The CO2 Market – EU ETS 31.03.2021

The EUA price on London based exchange ICE ECX opened on 31.03.2021 at 42.05 euro/tCO2. EUAs lifted slightly on Monday as last week’s late comeback and a stronger auction encouraged to bulls that prices could re-test the record levels seen earlier this month.

Morgan Stanley raises EU carbon price outlook to €50
Carbon Pulse from London published on 30.03.2021 that Morgan Stanley has raised its near-term outlook for EU carbon prices to above €50 on “positive” political signals and continued inflow of new investor capital into the market.

Brussels launches consultation on transnational CO2 transport networks

The European Commission has launched in March 2021 a consultation on cross-border CO2 transport networks, which could get priority access for EU funding as the bloc intends to kickstart the first large-scale CCS projects by the end of the decade, while environmentalist NGOs aim to expand the current scope to other modes of transport.

Moreover, the European Commission’s upcoming June package of energy and climate laws will “propose the extension of the emission trading scheme to sectors such as building and road transport,” the EU’s energy commissioner Kadri Simson said on Thursday, 25th  March.

The inclusion of both road transport and buildings into the EU’s cap and trade scheme for greenhouse gas emissions has been mooted ever since the new Commission took office, in December 2019.

Source: Carbon Pulse, London & Euractiv, Brussels

The CO2 Market 16.03.2021

The EU ETS Price

EU Allowances hit a record high above 43€ on Tuesday (15.03.2121), surging late on higher power, gas, and equities and as a Brussels official urged caution on possible carbon price controls.

The price of the EUA certificate on the ICE ECX London opened this morning (16.03.2021) the EUA trade sessions at  € 42,21 / tCO2.

The expectation of higher carbon prices may have prompted industrial firms to start hedging their emissions early this year. That added to demand for allowances—as did unusually cold weather, which boosted the demand for heating (the ets does not cover boilers in homes, but it includes large ones, such as those that heat many buildings). Speculators may have accelerated the price rise, by buoying futures prices. Around 230 investment funds hold futures linked to allowances, up from 140 in 2019. They account for only about 5% of the futures market, but it is a growing, bullish share. Long positions, or bets that the price will rise, have doubled since November.

Source: ICE ECX & Carbon Pulse London, Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition

The CO2 Market 02.03.2021

The EU ETS Price

The price of the EUA certificate on the ICE ECX London opened this morning (02.03.2021) the EUA trade sessions at 37,17 € / tCO2.

Air pollution is killing thousands more people than Covid in the world’s biggest cities

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a temporary fall in air pollution in many parts of the world, as economic activity has ebbed and movement restrictions have de-clogged congested cities. But smog was still a big killer in 2020, according to analysis from environmental group Greenpeace and Swiss air quality technology firm IQAir.

In the world’s five biggest cities, Shanghai, Tokyo, Dehli, Mexico City, and São Paulo, small particulate matter in the air known as PM2.5, which penetrates deep into the lungs, killed 160,000 people prematurely in 2020.

Particulate pollution causes health problems such as lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and even diabetes.

Some studies have shown that air pollution makes it easier for people to contract the coronavirus, as well as develop more severe symptoms. One paper suggested that 15 per cent of Covid deaths worldwide, and up to 27 per cent of Covid deaths in East Asia, could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution.

Source: ICE ECX London & Eco-Business