CLIMATE ROUNDUP: Prices Inch Up in CA-Quebec Carbon Auction

In the second carbon emissions rights auction held jointly by California and Quebec, 73,610,528 vintage 2015 allowances were sold for $12.21 apiece.

Also, 10,431,500 vintage 2018 allowances sold for $12.10 apiece.

In the previous auction last November, the prices were $12.10 for vintage 2014 allowances and $11.86 for vintage 2017 allowances.

Each allowance conveys the right to the holder to emit one ton of carbon dioxide.

The California Air Resources Board announced the results of the Feb. 18 auction on Feb. 25. * * * * *

Climate change will exacerbate ill health in California, particularly in segments of the population that lack the ability to adapt to a warmer climate, according to Neil Maizlish , epidemiologist and the head of the California Department of Health Service’s Office of Health Equity.

Speaking Feb. 24 at a state meeting on the health impacts of climate change, Maizlish said that lack of both tree canopy and air conditioning in poor ethnic and minority communities could be make them more subject to the health impacts of warmer weather than their counterparts who live on tree-lined streets in air-conditioned dwellings.

He noted that poor populations already suffer a disproportionate share of chronic illness, from heart disease to diabetes, and that climate change can be expected to accentuate health problems. * * * * *

The California Department of Water Resources’ efforts to slash carbon emissions received national acclaim Feb. 24.

“DWR exemplifies the dedication and accomplishments that make a difference in the fight against climate change and sets a high standard for other organizations to follow,” said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy. The agency honored the water agency for cutting its greenhouse gases 30 percent below 1990 levels.

The state department, which has a main mission of moving water across the state to quench the thirst of farms, businesses and homes, slashed its operational carbon gases largely by using renewable energy and reducing energy waste with efficiency measures at the State Water Project.

In 2012, the department adopted the greenhouse gas emissions reduction phase of its Climate Action Plan, in which it committed to reduce its greenhouse gases to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. —William J. Kelly & Elizabeth McCarthy