GOGREEN Service From Barclays and DHL Launched

Companies transporting goods in the Asia Pacific region should find it easier to become more environmentally responsible, following the launch of a new joint service by Barclays Capital and DHL Express. The so-called GOGREEN Carbon Neutral service calculates the carbon emissions incurred in individual shipments.  The shipping company can then offset some or all of these carbon emissions in recognised carbon management programmes.  These schemes range from hydro power plants in India to wind farms in China.

Each company also receives annually audited independent verification of the amount of carbon offset achieved. This ensures that the scheme s transparent and credible. Under the GOGEEN Carbon Neutral service, it is also possible to offset emissions resulting from air transportation.

The initiative is part of wider environmental policies within both Barclays Capital and DHL Express.  In 2007, Barclays set itself the goal of becoming carbon neutral.  It achieved this status in 2009 and to date has purchased and cancelled a million carbon credits.  By the end of this year, the banking giant hopes to have reduced the amount of carbon emissions relating to each employee worldwide by 6%.

Similarly, DHL Express, as one of the world’s largest transportation firms, actively seeks out ways of minimising its carbon footprint. It has set itself the target of improving carbon efficiency by 30% in the next decade. The GOGREEN project will contribute towards this reduction.

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The EU Will Exceed 20% Green Energy Target

A report by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has found that the European Union (EU) will exceed its target of meeting 20% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.

Out of the 27 member states, 25 expect to meet or exceed their national targets, EWEA said, based on its analysis of national action plans submitted by EU governments to the European Commission.

"Taken together, the action plans show that the EU-27 will meet 20.7 percent of its 2020 energy consumption from renewables," said Justin Wilkes, policy director at EWEA.

Spain has said it is expecting to surpass its goal by 2.7% and Germany by 1.6%. Luxembourg and Italy, which are predicted to fall short of their national targets by 2.1% and 0.9%, said they plan to import renewable energy from other countries to make up the shortfall.

This shows the growth in the environmental markets, despite the global downturn of the past few years. The carbon credit markets will continue to grow as the target dates near.

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EEX Sets Trading Expansion Priorities

The European Energy Exchange said expanding its carbon-dioxide trading is a priority as the European Union moves toward auctioning permits in the world's biggest such market.

EEX, based in Leipzig, Germany, is continental Europe's largest energy exchange for emission rights, power, natural gas and coal. The platform started handling carbon sales for Germany's Environment Ministry this year and is preparing to take part in a tender to become an operator for the planned EU auctions in 2013, Managing Director Oliver Maibaum said.

"Our top priority is to play a bigger role in the carbon market," Maibaum said today in an interview at the EMART conference in Amsterdam. "The volumes will be bigger after the EU starts auctioning. This already attracts many players and the feedback from our traders is that there's more potential."

The EU, which has given away the majority of allowances since its emission-trading system started in 2005, will require most emitters to buy their permits when its third phase starts in 2013. The bloc will auction about 60 percent of the total in the first year and increase the proportion in following years, according to estimates from the European Commission.

The cap for CO2 discharges for 2013 has been set at 2.04 billion tons, valued at about 31 billion euros at today's price. This limit includes aluminum and chemical makers that join the program in the third phase. An adjustment is also planned for airlines that will become part of the system from 2012.

Maibaum said the EEX was in negotiation for more market makers to boost liquidity from its current four in each gas and power trading and two for carbon. The exchange plans to add time spreads for EU carbon allowances to its current offer of spot and futures.

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Africa to get Carbon Trading Hub

Kenya is planning to create a carbon credit trading market in order to help drive greenhouse-gas emissions reduction activity within the country and across Africa.

The government is creating a carbon offset trading platform to help kick-start foreign investment in renewable energy and forestry projects under the UN’s CDM mechanism.

Kenya’s largest forest and water areas, the Mau and Aberdares, are believed to have the potential to deliver billions of dollars in avoided deforestation credits for preserving and restoring these natural assets. The Mau forest has been reduced by 40 per cent in recent decades due to logging and land-clearing, and carbon credit trading will help reduce this.

The UN CDM has seen more than 5000 projects developed around the developing world over the last six years, but Africa has largely missed out with less than 150 getting off the ground. Kenyan authorities say the trading platform could make Nairobi a carbon trading hub in such projects for the whole continent.

The government has established a carbon finance unit in the Ministry of Finance and says the country’s public debt could be paid off with carbon revenues in six years, according to the head of the Carbon Financing Unit, Erastus Wahome.

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China Enters Emissions Trading

The EU has begun advising Beijing on the establishment of an emissions trading market in China in order to cut greenhouse-gas emissions.

The entrance of the world’s second largest economy into the carbon market will boost the size of the market and help it grow.

Officials from China’s National Development Reform Commission (NRDC), the government’s central economic planning agency, met with EU climate officials over two days in Beijing recently, according to the China Daily.

The EU operates the world’s largest carbon emissions cap and trade scheme issuing tradable permits for two billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year from 11,000 high-emitting power and manufacturing installations.

Jos Delbeke, director-general of the European Commission’s climate office in Brussels said his team shared the experiences and expertise gained from the EU ETS and the two delegations discussed the operational details of a carbon system.

China has a target to reduce the emissions of its economic output by up to 45% by 2020.

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Carbon Offset Investors Have Long-Term Confidence

Investors in the United Nations' Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) now have more confidence in the carbon offset market after 2012 after the number of post-2012 carbon credit deals rose in recent weeks.

On Thursday, UK-based project developer Camco International reported for the first time that it had secured options in CERs due to be issued after 2012 because of more interest from buyers and more market transactions taking place.

"The market has evolved. There is a tangible value for post-2012 credits," Yariv Cohen, Camco's chief carbon officer, told Reuters.

In a project development update, Camco said it has contracts for a risked 28.1 million tonnes and holds contractual rights of up to a further risked 27.6 million tonnes.

This week alone saw three post-2012 deals announced.

A consortium agreed to buy 2 million pre-2012 and post-2012 CERs from a Moroccan wind farm project, while Vitol SA bought 8.5 million CERs from carbon asset manager KYOTOenergy Pte, of which 92 percent are expected to be issued after 2012.

German chemical company Lanxess invested 7 million euros ($9.67 million) in an Indian biomass project to earn post-2012 CERs, Point Carbon reported.

In September, French carbon investor CDC Climat set up a subsidiary to manage 60 million euros of investment in carbon assets, including post-2012 credits.

"Demand been up for a quite a while. People are making sure they are positioned properly for 2012," said Simon Glossop, partner at CF Partners.

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EU Tightens Emissions Limits

The European Union has tightened emissions limits for 2020, which is likely to boost demand for carbon credits as governments and companies try to stay under the allowance.

The Carbon Markets & Investors Association, a lobby group of banks and greenhouse-gas-trading companies, has said it supports this adoption of tighter limits. The group would support a unilateral target of a 30 percent cut in emissions from 1990 levels by the end of the decade, the lobby said today in an e-mailed statement. The current target is for a 20 percent reduction.

The EU is setting rules this year for the third phase of its carbon market, the eight years through 2020. The second phase runs for the five years through 2012.

“The global economic downturn has had the effect of leaving many installations covered by the EU emissions trading system with an excess of Phase II allowances that can be banked into Phase III,” the association said in the statement.

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