see attached and the following short from yest UN May Consider Extending Kyoto Protocol's Caps for Two Years
By Mathew Carr
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- A United Nations climate committee
said it may be possible to extend the emission caps contained in
the Kyoto Protocol for an additional two years after they are
set to expire in 2012.
Extending the targets may help prevent a "gap" should
nations be unable to agree on a treaty to replace or permanently
extend the 1997 protocol, the UN's ad hoc working group on
further commitments for developed nations said in a July 20 paper
published on the UN Framework Convenion on Climate Change
website.
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To contact the reporter on this story:
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m.carr@bloomberg.net
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UN Proposes Stopgaps as Global Talks Fail to Renew Kyoto Treaty
2010-07-22 11:21:43.349 GMT
By Mathew Carr
July 22 (Bloomberg) -- A United Nations climate group said
it may be possible to extend emission caps included in the Kyoto
Protocol for two years after they expire in 2012, preventing an
interruption in the supply of offset credits.
Extending the targets may help stop a "gap" in the
Clean Development Mechanism, the world's second-biggest carbon
market, should nations fail to agree on a treaty to replace or
permanently extend the 1997 protocol, a committee for developed
nations said in a July 20 discussion paper on the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change website.
UN talks in Copenhagen last December failed as developing
nations called for richer countries to adopt tighter targets on
the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. India's
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said last month that nations
are unlikely to agree on a global climate accord at this year's
talks in Cancun, Mexico.
"Extending Kyoto for two more years seems unlikely at this
stage," said David Lunsford, emissions trading policy leader at
the Geneva-based International Emissions Trading Association, a
lobby group. "Nations haven't even started to grapple with what
targets might be feasible for such an uncharted period," he
said today by phone and e-mail.
The treaty's first restrictions on greenhouse gases are for
the five years starting in 2008. Under one interpretation of
climate laws, a failure to extend or replace Kyoto would prevent
validation and registration of CDM projects, the paper said.
Interruption
"Emission reductions or removals that occurred after the
first commitment period could not be verified, and corresponding
Certified Emission Reductions could not be issued," according
to the paper. Developed nations can create emission offsets by
investing in projects that curb greenhouse gases in poorer
nations. Those credits can be used for compliance in the
European Union program, the world's biggest emissions market.
Global climate talks are seeking a second set of emission
targets through 2017 or 2020, or potentially a program of
coordinated national policies for climate protection.
"Support for the Kyoto structure has waned over recent
years since adoption, making it unclear if an extension would
receive necessary support," Lunsford said.
UN CERs for December fell 0.8 percent to 11.78 euros
($15.11) on the European Climate Exchange in London at 10:14
a.m. local time. They've jumped 7.3 percent in the year to date,
compared with 11.3 percent for EU permits.
The value of trading in UN offsets fell 38 percent last
year to $20.6 billion as prices dropped and the number of
credits being sold for time fell 48 percent, according to World
Bank figures published in May.
'Carbon in Limbo'
"For markets to play a role in pricing, supply and demand
should form a key pillar of the next climate agreement,"
Lunsford said. "An unresolved Kyoto gap could put global supply
and demand for carbon in limbo for some time," he said.
"Intermittent international policy would create an unhealthy
investment environment for global emission reductions."
The UN is also considering "provisional" amendments to
the protocol to fill the potential supply gap, as well as "opt
in" procedures for nations where they wouldn't be "bound by
the amendment unless it undertakes a ratification procedure,"
according to the UN discussion paper.
For Related News and Information: Emission market news NI
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--Editors: Mike Anderson, Rob Verdonck.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
