining 0 183,699 Mandalong Mine CENTENNIAL MANDALONG Coal mining 32,254 155,043 South Walker Creek STANMORE RESOURCES Coal mining 36,538 132,501 Hunter Valley Operations mine HV OPERATIONS Coal mining 60,000 85,876 APLNG Facility CONOCOPHILLIPS AUSTRALIA OPERATIONS Oil and gas extraction 0 85,774 Murrin Murrin Operations MURRIN MURRIN OPERATIONS Metal ore mining 0 45,593 Kwinana Pigment Plant Tronox Management Basic chemical 0 40,869 Kwinana Alumina Refinery Alcoa of Australia Basic non-ferrous metal 52,729 37,849 Dawson Mine ANGLO COAL (DAWSON MANAGEMENT) Coal mining 24,056 28,862 Wagerup Alumina Refinery Alcoa of Australia Basic non-ferrous metal 37,271 26,498 Phosphate Hill Incitec Pivot Fertiliser and pesticide 0 25,168 Chandala Processing Plant Tronox Management Basic chemical 0 23,215 Cloudbreak Mine CHICHESTER METALS Metal ore mining 8,411 19,262 Solomon Mine FMG SOLOMON Metal ore mining 42,926 19,178 NKW01 Nickel West Kwinana Facility BHP NICKEL WEST Basic non-ferrous metal 62,720 17,666 Coppabella Coal Mine PEABODY ENERGY AUSTRALIA PCI Coal mining 0 15,719 Qenos Altona Manufacturing QENOS Basic chemical 0 13,601 Rail THE PILBARA INFRASTRUCTURE Rail freight transport 4,002 9,163 Angaston Operations ADBRI Cement, lime, plaster and concrete 0 8,968 Western Port Works BlueScope Steel Basic ferrous metal 0 7,642 Otway BEACH ENERGY Oil and gas extraction 22,868 6,935 Multinet Network and South Gippsland Pipeline MULTINET GAS (DB NO. 2) Gas supply 0 4,545 Drake Mine Drake Mine Management Coal mining 2,244 4,082 Iron Bridge Mine IB Operations Metal ore mining 2,414 2,146 Railton CEMENT AUSTRALIA (GOLIATH) Cement, lime, plaster and concrete 0 681 Source: CER Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

IMO GHG pricing not yet Paris deal-aligned: EU

14/04/25

IMO GHG pricing not yet Paris deal-aligned: EU

Brussels, 14 April (Argus) — The International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) global greenhouse gas (GHG) pricing mechanism "does not yet ensure the sector's full contribution to achieving the Paris Agreement goals", the European Commission has said. "Does it have everything for everybody? For sure, it doesn't," said Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, the commission's climate and energy spokesperson said. "This is often the case as an outcome from international negotiations, that not everybody gets the most optimal outcome." The IMO agreement reached last week will need to be confirmed by the organisation in October, the EU noted, even if it is a "strong foundation" and "meaningful step" towards net zero GHG emissions in global shipping by 2050. The commission will have 18 months following the IMO mechanism's formal approval to review the directive governing the bloc's emissions trading system (ETS), which currently includes maritime emissions for intra-EU voyages and those entering or leaving the bloc. By EU law, the commission will also have to report on possible "articulation or alignment" of the bloc's FuelEU Maritime regulation with the IMO, including the need to "avoid duplicating regulation of GHG emissions from maritime transport" at EU and international levels. That report should be presented, "without delay", following formal adoption of an IMO global GHG fuel standard or global GHG intensity limit. Finland's head representative at the IMO delegation talks, Anita Irmeli, told Argus that the EU's consideration of whether the approved Marpol amendments are ambitious enough won't be until "well after October". Commenting on the IMO agreement, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) pointed to the "neutral" approach to feedstocks, including first generation biofuels. "The EBB welcomes this agreement, where all feedstocks and pathways have a role to play," EBB secretary general Xavier Noyon said. Faig Abbasov, shipping director at non-governmental organisation Transport and Environment, called for better incentives for green hydrogen. "The IMO deal creates a momentum for alternative marine fuels. But unfortunately it is the forest-destroying first generation biofuels that will get the biggest push for the next decade," he said. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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