New Zealand creates climate fund

  • Market: Coal, Emissions, Hydrogen
  • 17/05/22

The New Zealand government has created a NZ$4.5bn ($2.86bn) fund to spend on measures to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as funding programmes to accelerate the take-up of electric vehicles (EVs), end the use of coal and financing studies on developing the country's hydrogen strategy and its offshore wind power generation sector.

The Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF) will be funded from revenue generated from its Emissions Trading Scheme, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said.

Around NZ$1.2bn will be spent on the transport sector, to support the take-up of EVs, promote greater use of public transport and cycling and decarbonise New Zealand's freight system, New Zealand climate change minister James Shaw said.

New Zealand plans to introduce zero emissions buses from 2025 and have the national public transport fleet decarbonised by 2035, Shaw said. It plans to reduce emissions from freight transport by 35pc by 2035.

New Zealand also intends to end its reliance on coal with a ban on new low to medium temperature coal boilers and a phase out of existing ones by 2037.

The country's latest audited annual GHG emissions were 78.78mn t of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2020, 20.8pc up from 65.19mn t of CO2e in 1990 but down 3.5pc or by 2.84mn t from 2019 levels.

New Zealand's energy sector accounted for around 40pc of the country's emissions and around 50pc is derived from the agricultural sector.

The announcement of the CERF funding was part of the New Zealand government's budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year to 30 June and came after last week's launch of the government's GHG emissions targets for three periods up until 2035.

The first New Zealand GHG emissions budget for 2022-25 sets average emissions at 72.4mn t/yr of CO2e or 8pc below 2020 levels.


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28/03/24

Crane barge arriving at Baltimore bridge tonight

Crane barge arriving at Baltimore bridge tonight

Houston, 28 March (Argus) — The first major piece of equipment capable of beginning to clear the blocked Port of Baltimore, Maryland, is expected to arrive onsite tonight. The Chesapeake 1000 crane barge, capable of lifting 1,000 short tons with its a 231ft-long boom, is expected to arrive at the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore at 11pm ET on 28 March, the US Coast Guard (USCG) told Argus . Both the crane and the tug pulling it, Atlantic Enterprise , are owned by Donjon Marine. It is currently the only crane on route to the collapsed bridge, the USCG said. There is no official timetable for the reopening of the port after the Interstate 695 highway bridge over the Patapsco River was hit in the early hours of 26 March by a container ship and collapsed, with the debris and ship blocking the waterway. The operator of the ship, Maersk, has contracted with marine salvage company Resolve Marine to refloat the vessel and remove it from the area, according to the USCG. It is not clear who has contracted for the Chesapeake 1000. Despite the inbound crane, it could take weeks or even months to clear debris and reopen the waterway under the collapsed bridge according to a engineering professor at the nearby Johns Hopkins University. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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'Weeks, months' to reopen Baltimore waterway: professor


28/03/24
News
28/03/24

'Weeks, months' to reopen Baltimore waterway: professor

Houston, 28 March (Argus) — It could take weeks or even months to clear debris and reopen the waterway under the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, according to a engineering professor at the nearby Johns Hopkins University. As of Wednesday, there was no official timetable for the reopening of the Port of Baltimore after a major highway bridge over the Patapsco River was hit in the early hours of 26 March by a container ship and collapsed, with the debris and ship blocking the waterway. "I'd be shocked if it's weeks, but I don't think it'll take even a year" to clear the waterway, structural engineer and Johns Hopkins professor Benjamin Schafer said Wednesday. He expects the rebuild of the bridge to take significantly longer. "I've lived through quite a few civil infrastructure projects and they're rarely less than 10 years. So I think that's what we're looking at," Schafer said. He noted that it took five years to build the original Francis Scott Key Bridge and seven years to repair the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida, after a similar collapse in 1980. Still, "this is definitely not a national supply chain crisis," John Hopkins operations management professor Tinglong Dai said Wednesday. "The effect will be mostly local, mostly minimal and mostly temporary." The bridge collapse and port closure is also unlikely to trigger a global supply chain crisis, he said. The Port of Baltimore is an important but "niche" port specializing in automobile imports and exports, Dai added. "The supply chain has evolved...I have already seen a lot of rerouting happening." Automakers started adjusting their supply routes away from the top port for US vehicle imports the day of the collapse, including General Motors, Ford and Mercedes-Benz. Baltimore is also a major port for coal exports, which may start to shift to terminals to the south in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Freight rates for ships that carry coal could see increases in global markets Other commodities like asphalt and caustic soda that move through the port will see challenges, while organic agriculture imports may see less problems due to seasonal flows. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Long-term contracts needed to stabilise gas prices: MET


28/03/24
News
28/03/24

Long-term contracts needed to stabilise gas prices: MET

London, 28 March (Argus) — Germany and Europe need more LNG and business-to-business long-term contracts to even out supply shocks and stabilise gas prices, even as demand is unlikely to reach historical heights again, chief executive of Swiss trading firm MET's German subsidiary Joerg Selbach-Roentgen told Argus . Long-term LNG contracts have a "stabilising effect" on prices when "all market participants know there is enough coming", Selbach-Roentgen said. He is not satisfied with the amount of long-term LNG supply contracted into Germany, arguing that stabilisation remains important even now that the market has "cooled down" after the price shocks of 2022. Long-term contracts are important for the standing of German industry, Selbach-Roentgen said — not to be reliant on spot cargoes is a matter of global competitiveness for the industrial gas market, he said. The chief executive called for more long-term contracts in other areas as well, such as for industrial offtakers, either fixed price or index-driven. Since long-term LNG contracts are concluded between wholesalers and producers, the latter need long-term planning security for their projects, which usually leads to terms of about 20 years. But long-term LNG contracts in general do not represent a major risk for MET nor for industrial offtakers in Europe, Selbach-Roentgen said. LNG is a more flexibly-structured "solution" to expected demand drops in regard to the energy transition as the tail end can be shipped to companies on other continents such as Asia if European demand wanes, he said. Gas demand is not likely to recover to "historical heights" again, mostly driven by industrials "jumping ship", Selbach-Roentgen said. When talking to large industrial companies, the discussion is often about the option that they might divert investments away from the German market as the price environment is "not attractive enough" for them any longer in terms of planning security, the chief executive said. This trend started out of necessity in reaction to the price spikes but may now be connected to longer-term "strategic" considerations, he said. In addition, industrial decarbonisation — as well as industrial offtakers' risk aversion because of the volatile gas market following Russian gas supply curtailments — leads companies to invest less into longer-term gas dependencies in Germany, Selbach-Roentgen said. In addition, MET advocates for a green gas blending obligation of 1-2pc green gas or hydrogen, in line with legislative drafts under discussion by the German government. This has already met with interest by offtakers, despite uncertainties around availability and prices, and would provide a regulatory framework that allows firms to prepare for the energy transition, Selbach-Roentgen said. By Till Stehr and Rhys Talbot Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Australia to delay mandatory climate reporting to 2025


28/03/24
News
28/03/24

Australia to delay mandatory climate reporting to 2025

Sydney, 28 March (Argus) — Australia's biggest companies will likely face mandatory climate reporting from 1 January 2025, six months later than originally planned, according to a bill the Australian federal government introduced in parliament. Under the revised proposal, the country's largest companies and financial institutions will need to start disclosing their climate-related risks and opportunities, including scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, within their annual sustainability reports from 1 January 2025 instead of 1 July as previously intended . Scope 3 emissions disclosure will continue to be required from the second year of reporting. Companies will be arranged in three groups, with group 1 entities including companies meeting at least two of three criteria: more than A$500mn ($324mn) of annual revenues, over A$1bn of gross assets, 500 or more employees. Group 2 companies will have lower thresholds — above A$200mn of revenues, $500mn of assets and 250 employees — and will start reporting from the financial year starting on 1 July 2026. Reporting for group 3 entities — those with more than A$50mn of revenues, $25mn of assets and 100 employees — will begin from 1 July 2027. The 1 January 2025 start date might be pushed further to 1 July 2025, if the bill does not become law before 2 December. It will now be debated in parliament and needs to pass both houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives, before receiving royal assent. Its approval will support more investment in renewable energy as well as help companies and investors manage climate risks, the government said. Companies are currently not required to report their scope 3 emissions under Australia's National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act, which is used to measure and report GHG emissions and energy production and consumption. Scope 3 can include emissions within supply chains that occur inside or outside Australia, such as emissions from the combustion of Australian coal or LNG exported to other countries. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Hampton Roads may have space for Baltimore coal exports


27/03/24
News
27/03/24

Hampton Roads may have space for Baltimore coal exports

Houston, 27 March (Argus) — Terminals in Hampton Roads, Virginia, may have some available capacity to take rerouted coal shipments from Baltimore, Maryland, despite increasing exports from a year earlier for the seventh consecutive month in February. Coal loadings at Hampton Roads reached an estimated 3.31mn short tons (st) (3mn metric tonnes) last month, rising 7.8pc from February 2023, according to the Virginia Maritime Association. Still, historic Hampton Roads export data going back to 1993 showed that combined shipments from the three terminals in the region peaked at 5.48mn st in April 2012, which is nearly 66pc higher than last month's exports. This suggests that Hampton Roads terminals may have capacity to load additional coal volumes that were originally booked to ship out of terminals upstream from the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed on Tuesday morning, closing the Port of Baltimore for an indefinite period of time. The two Baltimore coal terminals cut off by the bridge collapse, Consol Energy's Consol Marine Terminal and CSX's Curtis Bay Coal Piers, have a combined export capacity of about 34mn st. Railroad Norfolk Southern (NS), which operates the Lamberts Point terminal at Hampton Roads, said today it is working with impacted international customers and port partners to "provide alternate routing solutions." "Ports on the east coast are resilient and have the capacity to serve the flow of freight," NS said. Lamberts Point terminal handled 1.19mn st of coal in February, a 20pc jump from February 2023. Despite this increase, that is still down from the 2.18mn st exported from the terminal in April 2012. Dominion Terminal Associates (DTA) exported 1.24mn st of coal in February from the Hampton Roads area, which is down 30pc from April 2012, while exports from the nearby Pier IX terminal were down 53pc to 727,023st last month. DTA's co-owners, Alpha Metallurgical Resources and Arch Resources, and Pier IX's owner Kinder Morgan all did not respond for immediate comment. By Anna Harmon Hampton Roads coal exports in 2012 st Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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