EU Carbon Rises, Has Biggest Weekly Gain in Two Years on Outages

European Union carbon permits for December rose, posting their biggest weekly gain for two years, after Germany decided to close 7 gigawatts of nuclear capacity.
Carbon allowances for December rose 2.6 percent to close at 17.22 euros ($24.41) a metric ton on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. They had a weekly gain of 9.5 percent, the biggest jump since March 2009.
Lower generation of nuclear power will require power utilities to burn more fossil fuels, boosting emissions and demand for permits. Japan upgraded its warning for parts of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant from a four to a five on a seven-level international scale, the International Atomic Energy Agency said yesterday. The five rating is for accidents with wider consequences. The worst nuclear accident, Chernobyl in 1986, rated seven.
“The longer the situation in Japan remains critical, the greater political pressure in Germany to keep the 7 gigawatts offline,” Mark Lewis, an analyst in Paris with Deutsche Bank AG, said today by phone. “I think it is now looking increasingly likely that at least 1 to 2 gigawatts of the 7 gigawatts will not be brought back into service.”

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Diversified investors should look to have 40 per cent of their portfolios in Carbon

Climate change forces new look at investor risk

Diversified investors should look to have 40 per cent of their portfolios in assets that are primed for the impacts of climate change, according to an advisory report to the investment industry.

The report, Climate Change Scenarios: Implications for Strategic Asset Allocation, was drafted by asset consultants Mercer, which advises big institutional investors, such as pension funds. Mercer concluded that climate change will force these highly diversified investors to re-balance their portfolios according to sources of risk, rather than the traditional approach purely according to asset classes.

Mercer says investors should bear in mind three areas of change: energy efficiency and technology; societal shifts, such as in health and food security; and shifts in policy, particularly in carbon emissions reduction.

In light of this, a range of “climate sensitive” areas were identified for returns and risk management potential emerging from the most likely climate change scenarios emerging over the next two decades. The report identifies listed shares, infrastructure and private equity as the best asset classes for investment in the recommended areas of timberland, renewable energy, energy efficiency and other sustainable assets. Investment opportunities in low-carbon technology could be as high as $5 trillion by 2030, the report states.

The report warns that weather extremes expected in a warming world, such as drought, floods and storms, could contribute 10 per to portfolio risk by 2030. But investors must not only take account of environmental damage, but anticipate policy changes designed to tackle the climate problem.

In the most likely of four global policy settings to emerge by 2030, action on climate change would be in place on a regionally divergent basis with some nations taking stronger measures to cut emissions than others, but no more than medium ambition overall. A carbon price of $110 per tonne could be expected in this scenario by 2030, the report says.

 

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News source : Carbon Positive

First Green Climate Fund meeting will take place next mo

UN climate chief urges governments to deliver on Cancun pledges

Christiana Figueres confirms first Green Climate Fund meeting will take place next month.

The UN's top climate change official has issued a timely call for governments to accelerate efforts to deliver on last year's Cancun Accords, ahead of the year's first official round of international climate negotiations in Bangkok next month.

Diplomats are scheduled to recommence negotiations at a meeting in Bangkok scheduled to run from April 3 to 8. The conference is intended to provide an update on progress against the Cancun Accords and agree a work-plan for this year's negotiations, which will culminate in December at the COP 17 summit in Durban, South Africa.

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source of article: Business green

Nairobi opens new carbon credit exchange - 360investgroup

Nairobi opens new carbon credit exchange

Kenya is better placed to emerge as a regional carbon emission trading hub.

The exchange is modelled after the Chicago and Australia carbon exchanges but several aspects of the two have been domesticated.

The exchange has put Kenya on the global map of advance in the trading of carbon credits and will trigger more investments in development of clean, efficient energy and afforestation projects.

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carbon trading

In the news this week.....

Korea unveils carbon scheme rules
South Korea has outlined detailed rules for a scheme that will impose emission targets on over 1,500 facilities this year.

Nefco buys post-2012 CERs from Laos hydro project
Nefco has signed a deal to buy 140,000 CDM credits from a project in Laos that aims to generate carbon credits eligible for the EU ETS after 2012.

EU steel production rises 7.5%
Steel production in the 27-nation bloc rose 7.5 per cent in the first two months of 2011 compared with the same period a year ago, industry data showed on Monday.

Hungary should donate AAUs to Japan, opposition says
Hungary’s main opposition party has urged the government to donate 10 million emission rights to quake-stricken Japan to help Tokyo meet its Kyoto target.



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Major UK retailer to buy 1 million voluntary offsets

Major UK retailer to buy 1 million voluntary offsets

Published: 22 Feb 2011 17:29 CET Last updated: 22 Feb 2011 18:07 CET

Source - point Carbon

 The UK’s Co-operative Group could buy around 1 million voluntary credits by the end of 2012.
 The group, which is owned by its members and is a major player in UK food retail and financial services, said Tuesday it may have to buy around 1 million offsets in order to meet a target announced last Friday to become carbon neutral by the end of 2012.

“Our emissions were around 1.1 million in 2009 and we reckon we will need something near that number to be carbon neutral,” said Ben Norbury of the Co-operative.

The Co-op’s move to become carbon neutral in such a short space of time – part of a multi-pronged ‘Ethical Operating Plan’ – means it will become one of the UK’s biggest buyers of voluntary offset credits.

Co-op, which employs 120,000 in the UK, also aims to double its support for clean energy to £1 billion ($1.62 billion), cut the group's operational carbon emissions 35 per cent by 2017 and ensure that financial products offered by the company are not involved in funding fossil fuels.

Previously, Co-op has only bought tens of thousands of offsets, but is now ramping up its purchase plan to offset emissions across the group’s operations, particularly energy consumption at its stores and offices, as well as distribution and transport.

Projects

Co-op buys credits from the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), one of the main industry standards in the voluntary market.

The offsets are sourced by JP Morgan Climate Care from projects that can demonstrate wider environmental and sustainable development benefits, such as treadle pumps in India and efficient cooking stoves in Cambodia.

“The use of treadle pumps in India, rather than diesel-based generators, cuts emissions and helps farmers in other ways, such as improving harvests and delivering greater income,” Norbury said.

Co-op will buy from similar projects in the future but on a much larger scale, Norbury said, providing a much-needed boon for the voluntary carbon market.

Since 2008, the non-compliance market has been struggling in the face of the economic downturn and lack of a future US trading scheme, where voluntary credits might have been eligible.

Carbon Neutrality

Edward Hanrahan, a spokesman for the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (Icroa), said that demand from UK companies for voluntary market offsets was likely 12 million tonnes last year, catapulting the Co-op into the upper tier of buyers.

Other major UK-based buyers of voluntary offsets include the London-based operations of HSBC bank, Barclays Bank, and US-owned Land Rover, a UK brand of offroad vehicles.

Despite the lingering impact of the economic downturn on the willingness of companies and consumers to offset, demand in the UK’s voluntary market, Europe’s largest, may pick up this year as companies aim to meet carbon neutral targets, said Hanrahan, who is also head of sales at JP Morgan Climate Care.

Marks and Spencer, one of the UK’s biggest food and clothing retailers, may have to buy voluntary credits by the end of next year to meet a £200 million commitment made in 2007 to become carbon neutral by 2012.

Source - Point Carbon

latest carbon credit project now available from 360investgroup

EUAs up 5% on German nuke closures, energy prices

EUAs up 5% on German nuke closures, energy prices
Front-year EUAs gained 85 cents on Monday, ending at their highest level in over 10 months on surging gas and power prices and reports of looming German nuclear plant closures.

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New study flags $60 carbon price

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ELEANOR HALL: An Australian National University report says a price on carbon may have to be set at $60 a tonne if it's to drive down Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

The study also calls for the Government to prioritise income tax cuts over industry assistance. The Government won't endorse the report's findings, but says it welcomes discussion about the issue.

In Canberra, Naomi Woodley reports.

NAOMI WOODLEY: Doctor Frank Jotzo is the Director of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at the Australian National University's Crawford School.

His latest paper on carbon pricing is released today and, in his view, the Government's decision to pursue a carbon tax followed by an emissions trading scheme should keep the economic impact of introducing a carbon price manageable.


Source: ABC News -

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UK government to create carbon floor price rules in April

(Reuters) - Britain's Treasury will set a legal framework next month to create a floor price for carbon emissions, the government said on Tuesday, whilst announcing a wider plan for encouraging low-carbon investments.
The floor price is a substantial part of the government's electricity market reform (EMR) proposal as it puts a minimum tax on carbon-intensive power generation, which indirectly rewards producers of greener energy.
The government also announced on Tuesday in its Carbon Plan that it would award 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) to Britain's first carbon-capture and storage (CCS) project by the end of this year and publish a second-round projects shortlist by May 2012.
CCS project developers in Britain are bidding for a share of a pot worth up to 9.5 billion pounds to find the most adequate technology for catching and burying climate-warming emissions from gas and coal-fired power plants.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne launched the Carbon Plan on Tuesday, which also sets a deadline of June 2011 for the Department for Transport to formulate a strategy for electric vehicle infrastructure.
The government's Department for Business is also due to launch the Green Investment Bank by September 2012, and the first figures on how much it has lent and invested will be available by May 2013, according to the plan.
"This Carbon Plan sets out a vision of a changed Britain, powered by cleaner energy used more efficiently in our homes and businesses, with more secure energy supply and more stable energy prices, and benefiting from the jobs and growth that a low-carbon economy will bring," the three ministers said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Chris Huhne will this week sign a memorandum of understanding with the Local Government Association, clarifying how local government can reduce carbon emissions from operations.
The central government has already required a 10 percent reduction in emissions from its own buildings by May.
Since last August, councils have been permitted to sell green energy produced on their own sites to the national grid as a source of additional income.
GREEN APPRENTICESHIPS
The British government also announced on Tuesday that it would provide funding for at least 1,000 new apprentices to be taught skills relating to energy-saving equipment, such as insulation installation and energy-efficient heating systems.
The apprentices will help support the government's Green Deal, a program which allows households to receive energy-saving equipment paid for through savings made on their power and gas bills and which will start in autumn 2012.
"The Green Deal is likely to support 100,000 jobs by 2015 and up to 250,000 when it reaches its peak and will be great news for local economies with local firms encouraged to get involved in this new exciting industry," Huhne said.
(Reporting by Karolin Schaps, editing by Jane Baird4)

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carbon trading

Seven EU ministers push for deeper CO2 cuts

By Pete Harrison

Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:18pm EDT

Such cuts would not only help protect the climate but would also shelter Europe from future spikes in the price of oil, said a joint statement from the ministers, among them those of Spain, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and Greece.
"This is about creating a new economy in Europe," Chris Huhne, Britain's secretary of state for energy and climate, told Reuters. "We need to get the carbon price up and send clear investment signals to industry."
The statement came at a meeting of the EU's 27 environment ministers in Brussels on Monday and one week after EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard laid out a strategy showing a low cost route to 25 percent emissions cuts in 2020.
"The Commission's roadmap demonstrates ... that we already have the tools and policies to cut emissions by 25 percent domestically," the ministers' statement said.
"The case to move to a 30 percent target by 2020 is now stronger as a result."
Europe is deeply divided over the wisdom of deepening emissions cuts in the current economic crisis, with some big industries such as steelmakers fearing the added costs will push them out of business.
Other industries say continued reliance on costly imports of fossil fuel is a bigger threat to the economy.
"It will increase the continent's resilience against oil price spikes and reduce its dependence on imported energy," said the ministers' statement. "And it will help Europe compete with emerging economies in the fast-growing markets for green goods and services."
NEW CARBON TAX
It was not immediately clear, however, whether the statement had full government backing in countries such as Germany, where not all government departments see eye-to-eye on the issue.
Hedegaard told reporters the first serious EU discussion of deeper cuts would be at an informal meeting of environment ministers in Budapest on March 26.
"They will come with their more profound views ... then we'll take stock," she said.
Huhne said the statement represented the view of the whole British government and that Britain would aim to get there using a range of technologies, most important of which is energy efficiency.
"I'm completely technologically agnostic on this," he said. "It's not my business to play God by picking winners in one sector or another."


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carbon trading

BRUSSELS, March 14 - The European Union should deepen cuts to greenhouse gases beyond the current 20 percent target by the end of this decade, according to environment ministers from seven EU countries including Britain and Germany.

Barclays:California could face steep carbon prices

California could face steep carbon prices: Barclays

Published: 02 Feb 2011 17:23 CET Last updated: 02 Feb 2011 19:25 CET

Emitters may pay $70/t to comply with California GHG limits in 2018-2020, Barclays projects.

In a research note released today, the bank's London-based analysts assessed the California cap-and-trade market, which is set to begin trading in January 2012.

In 2016, the market should cover 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent – a fifth of the European carbon market that year.

The economy-wide cap-and-trade scheme is one of several measures aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 - enshrined in the state’s AB 32 law.

The achievement of other complementary state policies, such as an aggressive renewable energy standard (RES), a low-carbon fuel standard for transport fuels, and vehicle emission standards will have a significant impact on carbon prices, the analysts said.

In addition, the availability of offsets emitters can use in the cap-and-trade programme will have a notable effect on carbon prices.

In the programme’s first compliance period, from 2012-2014, prices will be modest as the market will have an adequate supply of allowances (CCAs) and offsets (CRTs), according to the note.

Phasing in
In this initial phase, only industry, power - including imports - and oil refiners will be covered. Emitters are likely to pay $12 when trading begins in 2012 and an average of $16 over the entire compliance period, the analysts predict.

In early pre-compliance trading over-the-counter, traders have said the 2012 delivery contract was bid at $14.00, with an asking price of $14.50. Prices have been rising steadily since December when regulators finalised the cap-and-trade rules.

But as demand for CCAs and CRTs increases with the entry of suppliers of oil products, natural gas and LPG into the market, the analysts said prices will average $40 in the 2015-2017 period.

Forward hedging of liabilities for the third compliance phase (2018-2020) will pressure prices in the second period and “use up any slack in the system,” according to the research note.

Given the shortness of the market starting in the second compliance phase, allowances from a special “price control reserve” will likely be brought to market in 2018, when prices are expected to hit the reserve trigger of around $80.

Roughly 124 million allowances will be held in the reserve throughout the three compliance periods, the bank said.

This means that prices would range around the average reserve price of that period of around $90, meaning prices would average $73 from 2018-2020.

To view the full story by Valerie Volcovici – vv@pointcarbon.com visit pointcarbon.com

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360investgroup Carbon spot price

Todays Spot price:

EUA and CER OTC prices                                
Delivery        EUA     EUA     CER     CER     EUA-CER
        Close   Change  Close   Change
Spot    15.48   -0.07   11.90   -0.08   3.58
Dec-11  15.84   -0.08   11.84   -0.09   4.00
Dec-12  16.49   -0.11   11.66   -0.09   4.83
Dec-13  17.64   -0.11   N/A     N/A     N/A
Dec-14  18.55   -0.08   N/A     N/A     N/A
Dec 11-12 strip 16.17   -0.10   11.75   -0.09   4.42


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EU Regulation May Add €10 to Price

EU Regulation May Add €10 to Price 

Barclays Plc have said that the new European Union (EU) option of setting aside 800 million surplus carbon allowances may add $10 Euros a ton to credit prices in 2013.
The EU carbon market, where benchmark prices are up 14 percent from a year ago, has an oversupply of about 460 million allowances for the five years through 2012, analysts led by Trevor Sikorski at the Barclays Capital investment bank in London said today, with the EU planning to remove these and set them aside. This would probably mean a "tight market, greater price volatility and an almighty scramble for allowances," Sikorski said. The bank forecast that EU prices will be 30 euros a metric ton in 2013. A 10 euro jump would represent a surge of 33 percent.
EU carbon for December rose 0.6 percent to 15.08 euros a metric ton on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London as of 2:20 p.m. It traded earlier today as high as 15.14 euros a ton, the most since Feb. 3.
Investors in carbon credits before the EU option may benefit from volatility, and the tightened supply could lead to significant profit taking.

360investgroup

Climate Change

Climate Change - The Facts

The vast majority of the scientific community is in consensus that climate change is happening and human activity is almost certainly the cause. In the last 100 years the Earth has warmed by 0.74°C (and by 0.4°C since the 1970s), meaning that global sea levels have gone up, glaciers and sea ice has melted, floods and droughts are on the increase, and heatwaves are worse.
The term 'greenhouse effect' was coined to describe the way some gases in the atmosphere (such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap some of the light energy from the sun after it is reflected from the Earth's surface, and  before it can escape out into space, so warming our atmosphere. This is a natural process that has been happening for billions of years, and without it the Earth would be about 33°C colder – too cold for us to live on. Now, however, human influence has upset the natural balance of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and too much of the sun's energy is being trapped, causing average temperatures to rise. Human greenhouse gas emissions have gone from practically nothing to tens of billions of tons per year since the start of the industrial revolution. At present, over 30 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted globally each year by burning fossil fuels, and another seven billion tonnes by changes of land use, mainly deforestation.
Around the world, climate change would cause greater risks from rising sea levels, flooding, droughts, food shortages, diseases, water shortages and loss of tropical forests.
Southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin are the most vulnerable regions in Europe, and mountain areas (in particular the Alps), islands, coastal regions and densely populated floodplains are facing serious consequences.
According to the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007, we could expect to see continued melting of ice caps, glaciers and sea ice, significant changes in rainfall patterns and possibly more intense tropical cyclones such as hurricanes.
Flooding will contaminate drinking water, expose people to toxic pollutants and make the delivery of health and social services more difficult. Droughts will increase the risk of water shortages. Food and water shortages could lead to conflict and migration.

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EUAs hit €15.85

carbon credit news

EUAs hit fresh high as stronger euro drives CO2 up

Front-year carbon prices hit a fresh four-and-a-half month high of €15.85 on Friday as the sustained strength of the euro brought with it bullish sentiment amid higher energy prices.

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Airlines to get 212.9m EUAs in 2012: EC

Published: 07 Mar 2011 12:08 CET Last updated: 07 Mar 2011 12:12 CET

Airlines will be given 212.9 million allowances for the first year the sector enters the EU emissions trading scheme in 2012, according to data from the European commission.

The number of allowances is 97 per cent of the sector’s average annual emissions from 2004 to 2006.

The cap will fall to 95 per cent of historical emissions from 2013 through 2020, equivalent to 208.5 million.

Source - Point Carbon

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