LCFS and Carbon Markets Workshop
December 7-9, 2022
Westin San Diego Bayview | San Diego, CA
LCFS and Carbon Markets Workshop
December 7-9, 2022
Westin San Diego Bayview | San Diego, CA
Bridget Hunsucker, Director of Carbon — OPIS, A Dow Jones Company
Alicia Robinson, Munnings Consulting — Partner
Fresh from this year’s Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP27 – many world leaders will enter 2023 with pledges and plans to face down record greenhouse gas concentrations and a renewed solidarity to the landmark Paris Agreement. The largest annual gathering on climate change brings together a cast of political, corporate and climate actors to write the playbook for a net-zero emissions world, including how global carbon markets fit into the puzzle. Dissecting these outcomes provides insight to future climate action and initiatives.
Brad Neff, Director, Biofuels Strategy & Market Development — Radicle
After years of legislative work and policy debate, the countdown is on for Washington state’s Cap-and-Invest program beginning in January 2023. Though the fledgling initiative follows in the footprint of California’s established Cap-and-Trade Program, it brings along a fresh batch of eligible participants and new possibilities for opportunistic carbon trading in a secondary market. This presentation gives a holistic view of the new program and examines the most important fundamentals at play next year and beyond.
Jackie Ferlita, Emissions Broker — AQC
Mike Taylor, Director, Emissions Trading — Aegis Hedging
Gabriel Stoltzfus, Market Analyst — cCarbon
Moderator: Megan Boutwell, President — Stillwater Associates
California’s Cap-and-Trade program turns 20 in 2023, marking nearly two decades of compliance for the oil and gas industry, which were first obligated in 2015. Over the years, refiners and suppliers alike have navigated required emissions reductions during times of heightened market volatility brought on by unanticipated state, federal and world events layered on top of the state’s famously finicky refined products supply and demand balance. Join panelists for an analysis of the costs of cap-and-trade along the state’s supply chain in an increasingly unstable world and learn expectations from experts for the year ahead.
Pawan Mehra, Senior Advisor — cCarbon
Jennifer McIsaac, Director of Market Analysis — ClearBlue Markets
Bob Maddox, Chief Sustainability Officer — Sterling Planet
Moderator: Henry Kronk, Editor — OPIS, A Dow Jones Company
This panel discussion brings experts together to discuss the latest challenges and developments for two imperative programs for reducing power emissions at the state level – the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). For RGGI, involvement is poised to decline with two of its largest members — Pennsylvania and Virginia – wanting out following political shake-ups. While price volatility has already manifested this year from fallout uncertainty, market players need a clear picture of how the expected withdrawals will impact supply and demand dynamics for the RGGI carbon allowance secondary market. Meanwhile, demand for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are rising in connection with state RPS programs. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act is expected to counteract a supply-and-demand balance squeeze, but it may be years before the effects are felt. In addition, conversations are amplifying a new trend – procuring RECs to meet voluntary net-zero emissions goals.
Chelsea Bryant, Managing Director, Global Markets & Strategy — Radicle
The rapidly expanding global voluntary carbon market recently surpassed a landmark $2 billion in revenue as corporations retire carbon offsets as part of net-zero emissions strategies. While the bustling market continues to attract major buzz and appears to be on a massive growth path – evidenced by innumerable startups entering the fold – it also enters 2023 with a mountain of work to be done to scale-up operations through defining credit quality and attracting financing. This presentation will prime delegates for the afternoon’s discussions on the voluntary carbon market by outlining the most important factors and challenges at play right now.
Anop Pandey, Manager of Market Analysis, North America — ClearBlue Markets
Mafer Barrera, Clients Insight Manager — cCarbon
Josh McCarron, VP Business Development — Everland
Alicia Robinson, Munnings Consulting — Partner
Moderator: Bridget Hunsucker, Director of Carbon — OPIS, A Dow Jones Company
Momentum continues to build in the effort to decarbonize the global economy, with more than 70 countries – including the largest emitters – China, the United States and the European Union – and 1,200 countries and 40 financial institutions pledging to cut emissions in half by 2030 on the way to net-zero in 2050. Climate action should equate to another year of robust demand in the voluntary carbon market, as players implement or continue offsetting strategies along their path to reaching climate goals. This panel features leading forecasts for voluntary carbon credit prices, supply and demand in 2023 and demystifies how upcoming decisions on credit quality and integrity could turn the tide.
Cindy Chiang, Carbon Solutions Lead — Pachama
Stephen McComb, Managing Director — IncubEx
Moderator: Clayton Munnings, Founder & Principal — Munnings Consulting
OPIS pricing data shows a wide price spread – reaching over $8/mt this year – between the price of voluntary carbon credits traded bilaterally versus deals done on electronic contracts. This phenomenon has emerged with increased interest this year on trading contracts, which provide optionality and easy access to an otherwise opaque market. In the meantime, a good deal of climate project developers have adhered to tradition by continuing to sell credits direct to counterparties at a premium price. During this session, panelists will share insight into carbon credit trading opportunities and how key details like fungibility, vintage and credit quality shape price in the voluntary landscape.
Jordan Godwin, Director of Renewable Fuels — OPIS, A Dow Jones Company
Greg Staiti, Partner — Weaver
California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is an intricate program with lots of ins and outs that even the most seasoned of veterans can forget key parts of how it functions. Join us for a 101-style overview of the program, perfect for newcomers and first-timers, but also a valuable refresher for those who have been around the program since its inception.
Matthew Botill, Division Chief, Industrial Strategies Division — California Air Resources Board
Hear directly from the governing body of the LCFS as we get a detailed update of the current LCFS program and an overview of proposed amendments prior to their adoption, plus a look ahead at other updates and issues CARB may look to take on next.
Andy Lipow, President — Lipow Oil Associates
Russell Dyk, Head of Environmental Products — BTR Energy
Possibly one of the most critical aspects of the LCFS program is the value of the compliance credit. How much are obligated stakeholders willing to pay to cover compliance and how much should low-carbon fuels producers be incentivized by their reductions? Prices have trended downward for much of 2022, and this panel will explore why that has happened and what might be needed to break the bearish climate.
Brian McDonald, Regulatory Affairs Advisor — Marathon
Join us as a major refiner discusses the LCFS, their perspective, challenges, opportunities and how they see the future in both the short and long terms as regulatory and marketplace factors influence products produced and the overall landscape.
Sam Wade, Director of Public Policy — RNG Coalition
Randy Lack, Head of Wholesale and Trading — Anew
John Dannen, Managing Director — Generate Capital
Jeff Rosenfeld, Senior Director of Carbon Analytics — Brightmark
This group of industry experts and thought leaders will provide an in-depth look at the current state of the renewable gas industry and an outlook for the future in both the near and long term to include consumption, pricing and what positive and negative trends may be on the horizon.
Carrie Song, VP of Renewable Road Transportation — Neste
Colin Murphy, Deputy Director — UC-Davis
Ryan Ruikka, Energy Analyst — The ProExporter Network
Perhaps the most rapidly growing fuels around, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) have very promising futures, and this panel discussion will evaluate that growth to date, along with concerns around feedstock availability that will be needed to supply production and demand needs.
John Thornton, President — CleanFuture
Ashley Beaty, VP of Partnerships & Public Policy — BTR Energy
Evan Neyland, Clean Fuels Manager — ChargePoint
It’s no secret that California is moving aggressively towards electrifying the state’s transportation fleet, and this experienced panel will provide insights into the intricacies of the EV sector, discuss credit generation and identify key trends in this sector.
Brian Jennings, CEO — American Coalition for Ethanol
Floyd Vergara, Director of State Governmental Affairs — Clean Fuels Alliance America
While much focus in low-carbon fuels is placed on the emerging fuels markets, ethanol and biodiesel have consistently carried the torch for the first decade of the California LCFS program. How important have those fuels been and how important will they be in the coming decades? Join our panel of experts as they discuss key topics and issues around the ongoing efforts by ethanol and biodiesel producers to reduce their carbon intensity scores and subsequent emissions.
Ian Thomson, President — Advanced Biofuels Canada
Michael Rensing, President — MJ Rensing Consulting
Sergios Karatzos, Program Manager — Parkland
This panel of both private sector and governmental experts will provide a detailed overview of Canada’s Clean Fuel Standard, the provincial LCFS program in British Columbia and how these programs will work together to reduce emissions in Canada for years to come.
Bill Peters, Analyst — Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Abbey Brown, Technical Lead — Washington Department of Ecology
Our regulatory panelists will provide the latest developments from Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program — including the latest modifications and extensions of the program — as well as a look at how the Washington Clean Fuel Standard is gearing up for its 2023 launch.
Nathan Clark, Managing Director — IncubEx
Mike Wittner, Global Head of Oil Market Research — Intercontinental Exchange
Rodolphe Tribolet, Trader — Mercuria
With LCFS pricing at the front of a wide variety of stakeholders’ minds, people are evaluating various hedging opportunities to lock in price. Hear from experts who operate in this arena on how players are utilizing these tools to secure value.