+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Sees Prospects For Carbon Sectoral-Crediting Deal With China
2010-08-31 11:08:23.333 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union is working on a
carbon sectoral crediting mechanism with China, Climate
Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said.
"In July we sent an expert group to China and now we're
working on this," Hedegaard told a debate in the European
Economic and Social Committee. "There are some prospects."
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Warsaw at +32-2-237-4331 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Rob Verdonck at +44-20-3216-4149 or
rverdonck@bloomberg.net
2010/08/31
(BN) EU Aims for ‘Swift Reaction’ on UN CO2 Offsets, Hedegaard Says
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Aims for 'Swift Reaction' on UN CO2 Offsets, Hedegaard Says
2010-08-31 12:57:13.889 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union regulator wants
to offer carbon markets a quick response on restrictions that
could be imposed on United Nations offset credits for use in the
bloc's cap-and-trade system, the EU's climate chief said.
The EU is working on a draft measure introducing further
quality restrictions on offsets from industrial-gas projects
after 2012. The European Commission, the bloc's regulatory arm,
has said it is concerned that credits related to
hydrofluorocarbon-23 and nitrous oxide may be generating
"windfall" profits for some developers.
"It will have to go through a lot of consultation
procedures, but the aim is that it is for a swift reaction,
because there's something in the system that simply doesn't work
well enough," Hedegaard said in an interview in Brussels today.
UN offsets, awarded on projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be swapped on a one-for-one basis with
EU permits for compliance in the European carbon program, the
world's largest.
Regulators of the UN Clean Development Mechanism are also
ramping up scrutiny after allegations that some developers are
seeking excessive credits related to HFC-23, an industrial gas
whose warming potential is 11,700 times more powerful than
carbon dioxide. They announced reviews of 10 issuances related
to HFC projects this month, to assess whether the methodology
for awarding those offsets should be changed.
'Very Low Ebb'
The confidence of the carbon market in the CDM is at a
"very low ebb," the International Emissions Trading
Association said last week. Private investors urgently need
certainty from the commission about the use of UN offsets
through 2020, the lobby said.
A commission proposal to impose limits on UN credits
eligible for compliance in the EU emissions trading system would
require member states' approval to become binding. While
political discussions on offsets have already started, it is
"too early to say" when the draft measure will be presented,
Hedegaard said.
"It's very crucial for me as the commissioner for climate
action that we have environmental integrity," she said.
The EU's emissions trading system, or ETS, covers more than
12,000 facilities that produce energy or goods ranging from
paper to cement. Polluters must have an allowance for each ton
of carbon dioxide they let off when burning fossil fuels. Those
producing more than their allowance must buy more; those that
emit less can sell their surplus.
The EU aims to make the ETS, started in 2005, the
cornerstone of a global carbon market. The 27-nation bloc seeks
to cut greenhouse gases by one-fifth by the end of this decade
compared with 1990 levels and has said it may boost that target
to 30 percent should other countries follow suit.
"There were some challenges in the beginning, in the first
years, but I think they've been corrected and today I think that
globally there will be an agreement that this is by and large a
very good and sound system," Hedegaard said. "Sometimes there
can be corrections needed and then we're doing that. "
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Stephen Cunningham
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
EU Aims for 'Swift Reaction' on UN CO2 Offsets, Hedegaard Says
2010-08-31 12:57:13.889 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union regulator wants
to offer carbon markets a quick response on restrictions that
could be imposed on United Nations offset credits for use in the
bloc's cap-and-trade system, the EU's climate chief said.
The EU is working on a draft measure introducing further
quality restrictions on offsets from industrial-gas projects
after 2012. The European Commission, the bloc's regulatory arm,
has said it is concerned that credits related to
hydrofluorocarbon-23 and nitrous oxide may be generating
"windfall" profits for some developers.
"It will have to go through a lot of consultation
procedures, but the aim is that it is for a swift reaction,
because there's something in the system that simply doesn't work
well enough," Hedegaard said in an interview in Brussels today.
UN offsets, awarded on projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be swapped on a one-for-one basis with
EU permits for compliance in the European carbon program, the
world's largest.
Regulators of the UN Clean Development Mechanism are also
ramping up scrutiny after allegations that some developers are
seeking excessive credits related to HFC-23, an industrial gas
whose warming potential is 11,700 times more powerful than
carbon dioxide. They announced reviews of 10 issuances related
to HFC projects this month, to assess whether the methodology
for awarding those offsets should be changed.
'Very Low Ebb'
The confidence of the carbon market in the CDM is at a
"very low ebb," the International Emissions Trading
Association said last week. Private investors urgently need
certainty from the commission about the use of UN offsets
through 2020, the lobby said.
A commission proposal to impose limits on UN credits
eligible for compliance in the EU emissions trading system would
require member states' approval to become binding. While
political discussions on offsets have already started, it is
"too early to say" when the draft measure will be presented,
Hedegaard said.
"It's very crucial for me as the commissioner for climate
action that we have environmental integrity," she said.
The EU's emissions trading system, or ETS, covers more than
12,000 facilities that produce energy or goods ranging from
paper to cement. Polluters must have an allowance for each ton
of carbon dioxide they let off when burning fossil fuels. Those
producing more than their allowance must buy more; those that
emit less can sell their surplus.
The EU aims to make the ETS, started in 2005, the
cornerstone of a global carbon market. The 27-nation bloc seeks
to cut greenhouse gases by one-fifth by the end of this decade
compared with 1990 levels and has said it may boost that target
to 30 percent should other countries follow suit.
"There were some challenges in the beginning, in the first
years, but I think they've been corrected and today I think that
globally there will be an agreement that this is by and large a
very good and sound system," Hedegaard said. "Sometimes there
can be corrections needed and then we're doing that. "
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Stephen Cunningham
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
yest(BN) EU CO2 Head for Biggest Monthly Gain Since April on
closer
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU CO2 Head for Biggest Monthly Gain Since April on UN Offsets
2010-08-31 16:38:18.459 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon permits are
poised for their steepest monthly gain since April as supplies
of United Nations' offsets have been halted while the UN
Executive Board reviews HFC-23 destruction projects.
EU permits for December fell 1 percent to 15.29 euros
($19.43) a metric ton at 5:15 p.m. on London's European Climate
Exchange. The contract has gained 8.1 percent this month.
Carbon permits have risen on concern of "massive supply
cuts" from the UN's review of HFC-23 reduction projects,
Emmanuel Fages, a Paris-based analyst with Orbeo, the carbon-
trading venture of Societe Generale SA and Rhodia SA, said in an
e-mailed report late yesterday. "We expect this dynamic to
continue during the coming week, and possibly later, as the
larger market participants return from the summer break and take
the new fundamental situation into account."
EU permits to emit 1.79 million tons of carbon dioxide have
traded on ECX so far this month, about 33 percent less than
volumes bought and sold in July.
European power stations and factories can use UN offsets to
meet emissions caps. A cut or delay in the issuance of credits
may raise demand for EU permits.
The spread between EU permits and United Nations Certified
Emission Reductions for December widened 1 percent to 1.94 euros
a ton. The spread, traded as a separate contract on ECX, has
risen from 1.55 euros since Aug. 19 after regulators said they
are reviewing projects that reduce hydrofluorocarbons, fueling
speculation that the supply of credits will plunge.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Raj Rajendran, Stephen Cunningham.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie in London at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU CO2 Head for Biggest Monthly Gain Since April on UN Offsets
2010-08-31 16:38:18.459 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon permits are
poised for their steepest monthly gain since April as supplies
of United Nations' offsets have been halted while the UN
Executive Board reviews HFC-23 destruction projects.
EU permits for December fell 1 percent to 15.29 euros
($19.43) a metric ton at 5:15 p.m. on London's European Climate
Exchange. The contract has gained 8.1 percent this month.
Carbon permits have risen on concern of "massive supply
cuts" from the UN's review of HFC-23 reduction projects,
Emmanuel Fages, a Paris-based analyst with Orbeo, the carbon-
trading venture of Societe Generale SA and Rhodia SA, said in an
e-mailed report late yesterday. "We expect this dynamic to
continue during the coming week, and possibly later, as the
larger market participants return from the summer break and take
the new fundamental situation into account."
EU permits to emit 1.79 million tons of carbon dioxide have
traded on ECX so far this month, about 33 percent less than
volumes bought and sold in July.
European power stations and factories can use UN offsets to
meet emissions caps. A cut or delay in the issuance of credits
may raise demand for EU permits.
The spread between EU permits and United Nations Certified
Emission Reductions for December widened 1 percent to 1.94 euros
a ton. The spread, traded as a separate contract on ECX, has
risen from 1.55 euros since Aug. 19 after regulators said they
are reviewing projects that reduce hydrofluorocarbons, fueling
speculation that the supply of credits will plunge.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Raj Rajendran, Stephen Cunningham.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie in London at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
(BN) Countries That Spurn Climate Remedies Face Barriers, Stern Says
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Countries That Spurn Climate Remedies Face Barriers, Stern Says
2010-09-01 06:36:43.677 GMT
By Robert Fenner
Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Countries that fail to adapt their
economies to "cleaner" technologies are likely to lose export
markets to those that do, said Nicholas Stern, former chief
adviser on climate change to the U.K. government.
"Ten or 15 years from now, those that produce in dirty
ways are likely to face trade barriers," Stern told an audience
at Australia's National Press Club in Canberra today.
Stern, who favors a market mechanism for the price of
carbon, said innovations include addressing the issues of low-
emission technology, carbon capture and deforestation. He
estimates the world needs to target an emissions level of two
metric tons per capita compared with the current 20 ton average
in developed economies such as Australia, Canada and the U.S.
"It means that the change is big and we can't kid
ourselves that it is anything other than radical," he said
Stern met with Australian politicians during his visit,
including government, opposition and independent lawmakers.
He declined to comment further on the meetings as Prime
Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott seek
the support of unaligned parliamentarians to form government
following the Aug. 21 election.
In 2006 Stern published a widely cited study of climate-
change economics for the British government. His report said
global warming may cost the world as much as 20 percent of the
gross domestic product because of the effects of famine, rising
sea levels, storms and other environmental damage.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories: TOP<GO>
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Most-read environmental news: MNI ENV <GO>
Renewable Energy Stories: NI ALTNRG <GO>
--Editors: Iain Wilson, John Viljoen.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robert Fenner in Canberra at +61-2-9777-8679 or
rfenner@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Iain Wilson at +61-2-9777-8645 or
iwilson2@bloomberg.net
Countries That Spurn Climate Remedies Face Barriers, Stern Says
2010-09-01 06:36:43.677 GMT
By Robert Fenner
Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Countries that fail to adapt their
economies to "cleaner" technologies are likely to lose export
markets to those that do, said Nicholas Stern, former chief
adviser on climate change to the U.K. government.
"Ten or 15 years from now, those that produce in dirty
ways are likely to face trade barriers," Stern told an audience
at Australia's National Press Club in Canberra today.
Stern, who favors a market mechanism for the price of
carbon, said innovations include addressing the issues of low-
emission technology, carbon capture and deforestation. He
estimates the world needs to target an emissions level of two
metric tons per capita compared with the current 20 ton average
in developed economies such as Australia, Canada and the U.S.
"It means that the change is big and we can't kid
ourselves that it is anything other than radical," he said
Stern met with Australian politicians during his visit,
including government, opposition and independent lawmakers.
He declined to comment further on the meetings as Prime
Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott seek
the support of unaligned parliamentarians to form government
following the Aug. 21 election.
In 2006 Stern published a widely cited study of climate-
change economics for the British government. His report said
global warming may cost the world as much as 20 percent of the
gross domestic product because of the effects of famine, rising
sea levels, storms and other environmental damage.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories: TOP<GO>
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Most-read environmental news: MNI ENV <GO>
Renewable Energy Stories: NI ALTNRG <GO>
--Editors: Iain Wilson, John Viljoen.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robert Fenner in Canberra at +61-2-9777-8679 or
rfenner@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Iain Wilson at +61-2-9777-8645 or
iwilson2@bloomberg.net
(BN) Gillard Wins Support of Australian Greens With Climate
im back from two days off
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Gillard Wins Support of Australian Greens With Climate Committee
2010-09-01 06:36:17.628 GMT
By Gemma Daley and Robert Fenner
Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Julia
Gillard won the support of the Greens Party should she form the
next government in exchange for setting up a climate-change
committee that would set a penalty for carbon emissions.
The Greens also agreed to work with Gillard's Labor Party
to ensure passage of the national budget, leader Bob Brown told
reporters in Canberra today. His party is seeking a
parliamentary debate on Australian troop deployments in
Afghanistan and restrictions on political donations.
"This is a new way of working," Gillard told reporters in
Canberra. "The fact that we were able to reach that agreement
shows we have worked in good faith and held good discussions."
The deal adds an extra seat in the lower house of
parliament for Gillard as she negotiates to form a government
following a deadlocked national election on Aug. 21. Labor
itself has so far won 71 seats in the 150-seat House of
Representatives, five short of a majority
"We have signed an agreement for the continuation of the
Gillard government," Brown said. "This agreement is a
replacement of both the Labor and Greens commitments to dealing
with climate change."
The accord shortened the odds on Labor retaining power
although the opposition coalition led by Tony Abbott remains the
favorite to form a government, according to bookmaker
Sportsbet.com.au. The odds on Gillard fell to A$2.50 for each
dollar wagered compared with A$3.20 before the deal. An Abbott
victory is paying A$1.50, it said in an e-mailed statement.
'Driver's Seat'
"The Greens will be in the driver's seat of any Gillard
government," Abbott told reporters in Canberra.
The proposed climate commission would be made up of
lawmakers and scientists to advise on the best way to charge
polluters for emissions. Gillard drew criticism in July when she
delayed climate-change action in the world's driest inhabited
continent until after 2012.
"We have set up a process that will set up a carbon price
and tackle climate change," Brown said. "It will be inclusive
and there will be other parties involved."
With 82 percent of the vote counted, Abbott's Liberal-
National coalition holds 73 seats in the lower house to Labor's
71 with one division still undecided, according to the
Australian Electoral Commission website.
Independent lawmakers Robert Oakeshott, Tony Windsor, Bob
Katter and Andrew Wilkie are in Canberra for talks with the main
parties as they try to decide who to back. They are scheduled to
meet Treasury Secretary Ken Henry today.
Gillard asked the independent lawmakers to release a
Treasury analysis of Labor's policies.
"We want to be transparent, we believe those costings
should be released publicly," she said.
For Related News and Information:
For Related News and Information:
Australian Election: TNI AUD ELECT <GO>
Australian Budget Stories TNI AUD BUD <GO>
Top Australia news: TOP AU <GO>
Australia economic snapshot: ESNP AU <GO>
Graph of Australian GDP growth: AUNAGDPY <Index> GP <GO>
--Editors: Iain Wilson, Bill Austin
To contact the reporters on this story:
Gemma Daley in Canberra at +61-2-9777-8683 or
gdaley@bloomberg.net;
Robert Fenner in Canberra at +61-2-9777-8679 or
rfenner@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Bill Austin at +813-3201-8952 or
billaustin@bloomberg.net
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Gillard Wins Support of Australian Greens With Climate Committee
2010-09-01 06:36:17.628 GMT
By Gemma Daley and Robert Fenner
Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Julia
Gillard won the support of the Greens Party should she form the
next government in exchange for setting up a climate-change
committee that would set a penalty for carbon emissions.
The Greens also agreed to work with Gillard's Labor Party
to ensure passage of the national budget, leader Bob Brown told
reporters in Canberra today. His party is seeking a
parliamentary debate on Australian troop deployments in
Afghanistan and restrictions on political donations.
"This is a new way of working," Gillard told reporters in
Canberra. "The fact that we were able to reach that agreement
shows we have worked in good faith and held good discussions."
The deal adds an extra seat in the lower house of
parliament for Gillard as she negotiates to form a government
following a deadlocked national election on Aug. 21. Labor
itself has so far won 71 seats in the 150-seat House of
Representatives, five short of a majority
"We have signed an agreement for the continuation of the
Gillard government," Brown said. "This agreement is a
replacement of both the Labor and Greens commitments to dealing
with climate change."
The accord shortened the odds on Labor retaining power
although the opposition coalition led by Tony Abbott remains the
favorite to form a government, according to bookmaker
Sportsbet.com.au. The odds on Gillard fell to A$2.50 for each
dollar wagered compared with A$3.20 before the deal. An Abbott
victory is paying A$1.50, it said in an e-mailed statement.
'Driver's Seat'
"The Greens will be in the driver's seat of any Gillard
government," Abbott told reporters in Canberra.
The proposed climate commission would be made up of
lawmakers and scientists to advise on the best way to charge
polluters for emissions. Gillard drew criticism in July when she
delayed climate-change action in the world's driest inhabited
continent until after 2012.
"We have set up a process that will set up a carbon price
and tackle climate change," Brown said. "It will be inclusive
and there will be other parties involved."
With 82 percent of the vote counted, Abbott's Liberal-
National coalition holds 73 seats in the lower house to Labor's
71 with one division still undecided, according to the
Australian Electoral Commission website.
Independent lawmakers Robert Oakeshott, Tony Windsor, Bob
Katter and Andrew Wilkie are in Canberra for talks with the main
parties as they try to decide who to back. They are scheduled to
meet Treasury Secretary Ken Henry today.
Gillard asked the independent lawmakers to release a
Treasury analysis of Labor's policies.
"We want to be transparent, we believe those costings
should be released publicly," she said.
For Related News and Information:
For Related News and Information:
Australian Election: TNI AUD ELECT <GO>
Australian Budget Stories TNI AUD BUD <GO>
Top Australia news: TOP AU <GO>
Australia economic snapshot: ESNP AU <GO>
Graph of Australian GDP growth: AUNAGDPY <Index> GP <GO>
--Editors: Iain Wilson, Bill Austin
To contact the reporters on this story:
Gemma Daley in Canberra at +61-2-9777-8683 or
gdaley@bloomberg.net;
Robert Fenner in Canberra at +61-2-9777-8679 or
rfenner@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Bill Austin at +813-3201-8952 or
billaustin@bloomberg.net
2010/08/27
(BN) EU Carbon Rises for Fifth Week as German Power Erases Losses
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Carbon Rises for Fifth Week as German Power Erases Losses
2010-08-27 09:36:41.549 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon permits were
poised for a fifth weekly increase as electricity prices in
Germany, the bloc's largest economy, erased early losses.
EU permits for December rose as much as 1.4 percent to
15.48 euros ($19.68) a metric ton, nearing yesterday's two-month
high of 15.55 euros. The contract traded at 15.39 euros as of
9:45 a.m. on London's European Climate Exchange, gaining 2.1
percent this week.
"The price for the EU allowances for December 2010 will
gain good support during the coming days, particularly through
the return of utilities to the market," analysts at UniCredit
SpA wrote in a research note today. An increase above 15.61
euros could pave the way for the contract to break the mark of
16 euros, they said.
German baseload power for next year, a European benchmark,
reversed early losses and rose 0.2 percent to 51.45 euros a
megawatt-hour, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg.
Higher power prices can boost the incentive to sell electricity
forward, stimulating demand for emission permits.
United Nations Certified Emission Reductions for December
2010 gained as much as 1 percent to 13.61 euros a ton, touching
the highest level since May 12. The offsets extended their gain
to almost 11 percent so far this month after regulators said
they are reviewing projects that reduce hydrofluorocarbons,
fueling speculation that the supply of credits will plunge.
CERs, awarded to projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be used to comply with the EU emissions
trading system, the world's largest cap-and-trade program.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: John Buckley, Jonas Bergman
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
EU Carbon Rises for Fifth Week as German Power Erases Losses
2010-08-27 09:36:41.549 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon permits were
poised for a fifth weekly increase as electricity prices in
Germany, the bloc's largest economy, erased early losses.
EU permits for December rose as much as 1.4 percent to
15.48 euros ($19.68) a metric ton, nearing yesterday's two-month
high of 15.55 euros. The contract traded at 15.39 euros as of
9:45 a.m. on London's European Climate Exchange, gaining 2.1
percent this week.
"The price for the EU allowances for December 2010 will
gain good support during the coming days, particularly through
the return of utilities to the market," analysts at UniCredit
SpA wrote in a research note today. An increase above 15.61
euros could pave the way for the contract to break the mark of
16 euros, they said.
German baseload power for next year, a European benchmark,
reversed early losses and rose 0.2 percent to 51.45 euros a
megawatt-hour, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg.
Higher power prices can boost the incentive to sell electricity
forward, stimulating demand for emission permits.
United Nations Certified Emission Reductions for December
2010 gained as much as 1 percent to 13.61 euros a ton, touching
the highest level since May 12. The offsets extended their gain
to almost 11 percent so far this month after regulators said
they are reviewing projects that reduce hydrofluorocarbons,
fueling speculation that the supply of credits will plunge.
CERs, awarded to projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be used to comply with the EU emissions
trading system, the world's largest cap-and-trade program.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: John Buckley, Jonas Bergman
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
yest(BN) UN Emission Credits Match Widest-Ever Spread Betwee
close at 61 would be widest ever...that's current price
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
UN Emission Credits Match Widest-Ever Spread Between 2011, 2010
2010-08-26 17:14:43.129 GMT
By Catherine Airlie and Mathew Carr
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The spread between United Nations
emission offsets for 2010 and 2011 matched their widest-ever
level as regulators restrict the supply of new credits.
The premium of 2010 UN Certified Emission Reduction credits
over the same contract for 2011 rose 10 cents, or 20 percent, to
60 euro cents ($0.76) a metric ton today on the European Climate
Exchange in London. European Union allowances for December fell
0.9 percent to 15.25 euros.
Regulators of the UN's Clean Development Mechanism, the
world's second-largest carbon market, are boosting scrutiny
after allegations that some developers are seeking excessive
credits from plants that cut hydrofluorocarbon-23 gases, whose
warming potential is 11,700 times more powerful than carbon
dioxide. They are assessing whether the methodology for awarding
those offsets should be changed.
"The recent HFC developments mean heavy CER supply cuts
that are not yet priced in completely," said Emmanuel Fages, a
Paris-based analyst with Orbeo, the carbon-trading venture of
Societe Generale SA and Rhodia SA. Potential restrictions on use
of HFC credits in the European Union may drive 2012 CERs lower,
he said.
"The long-term view of investors in the CER market changed
from confidence to reluctance over the past year," Marius
Frunza of Sagacarbon, a unit of Caisse des Depots et
Consignations in Paris, said today by e-mail. "The
backwardation structure will not reverse soon."
For Related News and Information:
Emissions-trading stories: NI ENVMARKET BN <GO>
Today's top energy news: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--With assistance from Ewa Krukowska in Brussels. Editor: Mike
Anderson.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net;
Catherine Airlie in London at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
UN Emission Credits Match Widest-Ever Spread Between 2011, 2010
2010-08-26 17:14:43.129 GMT
By Catherine Airlie and Mathew Carr
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The spread between United Nations
emission offsets for 2010 and 2011 matched their widest-ever
level as regulators restrict the supply of new credits.
The premium of 2010 UN Certified Emission Reduction credits
over the same contract for 2011 rose 10 cents, or 20 percent, to
60 euro cents ($0.76) a metric ton today on the European Climate
Exchange in London. European Union allowances for December fell
0.9 percent to 15.25 euros.
Regulators of the UN's Clean Development Mechanism, the
world's second-largest carbon market, are boosting scrutiny
after allegations that some developers are seeking excessive
credits from plants that cut hydrofluorocarbon-23 gases, whose
warming potential is 11,700 times more powerful than carbon
dioxide. They are assessing whether the methodology for awarding
those offsets should be changed.
"The recent HFC developments mean heavy CER supply cuts
that are not yet priced in completely," said Emmanuel Fages, a
Paris-based analyst with Orbeo, the carbon-trading venture of
Societe Generale SA and Rhodia SA. Potential restrictions on use
of HFC credits in the European Union may drive 2012 CERs lower,
he said.
"The long-term view of investors in the CER market changed
from confidence to reluctance over the past year," Marius
Frunza of Sagacarbon, a unit of Caisse des Depots et
Consignations in Paris, said today by e-mail. "The
backwardation structure will not reverse soon."
For Related News and Information:
Emissions-trading stories: NI ENVMARKET BN <GO>
Today's top energy news: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--With assistance from Ewa Krukowska in Brussels. Editor: Mike
Anderson.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net;
Catherine Airlie in London at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
(BN) Australia’s Greens ‘Making Progress’ With Gillard (Update3)
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Australia's Greens 'Making Progress' With Gillard (Update3)
2010-08-27 07:22:52.467 GMT
(Updates with results from electoral commission in sixth
paragraph; comment from Abbott in ninth paragraph. For more on
the election, see {EXTRA <GO>})
By Marion Rae
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's Greens Party held
"constructive" talks today with Prime Minister Julia Gillard
to determine whether to help her form a government after a
deadlocked vote at the Aug. 21 election, leader Senator Bob
Brown said.
"It was a constructive meeting," Brown reporters in
Canberra after meeting Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan. "We're
making progress" in establishing what assurances would be
needed to ensure stable government, he said.
Four independent lawmakers and one Greens Party member in
the lower House of Representatives will determine whether
Gillard's Labor Party or Tony Abbott's Liberal-National
coalition will govern after neither bloc won an absolute
majority in the general election.
Gillard's proposed mining tax, funding for national
Internet services and an expansion of renewable energy hang in
the balance as she and Abbott try to reach the 76 seats needed
to form government. The coalition holds 73 seats to Labor's 72,
according to the Australian Electoral Commission's website as of
4:38 p.m. local time today with 80 percent of votes counted.
"I am not in a position to set time-frames" on a deal,
Gillard told reporters in Canberra. The talks today were
"positive and constructive" and there will be more discussions
with the Greens and independent lawmakers next week, she said.
"Counting will continue through the weekend," Electoral
Commission spokesman Phil Diak said by phone from Canberra.
'Open Door'
While Brown says the Greens can work with a Labor or a
coalition government, Greens legislator Adam Bandt prefers a
Gillard-led administration. The Greens have an "open door" for
Abbott and hope to talk to him in "coming days," Brown said.
Independent lawmakers Bob Katter, Robert Oakeshott, and
Tony Windsor haven't declared a preference for Gillard or Abbott
after asking the leaders to explain the cost of their election
pledges that both said would allow the government budget to
return to surplus in 2012-13.
Abbott will let Treasury assess his proposals, one of seven
demands made by the three lawmakers who say they must see an
independent analysis to make a judgment on who can best manage
Australia's A$1.2 trillion ($1.06 trillion) economy. Gillard
will also turn over information on Labor Party pledges.
Choosing Sides
"I hope that the independent members will be able to come
to a position as soon as possible as to which side of Parliament
is worthy of backing on motions of confidence and of supply,"
Abbott told reporters in Sydney today. Two days ago, he refused
to comply with their demand for him to open the books.
The government has accepted Abbott's request that
information on the cost of coalition policies not be released to
the offices of the prime minister or treasurer, Gillard said.
Abbott must also declare whether he wants a government that
lasts three years or wants to push for another election, Brown
said.
Senator Steve Fielding, an upper house lawmaker with the
Family First party, earlier today told Australian Broadcasting
Corp. he might work with the coalition to block laws put up by a
Labor government.
The ability of Labor or the coalition to work with the
Senate, where the Greens could determine which laws pass after
Fielding's term expires in July, is a key consideration for the
independents.
"We're not in the business of blocking supply or
needlessly running interference on anyone," Abbott said.
For Related News and Information:
To see top Australian news: TOP AU <GO>
Australian Stocks: AS51 <Index> DES <GO>
Australian Currency: AUD <CRNCY> HCPI <GO>
--With reporting by Lisa Pham in Sydney. Editors: Paul Tighe,
Ben Richardson
To contact the reporter on this story:
Marion Rae in Canberra at +61-2-9777-8679 or
mrae3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Iain Wilson at +61-2-9777-8645 or
iwilson2@bloomberg.net
Australia's Greens 'Making Progress' With Gillard (Update3)
2010-08-27 07:22:52.467 GMT
(Updates with results from electoral commission in sixth
paragraph; comment from Abbott in ninth paragraph. For more on
the election, see {EXTRA <GO>})
By Marion Rae
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's Greens Party held
"constructive" talks today with Prime Minister Julia Gillard
to determine whether to help her form a government after a
deadlocked vote at the Aug. 21 election, leader Senator Bob
Brown said.
"It was a constructive meeting," Brown reporters in
Canberra after meeting Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan. "We're
making progress" in establishing what assurances would be
needed to ensure stable government, he said.
Four independent lawmakers and one Greens Party member in
the lower House of Representatives will determine whether
Gillard's Labor Party or Tony Abbott's Liberal-National
coalition will govern after neither bloc won an absolute
majority in the general election.
Gillard's proposed mining tax, funding for national
Internet services and an expansion of renewable energy hang in
the balance as she and Abbott try to reach the 76 seats needed
to form government. The coalition holds 73 seats to Labor's 72,
according to the Australian Electoral Commission's website as of
4:38 p.m. local time today with 80 percent of votes counted.
"I am not in a position to set time-frames" on a deal,
Gillard told reporters in Canberra. The talks today were
"positive and constructive" and there will be more discussions
with the Greens and independent lawmakers next week, she said.
"Counting will continue through the weekend," Electoral
Commission spokesman Phil Diak said by phone from Canberra.
'Open Door'
While Brown says the Greens can work with a Labor or a
coalition government, Greens legislator Adam Bandt prefers a
Gillard-led administration. The Greens have an "open door" for
Abbott and hope to talk to him in "coming days," Brown said.
Independent lawmakers Bob Katter, Robert Oakeshott, and
Tony Windsor haven't declared a preference for Gillard or Abbott
after asking the leaders to explain the cost of their election
pledges that both said would allow the government budget to
return to surplus in 2012-13.
Abbott will let Treasury assess his proposals, one of seven
demands made by the three lawmakers who say they must see an
independent analysis to make a judgment on who can best manage
Australia's A$1.2 trillion ($1.06 trillion) economy. Gillard
will also turn over information on Labor Party pledges.
Choosing Sides
"I hope that the independent members will be able to come
to a position as soon as possible as to which side of Parliament
is worthy of backing on motions of confidence and of supply,"
Abbott told reporters in Sydney today. Two days ago, he refused
to comply with their demand for him to open the books.
The government has accepted Abbott's request that
information on the cost of coalition policies not be released to
the offices of the prime minister or treasurer, Gillard said.
Abbott must also declare whether he wants a government that
lasts three years or wants to push for another election, Brown
said.
Senator Steve Fielding, an upper house lawmaker with the
Family First party, earlier today told Australian Broadcasting
Corp. he might work with the coalition to block laws put up by a
Labor government.
The ability of Labor or the coalition to work with the
Senate, where the Greens could determine which laws pass after
Fielding's term expires in July, is a key consideration for the
independents.
"We're not in the business of blocking supply or
needlessly running interference on anyone," Abbott said.
For Related News and Information:
To see top Australian news: TOP AU <GO>
Australian Stocks: AS51 <Index> DES <GO>
Australian Currency: AUD <CRNCY> HCPI <GO>
--With reporting by Lisa Pham in Sydney. Editors: Paul Tighe,
Ben Richardson
To contact the reporter on this story:
Marion Rae in Canberra at +61-2-9777-8679 or
mrae3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Iain Wilson at +61-2-9777-8645 or
iwilson2@bloomberg.net
(BN) Climate Failures May Stoke Record Coal Trading: Energy Markets
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Climate Failures May Stoke Record Coal Trading: Energy Markets
2010-08-27 08:55:44.675 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Coal trading is poised to rise to an
all-time high this year as prices at less than half their 2008
peak stoke demand, defying government efforts to phase out the
most-polluting fossil fuel.
The volume of coal derivatives bought and sold around the
world may jump as much as 46 percent this year to 2.3 billion
metric tons, based on data from exchanges and brokers, according
to Guillaume Perret, founder of Perret Associates Ltd. and a
former trader at RWE AG, Germany's second-biggest utility. That
would exceed the record 2.2 billion tons traded in 2007.
"It's looking pretty good for coal," Kris Voorspools,
director of 70Watt Capital Management, a Luxembourg-based hedge
fund that specializes in trading spreads in energy and carbon
markets, said in an Aug. 24 interview. "It's the fuel for the
developing world. China and India are using it to grow."
The increase in coal trading underscores how fuel demand in
Asia is hampering government measures to tackle global warming.
United Nations Climate Chief Christiana Figueres said on June 9
negotiations to extend Kyoto Protocol limits on greenhouse-gas
emissions are unlikely to succeed this year. Global coal demand
held near a record in 2009, while oil consumption dropped 1.7
percent and natural-gas use fell 2.1 percent, according to BP
Plc's June 2010 Statistical Review.
Taking Advantage
Prices have fallen 56 percent since trading at a record
$217.75 a ton on July 1, 2008. Coal for next-year delivery in
northwest Europe, the world's biggest derivatives market for the
fuel, closed yesterday at $96.65 a ton, according to broker
prices compiled by Bloomberg, 31 percent lower than the 2008
average of $140.40 a ton.
Export prices at Newcastle, Australia, a benchmark for
Asia, rose 1 percent to 87.79 a ton in the week ended Aug. 20,
according to London-based globalCOAL. Prices at Richards Bay,
South Africa, the continent's biggest export facility for the
fuel, fell 0.6 percent to $86.34 a ton, according to data from
IHS McCloskey.
The world's biggest energy exchanges are seeking to
encourage trading. Intercontinental Exchange Inc.'s ICE Futures
Europe on Aug. 6 began allowing investors to trade coal
derivatives with a minimum of 1,000 tons, 20 percent the size of
its previous requirement, to attract hedge funds and smaller
banks. CME Group Inc. said this week it will start offering four
new contracts settled against coal prices.
LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd. plans to offer Richards Bay and
Rotterdam coal swaps "soon," according to Jason LaBrooy, a
spokesman in London.
"We expect to see a pick-up in activity into the fourth
quarter," Tris Simmonds, the head of coal trading in London at
GFI Group Inc., a New York-based broker, said by e-mail. "LCH
and CME offering clearing to the coal market as well as ICE will
lead to a more competitive market place for clearing."
Ambitious Targets
European governments set the world's most ambitious targets
to cut greenhouse gases and wean themselves off coal, which
emits about twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas. The
European Commission, the regulator for the 27-nation European
Union, set up a cap-and-trade system in 2005 to make polluters
pay for carbon emissions. In the U.S., where coal accounts for
about 25 percent of energy consumption, lawmakers plan to revive
climate-protection legislation after being defeated in Congress
last month.
Coal-price declines and the growing use of alternative
energy still pose risks for traders.
Some banks and hedge funds "threw in the towel" in 2008
and 2009, Perret, founder of London-based Perret Associates, a
coal, freight and iron-ore adviser, said in an Aug. 25 e-mail.
New exchange-cleared products are easing concern about
traders' creditworthiness, said Adrian Hills, senior market
manager for globalCOAL.
New Hiring
"Credit has been the biggest issue to impact trading over
the last few years," Hills said in an Aug. 24 interview.
Gunvor International BV, an Amsterdam-based commodity
trader, said in May it hired traders for its coal business.
Mercuria Energy Ltd. in Geneva, which buys and sells oil and
emissions contracts, added traders in Houston and Jakarta last
August after entering the coal business in 2007.
The reduced minimum lots for ICE contracts will probably
lure new entrants, including traders seeking to bet on spreads
between fuels, European Union carbon allowances and electricity,
said 70Watts's Voorspools.
"The initiative can lead to a boom in liquidity in coal,"
said Voorspools, who said he used the new 1,000-ton lot on ICE
last week. "Many are interested in coal, but only a few can
actually trade it because of the big size."
Not Needed
The utilities and banks that dominate trading won't need
the smaller lot sizes when hedging risks for entire ships, which
can carry as much as 110,000 tons of fuel, according to Clive
Murray, chief executive officer at London Commodity Brokers Ltd.
"If you are trying to hedge a whole ship, 1,000 tons is
neither here nor there," he said.
For traders, the flexibility of smaller transactions will
offer an advantage, David Peniket, president and chief operating
officer of ICE Futures Europe in London, said in an e-mail.
Coal trading on ICE jumped more than fourfold last year to
634 million tons, or about 40 percent of the derivatives market,
from 149 million tons in 2008, according to globalCOAL. It was
615 million tons in the first half.
"The total volume of steam coal consumed in the world and
the volume of physical seaborne trade continue to increase,"
said Perret. Coal-trading will range from 2 billion to 2.3
billion tons this year, compared with about 1.6 billion last
year, he said.
For Related News and Information:
For more Energy Markets columns see NI NRGM <GO>
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--With assistance from Alistair Holloway in London. Editors:
Mike Anderson, Stephen Voss
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
Climate Failures May Stoke Record Coal Trading: Energy Markets
2010-08-27 08:55:44.675 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Coal trading is poised to rise to an
all-time high this year as prices at less than half their 2008
peak stoke demand, defying government efforts to phase out the
most-polluting fossil fuel.
The volume of coal derivatives bought and sold around the
world may jump as much as 46 percent this year to 2.3 billion
metric tons, based on data from exchanges and brokers, according
to Guillaume Perret, founder of Perret Associates Ltd. and a
former trader at RWE AG, Germany's second-biggest utility. That
would exceed the record 2.2 billion tons traded in 2007.
"It's looking pretty good for coal," Kris Voorspools,
director of 70Watt Capital Management, a Luxembourg-based hedge
fund that specializes in trading spreads in energy and carbon
markets, said in an Aug. 24 interview. "It's the fuel for the
developing world. China and India are using it to grow."
The increase in coal trading underscores how fuel demand in
Asia is hampering government measures to tackle global warming.
United Nations Climate Chief Christiana Figueres said on June 9
negotiations to extend Kyoto Protocol limits on greenhouse-gas
emissions are unlikely to succeed this year. Global coal demand
held near a record in 2009, while oil consumption dropped 1.7
percent and natural-gas use fell 2.1 percent, according to BP
Plc's June 2010 Statistical Review.
Taking Advantage
Prices have fallen 56 percent since trading at a record
$217.75 a ton on July 1, 2008. Coal for next-year delivery in
northwest Europe, the world's biggest derivatives market for the
fuel, closed yesterday at $96.65 a ton, according to broker
prices compiled by Bloomberg, 31 percent lower than the 2008
average of $140.40 a ton.
Export prices at Newcastle, Australia, a benchmark for
Asia, rose 1 percent to 87.79 a ton in the week ended Aug. 20,
according to London-based globalCOAL. Prices at Richards Bay,
South Africa, the continent's biggest export facility for the
fuel, fell 0.6 percent to $86.34 a ton, according to data from
IHS McCloskey.
The world's biggest energy exchanges are seeking to
encourage trading. Intercontinental Exchange Inc.'s ICE Futures
Europe on Aug. 6 began allowing investors to trade coal
derivatives with a minimum of 1,000 tons, 20 percent the size of
its previous requirement, to attract hedge funds and smaller
banks. CME Group Inc. said this week it will start offering four
new contracts settled against coal prices.
LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd. plans to offer Richards Bay and
Rotterdam coal swaps "soon," according to Jason LaBrooy, a
spokesman in London.
"We expect to see a pick-up in activity into the fourth
quarter," Tris Simmonds, the head of coal trading in London at
GFI Group Inc., a New York-based broker, said by e-mail. "LCH
and CME offering clearing to the coal market as well as ICE will
lead to a more competitive market place for clearing."
Ambitious Targets
European governments set the world's most ambitious targets
to cut greenhouse gases and wean themselves off coal, which
emits about twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas. The
European Commission, the regulator for the 27-nation European
Union, set up a cap-and-trade system in 2005 to make polluters
pay for carbon emissions. In the U.S., where coal accounts for
about 25 percent of energy consumption, lawmakers plan to revive
climate-protection legislation after being defeated in Congress
last month.
Coal-price declines and the growing use of alternative
energy still pose risks for traders.
Some banks and hedge funds "threw in the towel" in 2008
and 2009, Perret, founder of London-based Perret Associates, a
coal, freight and iron-ore adviser, said in an Aug. 25 e-mail.
New exchange-cleared products are easing concern about
traders' creditworthiness, said Adrian Hills, senior market
manager for globalCOAL.
New Hiring
"Credit has been the biggest issue to impact trading over
the last few years," Hills said in an Aug. 24 interview.
Gunvor International BV, an Amsterdam-based commodity
trader, said in May it hired traders for its coal business.
Mercuria Energy Ltd. in Geneva, which buys and sells oil and
emissions contracts, added traders in Houston and Jakarta last
August after entering the coal business in 2007.
The reduced minimum lots for ICE contracts will probably
lure new entrants, including traders seeking to bet on spreads
between fuels, European Union carbon allowances and electricity,
said 70Watts's Voorspools.
"The initiative can lead to a boom in liquidity in coal,"
said Voorspools, who said he used the new 1,000-ton lot on ICE
last week. "Many are interested in coal, but only a few can
actually trade it because of the big size."
Not Needed
The utilities and banks that dominate trading won't need
the smaller lot sizes when hedging risks for entire ships, which
can carry as much as 110,000 tons of fuel, according to Clive
Murray, chief executive officer at London Commodity Brokers Ltd.
"If you are trying to hedge a whole ship, 1,000 tons is
neither here nor there," he said.
For traders, the flexibility of smaller transactions will
offer an advantage, David Peniket, president and chief operating
officer of ICE Futures Europe in London, said in an e-mail.
Coal trading on ICE jumped more than fourfold last year to
634 million tons, or about 40 percent of the derivatives market,
from 149 million tons in 2008, according to globalCOAL. It was
615 million tons in the first half.
"The total volume of steam coal consumed in the world and
the volume of physical seaborne trade continue to increase,"
said Perret. Coal-trading will range from 2 billion to 2.3
billion tons this year, compared with about 1.6 billion last
year, he said.
For Related News and Information:
For more Energy Markets columns see NI NRGM <GO>
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--With assistance from Alistair Holloway in London. Editors:
Mike Anderson, Stephen Voss
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
2010/08/26
(BN) CO2 Environment-Friendly for Auto Air-Conditioners, Agency Says
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
CO2 Environment-Friendly for Auto Air-Conditioners, Agency Says
2010-08-26 08:11:20.851 GMT
By Jeremy van Loon
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Carbon dioxide, which contributes to
global warming, is the best gas to use in automotive air-
conditioners because it results in lower greenhouse-gas
emissions, Germany's environment agency said.
C02 is more "environmentally friendly" than
tetrafluoropropene, the coolant most commonly used in air-
conditioning systems for cars, Germany's Umweltbundesamt, a
government agency, said in an e-mailed statement. Carbon
dioxide, unlike its main substitute, is also not combustible and
results in no by-products, the agency said.
Vehicle manufacturers are required to lower greenhouse-gas
emissions from air conditioning starting in January and have
chosen to continue using tetrafluoropropene, which becomes
poisonous when burned at high temperatures, Umweltbundesamt
said. The agency already uses a vehicle that is equipped with a
cooling system that uses CO2.
Governments from more than 190 countries are seeking to
limit emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases at ongoing
United Nations climate change talks. The Kyoto Protocol's
emissions limits for industrialized nations expire in 2012.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
News stories about climate change: NI CLIMATE <GO>
Energy markets menu: NRG <GO>
--Editors: Randall Hackley, Todd White
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jeremy van Loon in Berlin at +49-30-70010-6231 or
jvanloon@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net
CO2 Environment-Friendly for Auto Air-Conditioners, Agency Says
2010-08-26 08:11:20.851 GMT
By Jeremy van Loon
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Carbon dioxide, which contributes to
global warming, is the best gas to use in automotive air-
conditioners because it results in lower greenhouse-gas
emissions, Germany's environment agency said.
C02 is more "environmentally friendly" than
tetrafluoropropene, the coolant most commonly used in air-
conditioning systems for cars, Germany's Umweltbundesamt, a
government agency, said in an e-mailed statement. Carbon
dioxide, unlike its main substitute, is also not combustible and
results in no by-products, the agency said.
Vehicle manufacturers are required to lower greenhouse-gas
emissions from air conditioning starting in January and have
chosen to continue using tetrafluoropropene, which becomes
poisonous when burned at high temperatures, Umweltbundesamt
said. The agency already uses a vehicle that is equipped with a
cooling system that uses CO2.
Governments from more than 190 countries are seeking to
limit emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases at ongoing
United Nations climate change talks. The Kyoto Protocol's
emissions limits for industrialized nations expire in 2012.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
News stories about climate change: NI CLIMATE <GO>
Energy markets menu: NRG <GO>
--Editors: Randall Hackley, Todd White
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jeremy van Loon in Berlin at +49-30-70010-6231 or
jvanloon@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net
(BN) IDEAcarbon Cuts Forecast for UN Emission-Credit Supply in 2010
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
IDEAcarbon Cuts Forecast for UN Emission-Credit Supply in 2010
2010-08-26 11:16:41.436 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- IDEAcarbon forecast that United
Nations regulators will issue 80 million metric tons of
Certified Emission Reduction credits this year, reducing its
estimate from 118 million in July.
"Recent events surrounding the regulation of CERS from
HFC-23 projects" are behind the revision, IDEAcarbon said today
in an e-mailed statement.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{PTOP<GO>}
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:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
IDEAcarbon Cuts Forecast for UN Emission-Credit Supply in 2010
2010-08-26 11:16:41.436 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- IDEAcarbon forecast that United
Nations regulators will issue 80 million metric tons of
Certified Emission Reduction credits this year, reducing its
estimate from 118 million in July.
"Recent events surrounding the regulation of CERS from
HFC-23 projects" are behind the revision, IDEAcarbon said today
in an e-mailed statement.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{PTOP<GO>}
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:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
(BN) World Bank Trying to ‘Subvert’ UN Fix for Offsets, Lobby Says
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
World Bank Trying to 'Subvert' UN Fix for Offsets, Lobby Says
2010-08-26 12:36:08.57 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Two environmental groups called on
the World Bank to stop obstructing the overhaul of the United
Nations program for awarding emission credits tied to
hydrofluorocarbons.
The World Bank included factual and analytical errors in a
report dismissing concerns that the UN Clean Development
Mechanism has generated "fake carbon credits" for HFC-23
projects, the Environmental Investigation Agency and CDM Watch
said today in an e-mailed statement.
Regulators of the CDM, the world's second-largest carbon
market, are boosting scrutiny after allegations that some
developers are seeking excessive credits related to the
industrial gases, whose warming potential is 11,700 times more
powerful than carbon dioxide. They are assessing whether the
methodology for awarding those offsets should be changed.
"The World Bank's position is both scientifically and
morally indefensible," Clare Perry, a senior campaigner for
Environmental Investigation, said in the statement. "It should
stop trying to subvert the CDM investigation and allow the UN to
do a job they are far better qualified for than the World
Bank."
The World Bank said earlier this month that the UN program
hasn't inflated production of chlorodifluoromethane, known as
HCFC-22 and used in the air-conditioning and refrigeration
industries. The availability of UN credits is "clearly not"
driving demand at chemical plants, the report said.
Officials at the Washington-based bank couldn't immediately
be reached to comment on the environmental groups' statement.
Incineration Projects
The World Bank's Umbrella Carbon Facility invests in two of
the biggest HFC-23 incineration projects, the lobby groups said.
The facility pools funds for the purchase of greenhouse-gas
emission reductions from CDM and other UN-offset projects. UN
offsets can be used for compliance in the European Union's
carbon cap-and-trade program, the world's largest.
Regulators of the CDM announced reviews of seven issuances
related to HFC-23 projects this month, including one today.
Credits from HFC-23 projects make up about half the supply of
offsets issued in the CDM. HFC gases are a byproduct in the
making of chlorodifluoromethane.
The environmental groups said that manufacturers in China
and India earn "as much or more" for destroying HFC-23 gases
than for producing chlorodifluoromethane, which encourages
production and use of HCFC-22 only for the purpose of generating
offsets.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--With assistance from Mathew Carr in London. Editors: Mike
Anderson.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
World Bank Trying to 'Subvert' UN Fix for Offsets, Lobby Says
2010-08-26 12:36:08.57 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Two environmental groups called on
the World Bank to stop obstructing the overhaul of the United
Nations program for awarding emission credits tied to
hydrofluorocarbons.
The World Bank included factual and analytical errors in a
report dismissing concerns that the UN Clean Development
Mechanism has generated "fake carbon credits" for HFC-23
projects, the Environmental Investigation Agency and CDM Watch
said today in an e-mailed statement.
Regulators of the CDM, the world's second-largest carbon
market, are boosting scrutiny after allegations that some
developers are seeking excessive credits related to the
industrial gases, whose warming potential is 11,700 times more
powerful than carbon dioxide. They are assessing whether the
methodology for awarding those offsets should be changed.
"The World Bank's position is both scientifically and
morally indefensible," Clare Perry, a senior campaigner for
Environmental Investigation, said in the statement. "It should
stop trying to subvert the CDM investigation and allow the UN to
do a job they are far better qualified for than the World
Bank."
The World Bank said earlier this month that the UN program
hasn't inflated production of chlorodifluoromethane, known as
HCFC-22 and used in the air-conditioning and refrigeration
industries. The availability of UN credits is "clearly not"
driving demand at chemical plants, the report said.
Officials at the Washington-based bank couldn't immediately
be reached to comment on the environmental groups' statement.
Incineration Projects
The World Bank's Umbrella Carbon Facility invests in two of
the biggest HFC-23 incineration projects, the lobby groups said.
The facility pools funds for the purchase of greenhouse-gas
emission reductions from CDM and other UN-offset projects. UN
offsets can be used for compliance in the European Union's
carbon cap-and-trade program, the world's largest.
Regulators of the CDM announced reviews of seven issuances
related to HFC-23 projects this month, including one today.
Credits from HFC-23 projects make up about half the supply of
offsets issued in the CDM. HFC gases are a byproduct in the
making of chlorodifluoromethane.
The environmental groups said that manufacturers in China
and India earn "as much or more" for destroying HFC-23 gases
than for producing chlorodifluoromethane, which encourages
production and use of HCFC-22 only for the purpose of generating
offsets.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--With assistance from Mathew Carr in London. Editors: Mike
Anderson.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
2010/08/25
Fwd: + Dot Earth: From Climate Science to Climate Activism - The Sequel
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Dot Earth: From Climate Science to Climate Activism - The Sequel
2010-08-26 02:18:56.42 GMT
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Aug. 25 (New York Times) -- A couple of years ago, I posted
a piece here describing the journey of Richard Somerville, a
climatologist a the University of California, San Diego, from a
tight focus on research to a role as an advocate for climate
action.
It is a journey that comes with costs and compromises. When
I taught a seminar at Bard College in 2007 on the role of
communication in shaping environmental policy, I had the students
split into defenders of two approaches taken by prominent climate
scientists.
One group had to defend Susan Solomon, the much lauded
atmospheric scientist who, while a co-leader of the 2007 science
assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
staunchly refused to provide her personal view of the
implications of global warming research despite the prodding of
reporters.
The other group had to defend James E. Hansen, the NASA
climatologist who had already become a strong advocate for
particular climate policies at that time and, more recently, got
himself arrested in coal country. The debate played out, as you
might imagine, with no easy answers.
Now Hansen has posted a short chapter he has contributed to
a forthcoming book by the photographer J. Henry Fair explaining
his activism. Here's the opening section and a link to the rest:
"How did you become an activist?" I was surprised by the
question. I never considered myself an activist. I am a
slow-paced taciturn scientist from the Midwest. Most of my
relatives are pretty conservative. I can imagine attitudes at
home toward "activists."
I was about to protest the characterization - but I had been
arrested, more than once. And I had testified in defense of
others who had broken the law. Sure, we only meant to draw
attention to problems of continued fossil fuel addiction. But
weren't there other ways to do that in a democracy? How had I
been sucked into being an "activist?"
My grandchildren had a lot to do with it. It happened
step-by-step. First, in 2004, I broke a 15- year self-imposed
effort to stay out of the media. I gave a public lecture, backed
by scientific papers, showing the need to slow greenhouse gas
emissions - and I criticized the Bush administration for lack of
appropriate policies. My grandchildren came into the talk only as
props - holding 1-watt Christmas tree bulbs to help explain
climate forcings.
Fourteen months later I gave another public talk -
connecting the dots from global warming to policy implications to
criticisms of the fossil fuel industry for promoting
misinformation. This time my grandchildren provided
rationalization for a talk likely to draw Administration ire: I
explained that I did not want my children to look back and say
"Opa understood what was happening, but he never made it clear."
[Read the rest...]
Is there a way to reconcile the personal and the
professional sides of life as a scientist working on
consequential, urgent questions?
Is there a way to do that as a journalist? I was asked that
question a few years ago by organizers of a conference at
Willamette University. I'll post my answer before the week is
out.
Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
-0- Aug/26/2010 02:18 GMT
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Dot Earth: From Climate Science to Climate Activism - The Sequel
2010-08-26 02:18:56.42 GMT
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Aug. 25 (New York Times) -- A couple of years ago, I posted
a piece here describing the journey of Richard Somerville, a
climatologist a the University of California, San Diego, from a
tight focus on research to a role as an advocate for climate
action.
It is a journey that comes with costs and compromises. When
I taught a seminar at Bard College in 2007 on the role of
communication in shaping environmental policy, I had the students
split into defenders of two approaches taken by prominent climate
scientists.
One group had to defend Susan Solomon, the much lauded
atmospheric scientist who, while a co-leader of the 2007 science
assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
staunchly refused to provide her personal view of the
implications of global warming research despite the prodding of
reporters.
The other group had to defend James E. Hansen, the NASA
climatologist who had already become a strong advocate for
particular climate policies at that time and, more recently, got
himself arrested in coal country. The debate played out, as you
might imagine, with no easy answers.
Now Hansen has posted a short chapter he has contributed to
a forthcoming book by the photographer J. Henry Fair explaining
his activism. Here's the opening section and a link to the rest:
"How did you become an activist?" I was surprised by the
question. I never considered myself an activist. I am a
slow-paced taciturn scientist from the Midwest. Most of my
relatives are pretty conservative. I can imagine attitudes at
home toward "activists."
I was about to protest the characterization - but I had been
arrested, more than once. And I had testified in defense of
others who had broken the law. Sure, we only meant to draw
attention to problems of continued fossil fuel addiction. But
weren't there other ways to do that in a democracy? How had I
been sucked into being an "activist?"
My grandchildren had a lot to do with it. It happened
step-by-step. First, in 2004, I broke a 15- year self-imposed
effort to stay out of the media. I gave a public lecture, backed
by scientific papers, showing the need to slow greenhouse gas
emissions - and I criticized the Bush administration for lack of
appropriate policies. My grandchildren came into the talk only as
props - holding 1-watt Christmas tree bulbs to help explain
climate forcings.
Fourteen months later I gave another public talk -
connecting the dots from global warming to policy implications to
criticisms of the fossil fuel industry for promoting
misinformation. This time my grandchildren provided
rationalization for a talk likely to draw Administration ire: I
explained that I did not want my children to look back and say
"Opa understood what was happening, but he never made it clear."
[Read the rest...]
Is there a way to reconcile the personal and the
professional sides of life as a scientist working on
consequential, urgent questions?
Is there a way to do that as a journalist? I was asked that
question a few years ago by organizers of a conference at
Willamette University. I'll post my answer before the week is
out.
Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
-0- Aug/26/2010 02:18 GMT
Fwd: Africa May Become Next Big Carbon Market, Emissions Group Says
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Africa May Become Next Big Carbon Market, Emissions Group Says
2010-08-26 06:28:51.400 GMT
By Dinakar Sethuraman
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Africa may be the next major market
for carbon-reduction ventures amid investigations into Chinese
certification and as the European Union imposes new regulations,
the International Emissions Trading Association said.
"Africa is turning into a major source of premium Clean
Development Mechanism projects," Henry Derwent, chief executive
officer and president of the Geneva-based group, said in an
interview before the Carbon Forum Asia conference in October.
The world's least developed region accounts for about 3
percent of the project pipeline under the United Nations CDM
mechanism designed to generate certified emission-reduction
units, or CERs, for eliminating emissions from greenhouse gases
such as methane, Derwent said in Singapore yesterday.
Asia accounts for 77 percent of registered CDM projects,
with China, India and South Korea accounting for 81 percent of
the credits issued, according to the UNFCCC website. That
compares with 1.9 percent for Africa, generating 1.5 percent of
CERs. The European Union, the world's biggest carbon market, is
reviewing rules relating to the type and geography of new CDM
projects to meet domestic obligations.
"European buyers are looking to diversify their portfolios
of CERs to manage their risks," Derwent said. "There are more
supplies coming from Africa partly because of emphasis on
agriculture and forestry."
Africa has attracted about 3 percent, or 139 projects
including new ones, from a "negligible" number a few years ago,
according to Derwent and data from Bloomberg. Demand for CERs
originating from African projects may prompt European utilities
and buyers to pay more compared to units sourced from other
regions, he said.
New Rules
Asian developers must be prepared to face competition from
other regions and meet national criteria as lawmakers in the
European Union, the U.S., Japan, Australia and South Korea draw
up rules on carbon reduction, Derwent said.
Regulators of the UN CDM, the second-biggest emissions
market, said on Aug. 18 they won't immediately issue tradable
emissions credits to the developer of a Chinese
hydrofluorocarbon-23 project as they seek more information. UN
regulators are stepping up scrutiny after allegations that some
developers are seeking excessive credits related to HFC-23, an
industrial gas whose warming potential is 11,700 times more
powerful than carbon dioxide.
Prices of carbon credits generated by developing countries
may rise as regulators review industrial gas projects and
Chinese wind energy facilities, fueling speculation that
supplies will slow.
United Nations emissions credits, or CERs, for December
delivery climbed 2.5 percent to 13.58 euros a metric ton
yesterday on the European Climate Exchange, the biggest gain
since Aug. 19. Prices have jumped 17 percent in the past month.
CERs, awarded to projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be used to comply with the EU emissions
trading system, the world's largest cap-and-trade program.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about U.S. and climate: TNI US CLIMATE <GO>
Global emissions data: EMIS <GO>
Northeast U.S. trading: RGGI <GO>
--Editors: Jane Lee, Ryan Woo.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Dinakar Sethuraman in Singapore at +65-6212-1590 or
dinakar@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net.
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Africa May Become Next Big Carbon Market, Emissions Group Says
2010-08-26 06:28:51.400 GMT
By Dinakar Sethuraman
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Africa may be the next major market
for carbon-reduction ventures amid investigations into Chinese
certification and as the European Union imposes new regulations,
the International Emissions Trading Association said.
"Africa is turning into a major source of premium Clean
Development Mechanism projects," Henry Derwent, chief executive
officer and president of the Geneva-based group, said in an
interview before the Carbon Forum Asia conference in October.
The world's least developed region accounts for about 3
percent of the project pipeline under the United Nations CDM
mechanism designed to generate certified emission-reduction
units, or CERs, for eliminating emissions from greenhouse gases
such as methane, Derwent said in Singapore yesterday.
Asia accounts for 77 percent of registered CDM projects,
with China, India and South Korea accounting for 81 percent of
the credits issued, according to the UNFCCC website. That
compares with 1.9 percent for Africa, generating 1.5 percent of
CERs. The European Union, the world's biggest carbon market, is
reviewing rules relating to the type and geography of new CDM
projects to meet domestic obligations.
"European buyers are looking to diversify their portfolios
of CERs to manage their risks," Derwent said. "There are more
supplies coming from Africa partly because of emphasis on
agriculture and forestry."
Africa has attracted about 3 percent, or 139 projects
including new ones, from a "negligible" number a few years ago,
according to Derwent and data from Bloomberg. Demand for CERs
originating from African projects may prompt European utilities
and buyers to pay more compared to units sourced from other
regions, he said.
New Rules
Asian developers must be prepared to face competition from
other regions and meet national criteria as lawmakers in the
European Union, the U.S., Japan, Australia and South Korea draw
up rules on carbon reduction, Derwent said.
Regulators of the UN CDM, the second-biggest emissions
market, said on Aug. 18 they won't immediately issue tradable
emissions credits to the developer of a Chinese
hydrofluorocarbon-23 project as they seek more information. UN
regulators are stepping up scrutiny after allegations that some
developers are seeking excessive credits related to HFC-23, an
industrial gas whose warming potential is 11,700 times more
powerful than carbon dioxide.
Prices of carbon credits generated by developing countries
may rise as regulators review industrial gas projects and
Chinese wind energy facilities, fueling speculation that
supplies will slow.
United Nations emissions credits, or CERs, for December
delivery climbed 2.5 percent to 13.58 euros a metric ton
yesterday on the European Climate Exchange, the biggest gain
since Aug. 19. Prices have jumped 17 percent in the past month.
CERs, awarded to projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be used to comply with the EU emissions
trading system, the world's largest cap-and-trade program.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about U.S. and climate: TNI US CLIMATE <GO>
Global emissions data: EMIS <GO>
Northeast U.S. trading: RGGI <GO>
--Editors: Jane Lee, Ryan Woo.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Dinakar Sethuraman in Singapore at +65-6212-1590 or
dinakar@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net.
(BN) South Africa Considers Emission Tax on All Motor Vehicles
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
South Africa Considers Emission Tax on All Motor Vehicles
2010-08-25 15:41:59.347 GMT
By Lauren van der Westhuizen
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg New Energy Finance) -- South Africa
the government is considering a carbon dioxide emissions tax on
all car, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said.
Gordhan made the announcement to the National Assembly
during his presentation yesterday of the Taxation Laws Amendment
Bills.
South Africa will implement an emissions tax on new
passenger cars starting Sept. 1. New motor vehicles will
face an emissions tax of about $10 per gram of CO2 emitted per
kilometer for vehicles producing more than 120 grams of CO2 per
kilometer. The tax will be extended to all light commercial
vehicles after CO2 standards are set, Gordhan said.
The minister said the government wants to eventually extend
the environmental tax to all motor vehicles as part of its plan
to improve air quality and reduce the emission of greenhouse
gases.
The tax will be implemented by reviewing the approach to
vehicle license fees implemented by the provinces, he said.
Higher fuel levies and better-quality fuel in South Africa are
also on the agenda, he said.
For Related News and Information:
Today's top environment news: GREEN <GO>
Renewable-energy markets home page: RENE <GO>
Sustainability, environmental indexes: SEI <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, Randall Hackley.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Lauren van der Westhuizen at +27-21-441-7602 or at
lvanderwesth@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Angus McCrone at +44-20-3216-4795 or
amccrone1@bloomberg.net.
South Africa Considers Emission Tax on All Motor Vehicles
2010-08-25 15:41:59.347 GMT
By Lauren van der Westhuizen
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg New Energy Finance) -- South Africa
the government is considering a carbon dioxide emissions tax on
all car, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said.
Gordhan made the announcement to the National Assembly
during his presentation yesterday of the Taxation Laws Amendment
Bills.
South Africa will implement an emissions tax on new
passenger cars starting Sept. 1. New motor vehicles will
face an emissions tax of about $10 per gram of CO2 emitted per
kilometer for vehicles producing more than 120 grams of CO2 per
kilometer. The tax will be extended to all light commercial
vehicles after CO2 standards are set, Gordhan said.
The minister said the government wants to eventually extend
the environmental tax to all motor vehicles as part of its plan
to improve air quality and reduce the emission of greenhouse
gases.
The tax will be implemented by reviewing the approach to
vehicle license fees implemented by the provinces, he said.
Higher fuel levies and better-quality fuel in South Africa are
also on the agenda, he said.
For Related News and Information:
Today's top environment news: GREEN <GO>
Renewable-energy markets home page: RENE <GO>
Sustainability, environmental indexes: SEI <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, Randall Hackley.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Lauren van der Westhuizen at +27-21-441-7602 or at
lvanderwesth@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Angus McCrone at +44-20-3216-4795 or
amccrone1@bloomberg.net.
(BN) European Coal Falls a Third Straight Day as Gas Price
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
European Coal Falls a Third Straight Day as Gas Price Retreats
2010-08-25 10:56:48.467 GMT
By Alistair Holloway
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- European coal prices fell for a
third day as natural gas headed to the lowest close this week,
curbing the appeal of the solid fuel for power generators.
Gas for immediate delivery in the U.K., Europe's biggest
consumer, was 0.4 percent lower at 11:32 a.m. in London. A close
at that level would be the lowest since Aug. 20. Transitgas AG,
operator of a pipeline from northern Europe crossing Switzerland
to Italy, said yesterday that repairs have been delayed and
deliveries aren't expected to resume before three or four
months. That increased supplies in northwestern Europe.
Cheaper gas makes coal less competitive for power utilities
able to switch between the fuels, allowing them to control
costs. Coal for delivery to Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Antwerp with
settlement next year fell 45 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $96 a
metric ton.
Profit from running coal-fired power plants for next year,
the so-called clean-dark spread, is about 5.64 euros ($7.14) a
megawatt-hour, compared with 3.52 euros from burning natural
gas, Bloomberg data showed. The calculation uses electricity
prices in Germany and takes emissions costs into account.
The coal-derivative data are drawn from information
supplied by ICAP Plc, GFI Group Inc., Spectron Group Ltd.,
Credit Suisse Group AG, IHS McCloskey, Bloomberg and Tradition
Financial Services.
For Related News and Information:
Top Commodity Stories: CTOP <GO>
Top Metals Stories: METT <GO>
Top Shipping Stories: SHPT <GO>
Technical Gauges: BTST <GO>
--With assistance by Catherine Airlie in London. Editors: John
Deane, Dan Weeks.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Alistair Holloway in London at +44-20-7330-7780 or
aholloway1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Claudia Carpenter at +44-20-7330-7304 or
ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.
European Coal Falls a Third Straight Day as Gas Price Retreats
2010-08-25 10:56:48.467 GMT
By Alistair Holloway
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- European coal prices fell for a
third day as natural gas headed to the lowest close this week,
curbing the appeal of the solid fuel for power generators.
Gas for immediate delivery in the U.K., Europe's biggest
consumer, was 0.4 percent lower at 11:32 a.m. in London. A close
at that level would be the lowest since Aug. 20. Transitgas AG,
operator of a pipeline from northern Europe crossing Switzerland
to Italy, said yesterday that repairs have been delayed and
deliveries aren't expected to resume before three or four
months. That increased supplies in northwestern Europe.
Cheaper gas makes coal less competitive for power utilities
able to switch between the fuels, allowing them to control
costs. Coal for delivery to Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Antwerp with
settlement next year fell 45 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $96 a
metric ton.
Profit from running coal-fired power plants for next year,
the so-called clean-dark spread, is about 5.64 euros ($7.14) a
megawatt-hour, compared with 3.52 euros from burning natural
gas, Bloomberg data showed. The calculation uses electricity
prices in Germany and takes emissions costs into account.
The coal-derivative data are drawn from information
supplied by ICAP Plc, GFI Group Inc., Spectron Group Ltd.,
Credit Suisse Group AG, IHS McCloskey, Bloomberg and Tradition
Financial Services.
For Related News and Information:
Top Commodity Stories: CTOP <GO>
Top Metals Stories: METT <GO>
Top Shipping Stories: SHPT <GO>
Technical Gauges: BTST <GO>
--With assistance by Catherine Airlie in London. Editors: John
Deane, Dan Weeks.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Alistair Holloway in London at +44-20-7330-7780 or
aholloway1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Claudia Carpenter at +44-20-7330-7304 or
ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.
EU’s Hedegaard Says UN Emissions Market Needs ‘Major
our earlier story attached EU's Hedegaard Says UN Emissions Market Needs 'Major Overhaul'
By Stephen Voss
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- European Commissioner for Climate
Action Connie Hedegaard said that the United Nations Clean
Development Mechanism, which generates carbon emission credits,
needs a "major overhaul." She also wants "quality
restrictions" on credits related to industrial gas projects
after 2012, she said in a statement today.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO> }
To contact the reporter on this story:
Stephen Voss in London at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Waits to Set CO2 Offset Limits as Lobby Urges Fast Action
2010-08-25 12:57:10.344 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union is waiting with a
proposal that may restrict United Nations carbon credits in its
cap-and-trade program as the lobby group for emission traders
urges a quick decision.
The European Commission, the EU's regulatory arm, is
concerned that credits related to the industrial gases
hydrofluorocarbon-23 and nitrous oxide may be generating
"windfall" profits for some developers, it said in a May
report. The bloc is considering discounting and other
restrictions on some types of offsets issued under the UN's
Clean Development Mechanism.
"These concerns have not resulted in any concrete proposal
yet, and we have not taken any formal decision whether that
should be the case," the commission said today in an e-mail.
"It's connected to what's happening in the international
negotiations as well, as we are following the work that is
taking place in the CDM executive board."
Regulators of the CDM are ramping up scrutiny after
allegations that some developers are seeking excessive credits
related to HFC-23, an industrial gas whose warming potential is
11,700 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. They announced
reviews of six HFC projects this month to assess whether the
methodology for awarding those offsets should be changed.
The International Emissions Trading Association, a Geneva-
based lobby group for carbon traders, asked yesterday for a
meeting with EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard and
requested more certainty from the commission about the use of UN
offsets through 2020. Private investors "urgently" need
certainty to regain confidence in the CDM, and the commission
should wind down the debate, IETA said.
Supply Concerns
UN Certified Emission Reductions for December 2010 are up 9
percent this month on speculation that the UN clampdown will
restrict the supply of credits. CERs, awarded on projects that
lower emissions in developing nations, currently can be swapped
on a one-for-one basis with EU permits in the bloc's carbon
market.
The 27-nation EU seeks to cut greenhouse gases by one-fifth
by the end of this decade compared with 1990 levels. The bloc
has said it may boost that target to 30 percent should other
countries follow suit. The next round of international talks on
climate change starts Nov. 29 in Cancun, Mexico.
The European Union's cap-and-trade program, the world's
largest, covers more than 12,000 facilities that produce energy
or goods ranging from paper to cement. Emitters must have an
allowance for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit in burning
fossil fuels. Those producing more than their allowance must buy
more; those that emit less can sell their surplus.
Continuing Debate
While the commission can put forward a proposal to impose
quality limits or multipliers on UN credits eligible for
compliance in the EU emissions trading system, it would require
member states approval to become binding.
"Ultimately, that is a political decision," the
commission said. "There have been discussions in the working
party on environment also about these aspects, and there were
diverging views on whether quality restrictions that were
suggested would be appropriate or not."
The debate may be continued at the next meeting of the EU
environment ministers on Oct. 14 in Luxembourg. The earliest
date that any kind of quality requirements for CDM could be
implemented would be Jan. 1, 2013, the commission said. Whether
that will impact projects that have already been registered will
be open to the debate, it said.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, Rob Verdonck.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
By Stephen Voss
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- European Commissioner for Climate
Action Connie Hedegaard said that the United Nations Clean
Development Mechanism, which generates carbon emission credits,
needs a "major overhaul." She also wants "quality
restrictions" on credits related to industrial gas projects
after 2012, she said in a statement today.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO> }
To contact the reporter on this story:
Stephen Voss in London at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Waits to Set CO2 Offset Limits as Lobby Urges Fast Action
2010-08-25 12:57:10.344 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union is waiting with a
proposal that may restrict United Nations carbon credits in its
cap-and-trade program as the lobby group for emission traders
urges a quick decision.
The European Commission, the EU's regulatory arm, is
concerned that credits related to the industrial gases
hydrofluorocarbon-23 and nitrous oxide may be generating
"windfall" profits for some developers, it said in a May
report. The bloc is considering discounting and other
restrictions on some types of offsets issued under the UN's
Clean Development Mechanism.
"These concerns have not resulted in any concrete proposal
yet, and we have not taken any formal decision whether that
should be the case," the commission said today in an e-mail.
"It's connected to what's happening in the international
negotiations as well, as we are following the work that is
taking place in the CDM executive board."
Regulators of the CDM are ramping up scrutiny after
allegations that some developers are seeking excessive credits
related to HFC-23, an industrial gas whose warming potential is
11,700 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. They announced
reviews of six HFC projects this month to assess whether the
methodology for awarding those offsets should be changed.
The International Emissions Trading Association, a Geneva-
based lobby group for carbon traders, asked yesterday for a
meeting with EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard and
requested more certainty from the commission about the use of UN
offsets through 2020. Private investors "urgently" need
certainty to regain confidence in the CDM, and the commission
should wind down the debate, IETA said.
Supply Concerns
UN Certified Emission Reductions for December 2010 are up 9
percent this month on speculation that the UN clampdown will
restrict the supply of credits. CERs, awarded on projects that
lower emissions in developing nations, currently can be swapped
on a one-for-one basis with EU permits in the bloc's carbon
market.
The 27-nation EU seeks to cut greenhouse gases by one-fifth
by the end of this decade compared with 1990 levels. The bloc
has said it may boost that target to 30 percent should other
countries follow suit. The next round of international talks on
climate change starts Nov. 29 in Cancun, Mexico.
The European Union's cap-and-trade program, the world's
largest, covers more than 12,000 facilities that produce energy
or goods ranging from paper to cement. Emitters must have an
allowance for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit in burning
fossil fuels. Those producing more than their allowance must buy
more; those that emit less can sell their surplus.
Continuing Debate
While the commission can put forward a proposal to impose
quality limits or multipliers on UN credits eligible for
compliance in the EU emissions trading system, it would require
member states approval to become binding.
"Ultimately, that is a political decision," the
commission said. "There have been discussions in the working
party on environment also about these aspects, and there were
diverging views on whether quality restrictions that were
suggested would be appropriate or not."
The debate may be continued at the next meeting of the EU
environment ministers on Oct. 14 in Luxembourg. The earliest
date that any kind of quality requirements for CDM could be
implemented would be Jan. 1, 2013, the commission said. Whether
that will impact projects that have already been registered will
be open to the debate, it said.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, Rob Verdonck.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
(BN) BlueNext Names Francois-Xavier Saint-Macary as CEO From Sept. 1
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BlueNext Names Francois-Xavier Saint-Macary as CEO From Sept. 1
2010-08-25 16:13:14.289 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- NYSE Euronext and Caisse des Depots
et Consignations, the owners of the BlueNext emission exchange
in Paris, named Francois-Xavier Saint-Macary as chief executive
officer from Sept. 1, replacing Serge Harry, BlueNext said in a
e-mailed statement today.
Link to Company News:{220638Z FP <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{NYX US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
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:
Rob Verdonck at +44-20-3216-4149 or
rverdonck@bloomberg.net
BlueNext Names Francois-Xavier Saint-Macary as CEO From Sept. 1
2010-08-25 16:13:14.289 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- NYSE Euronext and Caisse des Depots
et Consignations, the owners of the BlueNext emission exchange
in Paris, named Francois-Xavier Saint-Macary as chief executive
officer from Sept. 1, replacing Serge Harry, BlueNext said in a
e-mailed statement today.
Link to Company News:{220638Z FP <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{NYX US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
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:
Rob Verdonck at +44-20-3216-4149 or
rverdonck@bloomberg.net
(BN) EU CO2 Rises to Seven-Week High After Germany Sells
"Carbon looks set to break out of a downward channel,"
Andrew Ager, the London-based head of carbon and emissions at
Prudential Financial Inc.'s Bache Commodities Ltd., said in an
e-mailed note. "With the return of utilities after the summer
break and looming specter of renewed compliance buying, the risk
is to the topside."
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU CO2 Rises to Seven-Week High After Germany Sells Permits
2010-08-25 15:25:07.828 GMT
By Mathew Carr and Catherine Airlie
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Carbon-dioxide allowances in the
European Union emissions-trading system jumped as traders
anticipate more buying next week and as the United Nations-
overseen regulators crimp supply of some offsets.
EU carbon dioxide permits for December 2010 rose as much as
41 cents, or 2.7 percent, to 15.37 euros ($19.46) a metric ton
on London's European Climate Exchange, their highest since July
5. They were at 15.24 euros at 3:30 p.m. local time.
"Carbon looks set to break out of a downward channel,"
Andrew Ager, the London-based head of carbon and emissions at
Prudential Financial Inc.'s Bache Commodities Ltd., said in an
e-mailed note. "With the return of utilities after the summer
break and looming specter of renewed compliance buying, the risk
is to the topside."
Traded volumes of EU permits for December fell as low as
3,658 lots on the European climate Exchange on Aug. 16, the
lowest level this year, as traders went away for holidays.
Prices rose after the European Energy Exchange published
the clearing price for its sale of EU permits for the German
government. Some 570,000 European Union carbon-dioxide emission
allowances were sold for 15.16 euros a metric ton in an auction
today, the European Energy Exchange said on its website.
Prices of certified emissions reduction credits, generated
by developing countries, may rise this year as regulators review
industrial gas projects and Chinese wind energy facilities,
fueling speculation that supplies will slow.
Supply Squeeze
"There are fears of a supply squeeze because of fears
industrial gases will not be allowed to produce certified
emission reduction credits," said Henry Derwent, chief
executive officer and president of the Geneva-based
International Emissions Trading Association, in an interview
before the Carbon Forum Asia conference.
United Nations emissions credits, or CERs, for December
delivery rose 1.9 percent to 13.50 euros a metric ton on the
European Climate Exchange.
German business confidence unexpectedly rose to a three-
year high in August, suggesting the economy may not lose as much
momentum as some economists forecast after expanding at a record
pace in the second quarter. A speedy recovery to the German
economy may spur higher permit demand as emissions grow from
factories and businesses raising output.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:PTOP<GO>
--With assistance from Dinakar Sethuraman. Editors: John
Buckley, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net
Catherine Airlie in London at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss on +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
Andrew Ager, the London-based head of carbon and emissions at
Prudential Financial Inc.'s Bache Commodities Ltd., said in an
e-mailed note. "With the return of utilities after the summer
break and looming specter of renewed compliance buying, the risk
is to the topside."
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU CO2 Rises to Seven-Week High After Germany Sells Permits
2010-08-25 15:25:07.828 GMT
By Mathew Carr and Catherine Airlie
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Carbon-dioxide allowances in the
European Union emissions-trading system jumped as traders
anticipate more buying next week and as the United Nations-
overseen regulators crimp supply of some offsets.
EU carbon dioxide permits for December 2010 rose as much as
41 cents, or 2.7 percent, to 15.37 euros ($19.46) a metric ton
on London's European Climate Exchange, their highest since July
5. They were at 15.24 euros at 3:30 p.m. local time.
"Carbon looks set to break out of a downward channel,"
Andrew Ager, the London-based head of carbon and emissions at
Prudential Financial Inc.'s Bache Commodities Ltd., said in an
e-mailed note. "With the return of utilities after the summer
break and looming specter of renewed compliance buying, the risk
is to the topside."
Traded volumes of EU permits for December fell as low as
3,658 lots on the European climate Exchange on Aug. 16, the
lowest level this year, as traders went away for holidays.
Prices rose after the European Energy Exchange published
the clearing price for its sale of EU permits for the German
government. Some 570,000 European Union carbon-dioxide emission
allowances were sold for 15.16 euros a metric ton in an auction
today, the European Energy Exchange said on its website.
Prices of certified emissions reduction credits, generated
by developing countries, may rise this year as regulators review
industrial gas projects and Chinese wind energy facilities,
fueling speculation that supplies will slow.
Supply Squeeze
"There are fears of a supply squeeze because of fears
industrial gases will not be allowed to produce certified
emission reduction credits," said Henry Derwent, chief
executive officer and president of the Geneva-based
International Emissions Trading Association, in an interview
before the Carbon Forum Asia conference.
United Nations emissions credits, or CERs, for December
delivery rose 1.9 percent to 13.50 euros a metric ton on the
European Climate Exchange.
German business confidence unexpectedly rose to a three-
year high in August, suggesting the economy may not lose as much
momentum as some economists forecast after expanding at a record
pace in the second quarter. A speedy recovery to the German
economy may spur higher permit demand as emissions grow from
factories and businesses raising output.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:PTOP<GO>
--With assistance from Dinakar Sethuraman. Editors: John
Buckley, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net
Catherine Airlie in London at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss on +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
? nw europe coal for next year
------------------------------------------------------------
Mathew Carr, emissions markets, energy reporter. London Bloomberg News ph +44 207 073 3531 yahoo ID carr_mathew
(BN) German Business Confidence Unexpectedly Increases (Update3)
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
German Business Confidence Unexpectedly Increases (Update3)
2010-08-25 11:44:42.896 GMT
(Updates with economist's comment in ninth paragraph.)
By Gabi Thesing
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- German business confidence
unexpectedly rose to a three-year high in August, suggesting the
economy may not lose as much momentum as some economists
forecast after expanding at a record pace in the second quarter.
The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate
index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, increased to 106.7
from 106.2 in July. That's the third straight monthly increase
and the highest level since June 2007. Economists expected a
drop to 105.7, according to the median of 36 forecasts in a
Bloomberg News survey.
Europe's largest economy expanded 2.2 percent in the three
months through June, the fastest pace in two decades, as
companies including luxury carmaker Daimler AG ramped up
production to fill booming export orders. The Bundesbank said
last week the economic situation is "very favorable." Still,
budget cuts across the 16-nation euro region and a slowing
global recovery may crimp demand for German goods and damp
growth in the second half of the year.
Today's Ifo report is "an astonishingly strong number,"
said Juergen Michels, chief euro-area economist at Citigroup Inc
in London. "While it has probably peaked at this stage, the
strong expectations component shows that companies believe in
the recovery and it's backed by real corporate activity."
The euro extended its gain after the report, rising to as
high as $1.2725 from $1.2689 beforehand and $1.2630 early this
morning in Frankfurt. It dropped to $1.2625 at 1:42 p.m.
Expectations
Ifo's measure of executives' expectations eased to 105.2
from 105.6, while the gauge of the current situation rose to
108.2 from 106.8. The Bundesbank last week raised its 2010
growth forecast to 3 percent from 1.9 percent. The economy
contracted 4.7 percent in 2009.
Evidence of slowing growth around the world is prompting
some investors to dash for the safety of bunds and other assets
seen as a haven. The yield on Germany's 10-year bund yesterday
dropped to a record low of 2.185 percent as U.S. stocks fell to
their lowest in seven weeks.
Exports and investment fueled Germany's second-quarter
growth. Foreign sales soared 8.2 percent in the quarter and
company investment in plant and machinery jumped 4.4 percent.
Private consumption rose 0.6 percent.
"Germany may be entering a period of self-sustaining
domestic demand growth," Jim O'Neill, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Chief Global Economist, said in an interview with Bloomberg
Television today. "If that were true, it would be of major
importance for the rest of Europe."
Rising Sales
HeidelbergCement AG, the world's largest maker of
aggregates used to produce concrete and asphalt, said July 30
that sales rose for the first time in six quarters. Chief
Executive Officer Bernd Scheifele said revenues and operating
income will rise this year.
Companies are also adding workers to help fill orders,
helping to push down unemployment for a 13th month in July. The
jobless rate declined to 7.6 percent.
Daimler, which raised its 2010 operating forecast on July
27, has hired 1,800 temporary workers, while Bayerische Motoren
Werke AG has added 5,000 temporary workers. That may boost
consumer spending and help offset weakening foreign demand as
the global recovery shows signs of running out of steam.
Stiglitz Warning
Shares fell around the globe yesterday after an industry
report showed a record plunge in U.S. home sales in July, adding
to evidence the world's biggest economy is stumbling. Growth in
China's manufacturing industry has also weakened.
Expansion in Europe's services and manufacturing industries
cooled this month as austerity measures in the region's most
indebted countries weighed on spending. Nobel Prize-winning
economist Joseph Stiglitz said in an interview broadcast
yesterday that budget cuts may push the euro area, Germany's
biggest export market, back into recession.
"German order books are still full and domestic demand is
picking up," said Alexander Koch, an economist at Unicredit
Group in Munich. "The economy will grow very solidly, just not
as fast as in the first half."
For Related News and Information:
Economic stories on Germany: NI GEECO BN <GO>
German economic statistics: ECST GE <GO>
Economic indicator watch: ECOW EU <GO>
Top economic stories: TOP ECO <GO>
German government bonds: PXGE <GO>
--Editors: Matthew Brockett, Simone Meier
To contact the reporter on this story:
Gabi Thesing in London at +44-20-7673-2153 or
gthesing@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
John Fraher at +44-20-7673-2058 or jfraher@bloomberg.net
German Business Confidence Unexpectedly Increases (Update3)
2010-08-25 11:44:42.896 GMT
(Updates with economist's comment in ninth paragraph.)
By Gabi Thesing
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- German business confidence
unexpectedly rose to a three-year high in August, suggesting the
economy may not lose as much momentum as some economists
forecast after expanding at a record pace in the second quarter.
The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate
index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, increased to 106.7
from 106.2 in July. That's the third straight monthly increase
and the highest level since June 2007. Economists expected a
drop to 105.7, according to the median of 36 forecasts in a
Bloomberg News survey.
Europe's largest economy expanded 2.2 percent in the three
months through June, the fastest pace in two decades, as
companies including luxury carmaker Daimler AG ramped up
production to fill booming export orders. The Bundesbank said
last week the economic situation is "very favorable." Still,
budget cuts across the 16-nation euro region and a slowing
global recovery may crimp demand for German goods and damp
growth in the second half of the year.
Today's Ifo report is "an astonishingly strong number,"
said Juergen Michels, chief euro-area economist at Citigroup Inc
in London. "While it has probably peaked at this stage, the
strong expectations component shows that companies believe in
the recovery and it's backed by real corporate activity."
The euro extended its gain after the report, rising to as
high as $1.2725 from $1.2689 beforehand and $1.2630 early this
morning in Frankfurt. It dropped to $1.2625 at 1:42 p.m.
Expectations
Ifo's measure of executives' expectations eased to 105.2
from 105.6, while the gauge of the current situation rose to
108.2 from 106.8. The Bundesbank last week raised its 2010
growth forecast to 3 percent from 1.9 percent. The economy
contracted 4.7 percent in 2009.
Evidence of slowing growth around the world is prompting
some investors to dash for the safety of bunds and other assets
seen as a haven. The yield on Germany's 10-year bund yesterday
dropped to a record low of 2.185 percent as U.S. stocks fell to
their lowest in seven weeks.
Exports and investment fueled Germany's second-quarter
growth. Foreign sales soared 8.2 percent in the quarter and
company investment in plant and machinery jumped 4.4 percent.
Private consumption rose 0.6 percent.
"Germany may be entering a period of self-sustaining
domestic demand growth," Jim O'Neill, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Chief Global Economist, said in an interview with Bloomberg
Television today. "If that were true, it would be of major
importance for the rest of Europe."
Rising Sales
HeidelbergCement AG, the world's largest maker of
aggregates used to produce concrete and asphalt, said July 30
that sales rose for the first time in six quarters. Chief
Executive Officer Bernd Scheifele said revenues and operating
income will rise this year.
Companies are also adding workers to help fill orders,
helping to push down unemployment for a 13th month in July. The
jobless rate declined to 7.6 percent.
Daimler, which raised its 2010 operating forecast on July
27, has hired 1,800 temporary workers, while Bayerische Motoren
Werke AG has added 5,000 temporary workers. That may boost
consumer spending and help offset weakening foreign demand as
the global recovery shows signs of running out of steam.
Stiglitz Warning
Shares fell around the globe yesterday after an industry
report showed a record plunge in U.S. home sales in July, adding
to evidence the world's biggest economy is stumbling. Growth in
China's manufacturing industry has also weakened.
Expansion in Europe's services and manufacturing industries
cooled this month as austerity measures in the region's most
indebted countries weighed on spending. Nobel Prize-winning
economist Joseph Stiglitz said in an interview broadcast
yesterday that budget cuts may push the euro area, Germany's
biggest export market, back into recession.
"German order books are still full and domestic demand is
picking up," said Alexander Koch, an economist at Unicredit
Group in Munich. "The economy will grow very solidly, just not
as fast as in the first half."
For Related News and Information:
Economic stories on Germany: NI GEECO BN <GO>
German economic statistics: ECST GE <GO>
Economic indicator watch: ECOW EU <GO>
Top economic stories: TOP ECO <GO>
German government bonds: PXGE <GO>
--Editors: Matthew Brockett, Simone Meier
To contact the reporter on this story:
Gabi Thesing in London at +44-20-7673-2153 or
gthesing@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
John Fraher at +44-20-7673-2058 or jfraher@bloomberg.net
? Germany Sells Carbon Futures for 15.16 Euros at Auction
high price why? comments our way. thanks to those already participating, cheers
------------------------------------------------------------
Mathew Carr, emissions markets, energy reporter. London Bloomberg News ph +44 207 073 3531 yahoo ID carr_mathew
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Germany Sells Carbon Futures for 15.16 Euros at Auction
2010-08-25 13:18:03.921 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Aug 25 (Bloomberg) -- Germany sold 570,000 European Union
carbon-dioxide emission allowances for 15.16 euros ($23.43) a
metric ton in an auction today, the European Energy Exchange
said on its website.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{PTOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
------------------------------------------------------------
Mathew Carr, emissions markets, energy reporter. London Bloomberg News ph +44 207 073 3531 yahoo ID carr_mathew
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Germany Sells Carbon Futures for 15.16 Euros at Auction
2010-08-25 13:18:03.921 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Aug 25 (Bloomberg) -- Germany sold 570,000 European Union
carbon-dioxide emission allowances for 15.16 euros ($23.43) a
metric ton in an auction today, the European Energy Exchange
said on its website.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{PTOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
(BN) EU Carbon Permits Rise 2.6% to Highest Price Since July
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Carbon Permits Rises 2.6% to Highest Price Since July 6
2010-08-25 13:22:44.722 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Carbon allowances in the European
Union emissions-trading system jumped as United Nations-overseen
regulators crimp supply of some offsets.
EU carbon dioxide permits for December 2010 rose 39 cents,
or 2.6 percent, to 15.35 euros ($19.40) a metric ton on London's
European Climate Exchange, their highest since July 6.
"There are fears of a supply squeeze because of fears
industrial gases will not be allowed to produce Certified
Emission Reduction credits," said Henry Derwent, chief
executive officer and president of the Geneva-based
International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), in an
interview before the Carbon Forum Asia conference.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{PTOP<GO>}
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:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
EU Carbon Permits Rises 2.6% to Highest Price Since July 6
2010-08-25 13:22:44.722 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Carbon allowances in the European
Union emissions-trading system jumped as United Nations-overseen
regulators crimp supply of some offsets.
EU carbon dioxide permits for December 2010 rose 39 cents,
or 2.6 percent, to 15.35 euros ($19.40) a metric ton on London's
European Climate Exchange, their highest since July 6.
"There are fears of a supply squeeze because of fears
industrial gases will not be allowed to produce Certified
Emission Reduction credits," said Henry Derwent, chief
executive officer and president of the Geneva-based
International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), in an
interview before the Carbon Forum Asia conference.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{PTOP<GO>}
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:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
(BN) Carbon Credit Prices May Increase in 2010, IETA Says (Update1)
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Carbon Credit Prices May Increase in 2010, IETA Says (Update1)
2010-08-25 09:15:32.734 GMT
(Updates with CER prices in third paragraph.)
By Dinakar Sethuraman
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Prices of carbon credits generated
by developing countries may rise over 2010 as regulators review
industrial gas projects and Chinese wind energy facilities,
fueling speculation that supplies will slow.
"There are fears of a supply squeeze because of fears
industrial gases will not be allowed to produce certified
emission reduction credits (CERs)," said Henry Derwent, chief
executive officer and president of the Geneva-based
International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), in an
interview ahead of the Carbon Forum Asia conference.
UN Certified Emission Reductions for December rose 0.8
percent to 13.36 euros a metric ton today. The offsets have
risen about 15.5 percent in the past month after regulators said
they are reviewing projects that reduce hydrofluorocarbons.
Regulators of the UN Clean Development Mechanism, the
second-biggest emissions market, said on Aug. 18 they won't
immediately issue tradable emissions credits to the developer of
a Chinese hydrofluorocarbon-23 project as they seek more
information. UN regulators are ramping up scrutiny after
allegations that some developers are seeking excessive credits
related to HFC-23, an industrial gas whose warming potential is
11,700 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
The UN is investigating projects involving Chinese wind
power generators and factories seeking credits to reduce HFC-23
even as the European Union considers changes in rules to
acceptance of such credits to comply with domestic regulations,
Derwent said in Singapore today. These measures together create
uncertainty and threaten to reduce the supply of CERs as HFC-
mitigation credits account for more than half of the issuance so
far, he said.
"Demand for CERs may increase now," as global economies
start to turn around and the outlook for growth improves,
Derwent said. IETA's members include Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
CERs, awarded to projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be used to comply with the EU emissions
trading system, the world's largest cap-and-trade program.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about U.S. and climate: TNI US CLIMATE <GO>
Global emissions data: EMIS <GO>
Northeast U.S. trading: RGGI <GO>
--Editors: Clyde Russell, John Chacko.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Dinakar Sethuraman in Singapore at +65-6212-1590 or
dinakar@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net.
Carbon Credit Prices May Increase in 2010, IETA Says (Update1)
2010-08-25 09:15:32.734 GMT
(Updates with CER prices in third paragraph.)
By Dinakar Sethuraman
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Prices of carbon credits generated
by developing countries may rise over 2010 as regulators review
industrial gas projects and Chinese wind energy facilities,
fueling speculation that supplies will slow.
"There are fears of a supply squeeze because of fears
industrial gases will not be allowed to produce certified
emission reduction credits (CERs)," said Henry Derwent, chief
executive officer and president of the Geneva-based
International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), in an
interview ahead of the Carbon Forum Asia conference.
UN Certified Emission Reductions for December rose 0.8
percent to 13.36 euros a metric ton today. The offsets have
risen about 15.5 percent in the past month after regulators said
they are reviewing projects that reduce hydrofluorocarbons.
Regulators of the UN Clean Development Mechanism, the
second-biggest emissions market, said on Aug. 18 they won't
immediately issue tradable emissions credits to the developer of
a Chinese hydrofluorocarbon-23 project as they seek more
information. UN regulators are ramping up scrutiny after
allegations that some developers are seeking excessive credits
related to HFC-23, an industrial gas whose warming potential is
11,700 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
The UN is investigating projects involving Chinese wind
power generators and factories seeking credits to reduce HFC-23
even as the European Union considers changes in rules to
acceptance of such credits to comply with domestic regulations,
Derwent said in Singapore today. These measures together create
uncertainty and threaten to reduce the supply of CERs as HFC-
mitigation credits account for more than half of the issuance so
far, he said.
"Demand for CERs may increase now," as global economies
start to turn around and the outlook for growth improves,
Derwent said. IETA's members include Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
CERs, awarded to projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be used to comply with the EU emissions
trading system, the world's largest cap-and-trade program.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about U.S. and climate: TNI US CLIMATE <GO>
Global emissions data: EMIS <GO>
Northeast U.S. trading: RGGI <GO>
--Editors: Clyde Russell, John Chacko.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Dinakar Sethuraman in Singapore at +65-6212-1590 or
dinakar@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net.
(BN) Yes Bank, CarbonDesk Set Deal for Emission Credits in India
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Yes Bank, CarbonDesk Set Deal for Emission Credits in India
2010-08-25 07:30:00.0 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Yes Bank Ltd., a privately owned
Indian lender, and CarbonDesk Group Plc agreed to cooperate on
emissions-cutting projects to generate offset credits.
The venture aims to increase the amount of Certified
Emissions Reduction credits produced in India, help curb
greenhouse gases and give European factories and power stations
a less expensive way to meet pollution caps.
"We are looking at projects at all stages," Harry
Beamish, a London-based emissions broker at CarbonDesk, said
today by e-mail. The venture may sell so-called CERs, emission
credits overseen by the United Nations, later this year. He
didn't specify how many credits CarbonDesk may handle.
Yes Bank and CarbonDesk will focus on projects that reduce
greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants and factories,
increase energy efficiency or promote alternative fuels such as
biomass, Beamish said. The partners would provide funding in
exchange for tradable credits under the UN Clean Development
Mechanism, the world's second-largest carbon market.
India has the world's second-highest number of UN emissions
projects after China. Almost 80 million credits have been issued
to Indian projects, with nearly 570 million to be handed out by
2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Nations that signed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol can use CERs to
meet emissions limits under the treaty. Japan has been the main
government buyer of offsets. European power stations and
factories can use a portion of CERs to meet emissions caps under
the EU's carbon-dioxide cap-and-trade program, the world's
largest.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, Rob Verdonck
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie in London at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss on +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
Yes Bank, CarbonDesk Set Deal for Emission Credits in India
2010-08-25 07:30:00.0 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Yes Bank Ltd., a privately owned
Indian lender, and CarbonDesk Group Plc agreed to cooperate on
emissions-cutting projects to generate offset credits.
The venture aims to increase the amount of Certified
Emissions Reduction credits produced in India, help curb
greenhouse gases and give European factories and power stations
a less expensive way to meet pollution caps.
"We are looking at projects at all stages," Harry
Beamish, a London-based emissions broker at CarbonDesk, said
today by e-mail. The venture may sell so-called CERs, emission
credits overseen by the United Nations, later this year. He
didn't specify how many credits CarbonDesk may handle.
Yes Bank and CarbonDesk will focus on projects that reduce
greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants and factories,
increase energy efficiency or promote alternative fuels such as
biomass, Beamish said. The partners would provide funding in
exchange for tradable credits under the UN Clean Development
Mechanism, the world's second-largest carbon market.
India has the world's second-highest number of UN emissions
projects after China. Almost 80 million credits have been issued
to Indian projects, with nearly 570 million to be handed out by
2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Nations that signed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol can use CERs to
meet emissions limits under the treaty. Japan has been the main
government buyer of offsets. European power stations and
factories can use a portion of CERs to meet emissions caps under
the EU's carbon-dioxide cap-and-trade program, the world's
largest.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, Rob Verdonck
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie in London at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss on +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
(BN) E.ON May Invest in 10 Carbon Projects Annually for Credits
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
E.ON May Invest in 10 Carbon Projects Annually for Credits
2010-08-25 09:52:41.765 GMT
By Dinakar Sethuraman
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- E.ON AG, Germany's biggest utility,
may invest in as many as 10 projects a year that generate
electricity and carbon credits in the developing world even as a
delay in approving projects ruffles investors, an official said.
The Duesseldorf-based utility is working on 10 carbon and
energy projects including biogas ventures, adding to its
portfolio of 30 million metric tons of carbon equivalent, Julie
Anne McLaughlin, regional director for south east Asia, said
today in an interview ahead of the Carbon Forum Asia conference.
"There's a lot of uncertainty in Clean Development
Mechanism projects," McLaughlin said in Singapore, referring to
the investigations by regulators into hydrofluorocarbons-
mitigating ventures, which amount to more than half of certified
emission reduction credits issued so far.
Regulators of the United Nations Clean Development
Mechanism, the second-biggest emissions market, said on Aug. 18
they won't immediately issue tradable emissions credits to the
developer of a Chinese hydrofluorocarbon-23 project as they seek
more information. UN officials are ramping up scrutiny after
allegations that some developers are seeking excessive credits
related to HFC-23, an industrial gas whose warming potential is
11,700 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
The HFC-reduction projects benefited from issuance of CERs,
McLaughlin said. E.ON is in favor of a sector approach to CDM
credit issuance because the existing mechanism looks closely at
details of each project, delaying the issuance of credits.
"There are many good projects we could not take up because
of risks of registration," she said.
Singapore Move
E.ON is investing about 8 billion euros ($10.2 billion) in
renewable energy from 2007-2011 and will decrease its own carbon
dioxide emissions by 50 percent until 2030, she said in a
presentation. The utility started investing in carbon-sourcing
projects since 2008 and moved its regional office to Singapore
from Malaysia this year, she said.
Prices of carbon credits generated by developing countries
may rise over 2010 as regulators review industrial gases
projects and Chinese wind energy facilities, fueling speculation
that supplies will slow, Henry Derwent, chief executive officer
and president of the Geneva-based International Emissions
Trading Association, said in Singapore today.
UN Certified Emission Reductions for December rose 0.83
percent to 13.36 euros a metric ton today. The offsets have
risen about 15.5 percent the past month after regulators said
they are reviewing projects that reduce hydrofluorocarbons.
CERs, awarded to projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be used to comply with the EU emissions
trading system, the world's largest cap-and-trade program.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about U.S. and climate: TNI US CLIMATE <GO>
Global emissions data: EMIS <GO>
Northeast U.S. trading: RGGI <GO>
--Editors: Clyde Russell, Ryan Woo.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Dinakar Sethuraman in Singapore at +65-6212-1590 or
dinakar@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net.
E.ON May Invest in 10 Carbon Projects Annually for Credits
2010-08-25 09:52:41.765 GMT
By Dinakar Sethuraman
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- E.ON AG, Germany's biggest utility,
may invest in as many as 10 projects a year that generate
electricity and carbon credits in the developing world even as a
delay in approving projects ruffles investors, an official said.
The Duesseldorf-based utility is working on 10 carbon and
energy projects including biogas ventures, adding to its
portfolio of 30 million metric tons of carbon equivalent, Julie
Anne McLaughlin, regional director for south east Asia, said
today in an interview ahead of the Carbon Forum Asia conference.
"There's a lot of uncertainty in Clean Development
Mechanism projects," McLaughlin said in Singapore, referring to
the investigations by regulators into hydrofluorocarbons-
mitigating ventures, which amount to more than half of certified
emission reduction credits issued so far.
Regulators of the United Nations Clean Development
Mechanism, the second-biggest emissions market, said on Aug. 18
they won't immediately issue tradable emissions credits to the
developer of a Chinese hydrofluorocarbon-23 project as they seek
more information. UN officials are ramping up scrutiny after
allegations that some developers are seeking excessive credits
related to HFC-23, an industrial gas whose warming potential is
11,700 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
The HFC-reduction projects benefited from issuance of CERs,
McLaughlin said. E.ON is in favor of a sector approach to CDM
credit issuance because the existing mechanism looks closely at
details of each project, delaying the issuance of credits.
"There are many good projects we could not take up because
of risks of registration," she said.
Singapore Move
E.ON is investing about 8 billion euros ($10.2 billion) in
renewable energy from 2007-2011 and will decrease its own carbon
dioxide emissions by 50 percent until 2030, she said in a
presentation. The utility started investing in carbon-sourcing
projects since 2008 and moved its regional office to Singapore
from Malaysia this year, she said.
Prices of carbon credits generated by developing countries
may rise over 2010 as regulators review industrial gases
projects and Chinese wind energy facilities, fueling speculation
that supplies will slow, Henry Derwent, chief executive officer
and president of the Geneva-based International Emissions
Trading Association, said in Singapore today.
UN Certified Emission Reductions for December rose 0.83
percent to 13.36 euros a metric ton today. The offsets have
risen about 15.5 percent the past month after regulators said
they are reviewing projects that reduce hydrofluorocarbons.
CERs, awarded to projects that lower emissions in
developing nations, can be used to comply with the EU emissions
trading system, the world's largest cap-and-trade program.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about U.S. and climate: TNI US CLIMATE <GO>
Global emissions data: EMIS <GO>
Northeast U.S. trading: RGGI <GO>
--Editors: Clyde Russell, Ryan Woo.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Dinakar Sethuraman in Singapore at +65-6212-1590 or
dinakar@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net.
(BN) LCH.Clearnet Handled 19% of Cleared EU Carbon Market Yesterday
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
LCH.Clearnet Handled 19% of Cleared EU Carbon Market Yesterday
2010-08-25 08:50:26.973 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd. cleared 3.7
million metric tons of European Union carbon allowances
yesterday, giving it a 19 percent share of the cleared market,
it said today in an e-mailed statement.
Most of the volume was in the December 2010 contract,
LCH.Clearnet said.
Link to Company News:{214587Z LN <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Energy Stories:{ETOP<GO>}
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:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
LCH.Clearnet Handled 19% of Cleared EU Carbon Market Yesterday
2010-08-25 08:50:26.973 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd. cleared 3.7
million metric tons of European Union carbon allowances
yesterday, giving it a 19 percent share of the cleared market,
it said today in an e-mailed statement.
Most of the volume was in the December 2010 contract,
LCH.Clearnet said.
Link to Company News:{214587Z LN <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Energy Stories:{ETOP<GO>}
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:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
(BN) BlueNext CEO Serge Harry Hasn’t Been Fired, Exchange
story attached in response to newspaper report below...stay tuned for more BlueNext Chief Executive Serge Harry to Be Fired, Tribune Says
By David Whitehouse
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- NYSE Euronext and Caisse des Depots
et Consignations, the owners of the BlueNext emission exchange
in Paris, have decided to fire Chief Executive Officer Serge
Harry, La Tribune reported, without saying where it got the
information.
Link to Company News:{NYX US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO> }
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
David Whitehouse at +33-1-5365-5059 or
dwhitehouse1@bloomberg.net
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BlueNext CEO Serge Harry Hasn't Been Fired, Exchange Says
2010-08-25 10:45:26.481 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- NYSE Euronext and Caisse des Depots
et Consignations, the owners of the BlueNext emission exchange
in Paris, haven't fired Chief Executive Officer Serge Harry,
BlueNext spokesman Keiron Allen said in a telephone interview
today, in response to an article in La Tribune.
Harry is leaving the company, Allen said.
Link to Company News:{220638Z FP <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{NYX US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
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:
Rob Verdonck at +44-20-3216-4149 or
rverdonck@bloomberg.net
By David Whitehouse
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- NYSE Euronext and Caisse des Depots
et Consignations, the owners of the BlueNext emission exchange
in Paris, have decided to fire Chief Executive Officer Serge
Harry, La Tribune reported, without saying where it got the
information.
Link to Company News:{NYX US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO> }
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
David Whitehouse at +33-1-5365-5059 or
dwhitehouse1@bloomberg.net
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BlueNext CEO Serge Harry Hasn't Been Fired, Exchange Says
2010-08-25 10:45:26.481 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- NYSE Euronext and Caisse des Depots
et Consignations, the owners of the BlueNext emission exchange
in Paris, haven't fired Chief Executive Officer Serge Harry,
BlueNext spokesman Keiron Allen said in a telephone interview
today, in response to an article in La Tribune.
Harry is leaving the company, Allen said.
Link to Company News:{220638Z FP <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{NYX US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
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:
Rob Verdonck at +44-20-3216-4149 or
rverdonck@bloomberg.net
2010/08/24
Fwd: + CME’s Green Exchange Handles Record Volume of Emissions Permits
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
CME's Green Exchange Handles Record Volume of Emissions Permits
2010-08-24 12:35:56.106 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Green Exchange LLC, a new carbon
market owned by CME Group Inc.'s New York Mercantile Exchange,
handled a record amount of emissions permits after carbon offset
prices surged on supply concern.
Green Exchange handled 5.29 million metric tons of
emissions permits yesterday, the exchange said today in an e-
mailed statement. The bulk of this was made up of 4 million tons
of Certified Emission Reduction option contracts, the London-
based exchange said in a separate e-mail.
The exchange opened its London office in May and hired Les
Male, previously commercial director at APX-Endex, and Henrik
Hasselknippe, formerly head of global analysis at Point Carbon,
to develop its carbon trading business.
"We are pleased to see our volumes begin to rise," Tom
Lewis, Green Exchange's chief executive officer, said in the
statement. "We look forward to the upcoming months as we
continue to work with the trading community to assist them in
gaining access to our markets."
Green Exchange yesterday handled 1.28 million tons of CERs
and 10,000 tons of EU carbon allowances for December delivery,
exchange data show. This compares to 3.2 million tons of 2010
CERs and 8.73 million 2010 EU allowances that traded on Ice
Futures' European Climate Exchange.
UN CERs for December have risen 11 percent so far this
month after regulators said they are reviewing projects that
reduce hydrofluorocarbons, raising concern that the supply of
credits will plunge.
For Related News and Information:
Top Environment Stories:GREEN <GO>
Emissions Pricing: EMIS <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Torrey Clark
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
CME's Green Exchange Handles Record Volume of Emissions Permits
2010-08-24 12:35:56.106 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Green Exchange LLC, a new carbon
market owned by CME Group Inc.'s New York Mercantile Exchange,
handled a record amount of emissions permits after carbon offset
prices surged on supply concern.
Green Exchange handled 5.29 million metric tons of
emissions permits yesterday, the exchange said today in an e-
mailed statement. The bulk of this was made up of 4 million tons
of Certified Emission Reduction option contracts, the London-
based exchange said in a separate e-mail.
The exchange opened its London office in May and hired Les
Male, previously commercial director at APX-Endex, and Henrik
Hasselknippe, formerly head of global analysis at Point Carbon,
to develop its carbon trading business.
"We are pleased to see our volumes begin to rise," Tom
Lewis, Green Exchange's chief executive officer, said in the
statement. "We look forward to the upcoming months as we
continue to work with the trading community to assist them in
gaining access to our markets."
Green Exchange yesterday handled 1.28 million tons of CERs
and 10,000 tons of EU carbon allowances for December delivery,
exchange data show. This compares to 3.2 million tons of 2010
CERs and 8.73 million 2010 EU allowances that traded on Ice
Futures' European Climate Exchange.
UN CERs for December have risen 11 percent so far this
month after regulators said they are reviewing projects that
reduce hydrofluorocarbons, raising concern that the supply of
credits will plunge.
For Related News and Information:
Top Environment Stories:GREEN <GO>
Emissions Pricing: EMIS <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Torrey Clark
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
Fwd: Carbon Lobby Seek Three Steps From EU on UN Emissions Trading
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Carbon Lobby Seek Three Steps From EU on UN Emissions Trading
2010-08-24 08:26:39.107 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The International Emissions Trading
Association said confidence in the United Nations carbon market
is at a "very low ebb" and urged the European Commission take
steps to improve the situation.
The Geneva-based lobby group for traders requested more
certainty about the portion of UN offsets that can be used
through 2020. Should the bloc adopt stricter emission limits in
2020, it recommended that UN credits be eligible for half the
additional compliance effort in the region, it said today in an
e-mailed open letter to EU Commissioner Connie Hedegaard.
The commission, regulator of the world's largest carbon
market, should "bring to a close" the debate on which UN
offsets will be eligible in the eight years through 2020, the
letter said. Finally, the lobby sought development of new market
instruments, including potential programs to cut emissions by
protecting forests as well as capture and storage of carbon
dioxide emitted by power stations and factories.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editor: Mike Anderson.
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
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Carbon Lobby Seek Three Steps From EU on UN Emissions Trading
2010-08-24 08:26:39.107 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The International Emissions Trading
Association said confidence in the United Nations carbon market
is at a "very low ebb" and urged the European Commission take
steps to improve the situation.
The Geneva-based lobby group for traders requested more
certainty about the portion of UN offsets that can be used
through 2020. Should the bloc adopt stricter emission limits in
2020, it recommended that UN credits be eligible for half the
additional compliance effort in the region, it said today in an
e-mailed open letter to EU Commissioner Connie Hedegaard.
The commission, regulator of the world's largest carbon
market, should "bring to a close" the debate on which UN
offsets will be eligible in the eight years through 2020, the
letter said. Finally, the lobby sought development of new market
instruments, including potential programs to cut emissions by
protecting forests as well as capture and storage of carbon
dioxide emitted by power stations and factories.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editor: Mike Anderson.
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
Gemini/CarbonDesk Targets Carbon Spread Concern With Option
updated...fixed... Such instruments were discussed in carbon markets as early
as April 2007 and doesn't seem to have traded, said Lance
Coogan, chief executive officer of Gemini Structured Carbon Ltd.
in London. Coogan wrote research articles on the products
starting that year, he said today by phone and e-mail. "The market is starting to exhibit signs that more
sophisticated tools are necessary to mitigate potential losses
and increase transaction efficiency," said Brett Genus, a
broker at Evolution Markets Inc. in London. "The time may,
indeed, be right for broader adoption of these products," he
said today by e-mail.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
CarbonDesk Targets Carbon Spread Concern With Option (Update1)
2010-08-23 17:38:10.917 GMT
(Updates with Gemini comment in eighth paragraph.)
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- CarbonDesk Group Plc is offering a
financial instrument for polluters concerned about regulatory
risks in the carbon market after a clampdown on offsets from
some emissions-reduction projects, the London broker said.
A call option on the spread between United Nations and
European Union carbon futures may help protect the profit
emitters can make by selling EU allowances granted for free and
swapping some for cheaper UN credits, Brett Stacey, CarbonDesk's
chief executive officer, said by phone and e-mail Aug. 20.
Regulatory reviews by the Clean Development Mechanism
executive board may crimp supply of offset credits, narrowing
the gap with more-expensive European Union allowances, according
to analysts at Orbeo, the Paris-based carbon venture of Societe
Generale SA and Rhodia SA. The CDM last week halted issuance to
five projects that stem hydrofluorocarbon-23 gases.
The spread between EU allowances and credits for December
shrank 21 percent last week. It narrowed another 5 cents today
to 1.65 euros ($2.09) a metric ton at 5:28 p.m. on ICE Futures'
European Climate Exchange in London.
CarbonDesk would broker a call option at a 1 euro strike
for a premium of about 25 euro cents a ton, Stacey said. A call
option gives the buyer the right to purchase at a certain level.
Should the spread narrow to zero, the buyer of the option
could exercise the option and still make a 75 cent profit on the
swap, the 1 euro price minus the premium, he said. Should the
spread return to the May 26 price of 2.87 euros a ton, the
emitter will lose a maximum 25 cents a ton of that extra profit,
CarbonDesk said.
'New Instrument'
"This option might become a new instrument that ICE will
consider listing," Stacey said.
Such instruments were discussed in carbon markets as early
as April 2007 and doesn't seem to have traded, said Lance
Coogan, chief executive officer of Gemini Structured Carbon Ltd.
in London. Coogan wrote research articles on the products
starting that year, he said today by phone and e-mail.
Regulators of the UN-overseen CDM, the second-biggest
emissions market, said Aug. 20 they won't immediately issue
tradable emissions credits to the developer of a fifth HFC-23
project as they seek more information. UN regulators are ramping
up scrutiny after allegations that some developers are seeking
excessive credits related to HFC-23, an industrial gas whose
warming potential is 11,700 times greater than carbon dioxide.
"The market is starting to exhibit signs that more
sophisticated tools are necessary to mitigate potential losses
and increase transaction efficiency," said Brett Genus, a
broker at Evolution Markets Inc. in London. "The time may,
indeed, be right for broader adoption of these products," he
said today by e-mail.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--With assistance from Catherine Airlie in London. Editors: Rob
Verdonck, John Buckley.
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
as April 2007 and doesn't seem to have traded, said Lance
Coogan, chief executive officer of Gemini Structured Carbon Ltd.
in London. Coogan wrote research articles on the products
starting that year, he said today by phone and e-mail. "The market is starting to exhibit signs that more
sophisticated tools are necessary to mitigate potential losses
and increase transaction efficiency," said Brett Genus, a
broker at Evolution Markets Inc. in London. "The time may,
indeed, be right for broader adoption of these products," he
said today by e-mail.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
CarbonDesk Targets Carbon Spread Concern With Option (Update1)
2010-08-23 17:38:10.917 GMT
(Updates with Gemini comment in eighth paragraph.)
By Mathew Carr
Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- CarbonDesk Group Plc is offering a
financial instrument for polluters concerned about regulatory
risks in the carbon market after a clampdown on offsets from
some emissions-reduction projects, the London broker said.
A call option on the spread between United Nations and
European Union carbon futures may help protect the profit
emitters can make by selling EU allowances granted for free and
swapping some for cheaper UN credits, Brett Stacey, CarbonDesk's
chief executive officer, said by phone and e-mail Aug. 20.
Regulatory reviews by the Clean Development Mechanism
executive board may crimp supply of offset credits, narrowing
the gap with more-expensive European Union allowances, according
to analysts at Orbeo, the Paris-based carbon venture of Societe
Generale SA and Rhodia SA. The CDM last week halted issuance to
five projects that stem hydrofluorocarbon-23 gases.
The spread between EU allowances and credits for December
shrank 21 percent last week. It narrowed another 5 cents today
to 1.65 euros ($2.09) a metric ton at 5:28 p.m. on ICE Futures'
European Climate Exchange in London.
CarbonDesk would broker a call option at a 1 euro strike
for a premium of about 25 euro cents a ton, Stacey said. A call
option gives the buyer the right to purchase at a certain level.
Should the spread narrow to zero, the buyer of the option
could exercise the option and still make a 75 cent profit on the
swap, the 1 euro price minus the premium, he said. Should the
spread return to the May 26 price of 2.87 euros a ton, the
emitter will lose a maximum 25 cents a ton of that extra profit,
CarbonDesk said.
'New Instrument'
"This option might become a new instrument that ICE will
consider listing," Stacey said.
Such instruments were discussed in carbon markets as early
as April 2007 and doesn't seem to have traded, said Lance
Coogan, chief executive officer of Gemini Structured Carbon Ltd.
in London. Coogan wrote research articles on the products
starting that year, he said today by phone and e-mail.
Regulators of the UN-overseen CDM, the second-biggest
emissions market, said Aug. 20 they won't immediately issue
tradable emissions credits to the developer of a fifth HFC-23
project as they seek more information. UN regulators are ramping
up scrutiny after allegations that some developers are seeking
excessive credits related to HFC-23, an industrial gas whose
warming potential is 11,700 times greater than carbon dioxide.
"The market is starting to exhibit signs that more
sophisticated tools are necessary to mitigate potential losses
and increase transaction efficiency," said Brett Genus, a
broker at Evolution Markets Inc. in London. "The time may,
indeed, be right for broader adoption of these products," he
said today by e-mail.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--With assistance from Catherine Airlie in London. Editors: Rob
Verdonck, John Buckley.
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
2010/08/23
Fwd: ‘Liars for Hire,’ Ideologues, Block Energy Action: Interview
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
'Liars for Hire,' Ideologues, Block Energy Action: Interview
2010-08-24 04:01:00.3 GMT
Interview by Zinta Lundborg
Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- "The fact that we've gotten to this
level of polarization on an issue that's so important to solve
is tragic," says Eric Pooley, author of "The Climate War."
He documents the battle between climate change deniers and
environmental activists trying to avert disaster by creating a
new, sustainable energy model.
Formerly with Fortune and Time before joining Bloomberg
Businessweek, Pooley spent three years getting to know the major
players, including former Vice President Al Gore, Duke Energy
Corp. CEO Jim Rogers and Environmental Defense Fund chief Fred
Krupp. The result is a chilling description of the toxic
political infighting that recently derailed the climate bill in
Congress.
Lundborg: Who still disputes the reality of climate change?
Pooley: I use "professional deniers" to refer to those
who are paid public relations people whose job it is to sow
doubt and confusion, sometimes called "liars for hire."
I use "skeptic" to refer to those exposed to that
disinformation and confused about what the reality is.
No Problem
Lundborg: What caused the derailment of rational discussion
about climate?
Pooley: It became polarized because the people who say they
believe it's not happening teamed up with people who oppose all
forms of taxation and regulation, and so you have a block of
ideologically driven people trying to prevent any kind of
climate action.
Their thinking moves from effect to cause: They hate the
solutions, so they decided there's no problem.
Lundborg: What's their most effective tool?
Pooley: When you go inside the political strategy sessions
at the deniers' convention you see what the MO is: Cap and trade
is a tax that's going to destroy your economy.
College for your children, that's out the window, no more
violin lessons for your little daughter. It's very much fear --
they're going to take your jobs, it's an eco-terrorist plot to
control the energy industry, Al Gore is behind it.
It's About Money
Lundborg: What's the point of delaying the inevitable?
Pooley: We need to realign our economy to move us in the
right direction by pricing and capping carbon, and that's what
the deniers are trying to avoid. The fossil fuel industries will
be disadvantaged by it.
This is a fight over money. It began as an economic battle
and morphed into an ideological battle because it suited the
tactics of the people who don't want to get it done.
Lundborg: If cap and trade is the most sensible way to go,
how did it move from being the premier fix to anathema?
Pooley: It was demonized precisely because it was the
leading solution.
Part of the sad story is that the right was completely
unified in attacking it as a Rube Goldberg tax that was going to
destroy the economy, while the climate action community was not
unified in support of it. They were all over the place.
Lundborg: But aren't delaying tactics costly?
Pooley: Businesses have been waiting for a road-map, they
want to invest and they have billions sitting on the sidelines
waiting to see if carbon is going to be priced or not.
So what's going to happen to that investment? Are we going
to get a new wave of coal-fired power plants? That would be
disastrous.
China Gets It
Lundborg: Aren't we also getting left behind in clean
energy technology?
Pooley: While we're arguing about yesterday's issues, we're
giving the keys to the new economy to China, which is spending
$9 billion a month on this.
We need to unleash the power of the private sector. You
want to be in a place where you're maximizing profit by doing
the right thing.
Lundborg: Is economic pain inevitable?
Pooley: It's a small hit, estimated to be between $70 and
$140 per year per household.
But the cost of doing nothing is much higher. Opponents
ignore that part of the equation and pretend that business as
usual is sustainable.
Lundborg: During your research for the book, what surprised
you the most?
Pooley: I couldn't believe how little progress we've made,
considering the unstoppable tipping points that are coming.
Lundborg: What can we do?
Pooley: People have not been sufficiently mobilized on this
issue. The only way to jog the politicians out of their
passivity is by demanding it.
The message of the book is that you can't just have
politics as usual.
(Zinta Lundborg is a writer for Bloomberg News. The
opinions expressed are her own. This interview was adapted from
a longer conversation.)
To buy this book in North America, click here.
For Related News and Information:
Top arts and culture stories: MUSE <GO>
Interviews by Zinta Lundborg: NI LUNDBORG <GO>
Interview stories: NI BACKSTAGE <GO>
--Editor: Manuela Hoelterhoff, Daniel Billy.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Zinta Lundborg in New York +1-212-617-4006 or
zlundborg@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Manuela Hoelterhoff at +1-212-617-3486
mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
'Liars for Hire,' Ideologues, Block Energy Action: Interview
2010-08-24 04:01:00.3 GMT
Interview by Zinta Lundborg
Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- "The fact that we've gotten to this
level of polarization on an issue that's so important to solve
is tragic," says Eric Pooley, author of "The Climate War."
He documents the battle between climate change deniers and
environmental activists trying to avert disaster by creating a
new, sustainable energy model.
Formerly with Fortune and Time before joining Bloomberg
Businessweek, Pooley spent three years getting to know the major
players, including former Vice President Al Gore, Duke Energy
Corp. CEO Jim Rogers and Environmental Defense Fund chief Fred
Krupp. The result is a chilling description of the toxic
political infighting that recently derailed the climate bill in
Congress.
Lundborg: Who still disputes the reality of climate change?
Pooley: I use "professional deniers" to refer to those
who are paid public relations people whose job it is to sow
doubt and confusion, sometimes called "liars for hire."
I use "skeptic" to refer to those exposed to that
disinformation and confused about what the reality is.
No Problem
Lundborg: What caused the derailment of rational discussion
about climate?
Pooley: It became polarized because the people who say they
believe it's not happening teamed up with people who oppose all
forms of taxation and regulation, and so you have a block of
ideologically driven people trying to prevent any kind of
climate action.
Their thinking moves from effect to cause: They hate the
solutions, so they decided there's no problem.
Lundborg: What's their most effective tool?
Pooley: When you go inside the political strategy sessions
at the deniers' convention you see what the MO is: Cap and trade
is a tax that's going to destroy your economy.
College for your children, that's out the window, no more
violin lessons for your little daughter. It's very much fear --
they're going to take your jobs, it's an eco-terrorist plot to
control the energy industry, Al Gore is behind it.
It's About Money
Lundborg: What's the point of delaying the inevitable?
Pooley: We need to realign our economy to move us in the
right direction by pricing and capping carbon, and that's what
the deniers are trying to avoid. The fossil fuel industries will
be disadvantaged by it.
This is a fight over money. It began as an economic battle
and morphed into an ideological battle because it suited the
tactics of the people who don't want to get it done.
Lundborg: If cap and trade is the most sensible way to go,
how did it move from being the premier fix to anathema?
Pooley: It was demonized precisely because it was the
leading solution.
Part of the sad story is that the right was completely
unified in attacking it as a Rube Goldberg tax that was going to
destroy the economy, while the climate action community was not
unified in support of it. They were all over the place.
Lundborg: But aren't delaying tactics costly?
Pooley: Businesses have been waiting for a road-map, they
want to invest and they have billions sitting on the sidelines
waiting to see if carbon is going to be priced or not.
So what's going to happen to that investment? Are we going
to get a new wave of coal-fired power plants? That would be
disastrous.
China Gets It
Lundborg: Aren't we also getting left behind in clean
energy technology?
Pooley: While we're arguing about yesterday's issues, we're
giving the keys to the new economy to China, which is spending
$9 billion a month on this.
We need to unleash the power of the private sector. You
want to be in a place where you're maximizing profit by doing
the right thing.
Lundborg: Is economic pain inevitable?
Pooley: It's a small hit, estimated to be between $70 and
$140 per year per household.
But the cost of doing nothing is much higher. Opponents
ignore that part of the equation and pretend that business as
usual is sustainable.
Lundborg: During your research for the book, what surprised
you the most?
Pooley: I couldn't believe how little progress we've made,
considering the unstoppable tipping points that are coming.
Lundborg: What can we do?
Pooley: People have not been sufficiently mobilized on this
issue. The only way to jog the politicians out of their
passivity is by demanding it.
The message of the book is that you can't just have
politics as usual.
(Zinta Lundborg is a writer for Bloomberg News. The
opinions expressed are her own. This interview was adapted from
a longer conversation.)
To buy this book in North America, click here.
For Related News and Information:
Top arts and culture stories: MUSE <GO>
Interviews by Zinta Lundborg: NI LUNDBORG <GO>
Interview stories: NI BACKSTAGE <GO>
--Editor: Manuela Hoelterhoff, Daniel Billy.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Zinta Lundborg in New York +1-212-617-4006 or
zlundborg@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Manuela Hoelterhoff at +1-212-617-3486
mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
(BN) RBS Staff Work From Home Following Edinburgh Protests (Update1)
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
RBS Staff Work From Home Following Edinburgh Protests (Update1)
2010-08-23 14:52:10.429 GMT
(Adds comment from police force, arrests in third
paragraph.)
By Sakshi Sharma and Peter Woodifield
Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc,
the U.K.'s biggest government-owned bank, said most of its head
office employees were working from home today after climate
change activists attacked the bank's Edinburgh headquarters.
Protesters from Camp for Climate Action attacked the
building at Gogarburn in Edinburgh with hammers and golf balls
yesterday. The group first encamped outside the bank's offices
in Edinburgh on Aug. 18. About 700 activists are protesting
RBS's funding of fossil fuel companies, saying it promotes
climate change.
The protestors disrupted Edinburgh traffic by pouring a
"substance similar" to diesel or vegetable oil onto the city
bypass and the road to the airport today, Lothian & Borders
Police said. The action was "extremely reckless and
dangerous," the police force said on its website today. While
eight people have been arrested today none of the activists has
gained access to any of the bank's premises, the police said.
"We are monitoring the situation very closely and we will
do whatever we can to ensure the safety of our employees and the
general public," Michael Strachan, Media Relations Officer at
RBS, said in a telephone interview from Edinburgh. He didn't
specify which employees or how many were working from home and
said operations weren't disrupted.
"We are protesting because RBS is the U.K. bank which is
most heavily involved in financing the fossil fuel industry
around the world," Peter McDonnell, a member of the group, said
in a telephone interview. "We're trying to develop a grass-root
movement of people who are willing and able to take more radical
action on climate change."
The protest will continue until tomorrow, following which
the group plans to leave the site, McDonnell said.
For Related News and Information:
Top news: NI TOP <GO>
Top U.K. stories: TOP UK <GO>
More Banking stories: NI BNK <GO>
More Finance stories: NI FINTOP <GO>
--Editors: James Kraus, Tim Farrand
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sakshi Sharma in London at +44-207-037-7500 or
ssharma121@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Colin Keatinge at +44-20-7673-2494 or
ckeatinge@bloomberg.net.
RBS Staff Work From Home Following Edinburgh Protests (Update1)
2010-08-23 14:52:10.429 GMT
(Adds comment from police force, arrests in third
paragraph.)
By Sakshi Sharma and Peter Woodifield
Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc,
the U.K.'s biggest government-owned bank, said most of its head
office employees were working from home today after climate
change activists attacked the bank's Edinburgh headquarters.
Protesters from Camp for Climate Action attacked the
building at Gogarburn in Edinburgh with hammers and golf balls
yesterday. The group first encamped outside the bank's offices
in Edinburgh on Aug. 18. About 700 activists are protesting
RBS's funding of fossil fuel companies, saying it promotes
climate change.
The protestors disrupted Edinburgh traffic by pouring a
"substance similar" to diesel or vegetable oil onto the city
bypass and the road to the airport today, Lothian & Borders
Police said. The action was "extremely reckless and
dangerous," the police force said on its website today. While
eight people have been arrested today none of the activists has
gained access to any of the bank's premises, the police said.
"We are monitoring the situation very closely and we will
do whatever we can to ensure the safety of our employees and the
general public," Michael Strachan, Media Relations Officer at
RBS, said in a telephone interview from Edinburgh. He didn't
specify which employees or how many were working from home and
said operations weren't disrupted.
"We are protesting because RBS is the U.K. bank which is
most heavily involved in financing the fossil fuel industry
around the world," Peter McDonnell, a member of the group, said
in a telephone interview. "We're trying to develop a grass-root
movement of people who are willing and able to take more radical
action on climate change."
The protest will continue until tomorrow, following which
the group plans to leave the site, McDonnell said.
For Related News and Information:
Top news: NI TOP <GO>
Top U.K. stories: TOP UK <GO>
More Banking stories: NI BNK <GO>
More Finance stories: NI FINTOP <GO>
--Editors: James Kraus, Tim Farrand
To contact the reporter on this story:
Sakshi Sharma in London at +44-207-037-7500 or
ssharma121@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Colin Keatinge at +44-20-7673-2494 or
ckeatinge@bloomberg.net.
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