Summary
After the lofty rhetoric, it is now time to get to the nitty-gritty details of a climate deal. The negotiators’ road map is a 30 page-document full of brackets, which show where there is no consensus yet. Rich countries are trying to cajole poor ones. To wit, France will spend billions on African renewable energy projects, while president Obama promises the US will meet commitments to help finance developing nations’ efforts to reduce carbon pollution, though congressional Republicans promised to oppose them. Same thing for carbon pricing, Obama said at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday that he supports it, but congressional Republicans don’t.
Quote of the day
“If you put a price on it, then the entire market would respond.”
President Barack Obama, in the Reuters’ story Obama says carbon price tag would drive innovation
Lead stories
After leaders’ rhetoric, climate negotiators start work on deal
By Barbara Lewis and Bate Felix – Reuters
With encouragement from 150 world leaders ringing in their ears, government negotiators in Paris sought on Tuesday to turn that rhetoric of unity into the text of a global deal to slow climate change.
http://jlne.ws/21sIWm5
COP21: France to spend billions on African renewable energy projects
Reuters
France plans to spend billions of euros in renewable energy and other environmental projects in its former west African colonies and across Africa over the next five years, President François Hollande said on Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/1jxhCkb
Ban tells African leaders they have ‘enormous stake’ in success of climate conference
UN News Center
At a gathering of African leaders at the United Nations climate change conference (COP21), UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that their continent has an enormous stake in the success of the global event which aims to reach a new universal climate agreement to limit the rise of global temperature.
http://jlne.ws/1YFplg9
Is The COP 21 Just More Hot Air Or A Real Chance For Climate Change?
By Marcel Michelson – Forbes
I am not a climate change skeptic but I am skeptical about the real impact of a series of annual summits that draws many thousands of delegates and journalists by air from all over the world to sit and talk about making promises to change behavior and reduce carbon dioxide and other kinds of emissions.
http://jlne.ws/1ImQQXI
Meet the 8 Power Players to Watch at COP21
By Ben Jervey – GOOD
The U.N. climate summit in Paris has so many moving parts—so many events and “side events” and marches and exhibits—it can be tough to remember there are actual negotiations going on.
http://jlne.ws/1lt7nyQ
U.S. Will Keep Commitments in Paris Climate Deal, Obama Says
By Angela Greiling Keane – Bloomberg News
The U.S. will meet commitments to help finance developing nations’ efforts to reduce carbon pollution, President Barack Obama said, challenging congressional Republicans who have fought most of his environmental policies.
http://jlne.ws/21sFmbv
Obama says carbon price tag would drive innovation
Reuters
President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the best way to drive innovation and reduce carbon emissions is “to put a price on it” but he does not expect that from the current Republican-dominated U.S. Congress.
http://jlne.ws/1NGcloI
Events
EUEC 2016 Conference & Expo
Feb 3 – Feb 5, 2016
San Diego Convention Center, CA
http://www.euec.com/
Carbon
Why Alberta’s Carbon Tax Matters
Bloomberg View (Editorial)
Canada’s biggest oil-producing province has announced an aggressive carbon tax. As world leaders gather in Paris this week to discuss how to combat climate change, they might want to ask: If a carbon tax can make it there, can it make it anywhere?
http://jlne.ws/1PZ4jaz
North Dakota Argues Carbon Capture Not Demonstrated
By Andrew Childers – Bloomberg News
North Dakota plans to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency determination that carbon capture is a readily available pollution control for power plants as part of its lawsuit challenging the new source performance standards for carbon dioxide.
http://jlne.ws/1IBozYa
Natural gas / coal
COP21: Coal plans would derail 2 degree warming target
By Matt McGrath – BBC News
Attempts to keep global warming to 2 degrees will be wildly off course if all planned coal fire plants are built.
http://jlne.ws/1Rk4AV3
***LB: Also in this story “That’s the conclusion of a new analysis presented here at the UN climate conference near Paris.”
Europe’s Coal Curtain Is Complicating the Climate Fight
By Ladka Mortkowitz Bauerova – Bloomberg News
At the Bilina mine 50 miles north of Prague, excavators the size of 10-story buildings claw at the earth and scoop out 2,700 tons of brown coal a day to feed the smoke-belching power station on the horizon. After the Czech government relaxed environmental regulations this fall, they’ll be able to keep going for another 40 years.
http://jlne.ws/1NlMYC0
Glencore’s Optimum Coal Operation Said to Draw Buying Interest
By Franz Wild and Renee Bonorchis – Bloomberg News
Glencore Plc’s Optimum Coal unit, which went into “business rescue” in August citing an unprofitable deal to supply South Africa’s power utility with the fuel, may be sold, with at least one offer being considered, according to three people familiar with the situation.
http://jlne.ws/1QSejm4
South Africa’s Eskom to cancel Exxaro coal supply contract
Bloomberg News
Eskom Holdings will let its contract to get coal from Exxaro Resources’ Arnot coal mine expire because the South African power utility considers the cost of the fuel coming from the operation too high.
http://jlne.ws/1XEFNLc
December, Like November, Looks Warm to U.S. Natural Gas Traders
By Brian K Sullivan – Bloomberg News
If you saw the snow pile up in Chicago recently or the flurries descend on the Patriots-Broncos football game in Denver, it’d be easy to conclude that it’s gotten cold in the U.S.
http://jlne.ws/1IBpA2t
Power
China Commits $1.2 Billion to Zimbabwe Power Plant as Xi Visits
By Godfrey Marawanyika and Chengetai Zvauya – Bloomberg News
China will provide a $1.2 billion loan to rehabilitate and expand Zimbabwe’s coal-fired Hwange power plant, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa told reporters Tuesday, as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived on a two-day state visit.
http://jlne.ws/1XvMvZ8
Wind, Solar Power to Supply More Energy Than Shale, Goldman Says
By Chris Martin – Bloomberg News
New wind turbines and solar panels worldwide will provide more energy over the next five years than U.S. shale-oil production has over the past five, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
http://jlne.ws/1Rk9ilK
Nigeria’s Largest Power Plant Owed $202 Million, Debt Payments
By Yinka Ibukun – Bloomberg News
Nigeria’s largest power plant said that it’s owed more than 40 billion naira ($202 million) and is facing persistent gas supply shortages despite boosting capacity, highlighting continuing challenges in ending daily blackouts since private companies took over the state utilities two years ago.
http://jlne.ws/1ltaXsz
Germany Pays to Halt Danish Wind Power to Protect Own Output
By Jesper Starn and Weixin Zha – Bloomberg News
Germany’s wind farms are now producing so much electricity one of its grid managers is paying generators in neighboring Denmark to shut down to keep its network from overloading.
http://jlne.ws/1MV7Jre
GE, MetLife Back Wind Farm That Will Run Microsoft Data Center
By Chris Martin – Bloomberg News
General Electric Co.’s energy financing unit and MetLife Inc. agreed to invest in an Illinois wind farm that will run Microsoft Corp.’s Chicago data center.
http://jlne.ws/1Qc8BKf
RWE plans IPO of its business focused on renewable energy
By Jeevan Vasagar – Financial Times
RWE, Germany’s second-largest utility, on Tuesday responded to radical changes in energy policy by unveiling plans to spin off its operations focused on renewable power, electricity distribution and retail sales.
http://jlne.ws/1SuWKpW