By Mathew Carr
Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The discount on United Nations
greenhouse gas credits compared with European Union allowances
shrank to its narrowest level in more than three months as
regulators consider a review of hydrofluorocarbon-23 projects.
The UN discount against 2010 EU permits fell 11 percent to
1.87 euros ($2.41) a metric ton, the lowest since April 30,
according to the spread contract traded on the European Climate
Exchange in London as of 12:31 p.m. local time.
"There has been a request for review of the request for
issuance" for three projects that cut HFC-23, a gas blamed for
global warming, the Bonn-based secretariat of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change said in an e-mailed statement
today. "The secretariat has already informed all project
participants."
Credits from HFC-23 projects make up about half the supply
of offsets issued in the UN-managed Clean Development Mechanism.
The review may limit the supply. The gas is emitted in the
production of chemicals for air conditioning and refrigeration,
contributing to climate change by trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere. The gas's warming effect is 11,700 times more
powerful than carbon dioxide.
While the e-mail didn't name the projects, they are
probably the Shandong Dongyue HFC23 Decomposition Project, the
China
Fluoro HFC-23 project and the Zhejiang Dongyang Chemical Co.
project, based on their listed status on the UNFCCC Website,
according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst Marisa Beck.
The projects requested combined issuance for 5.7 million metric
tons of CO2 equivalent, she said.
Their status may be updated when UNFCCC information
technology is updated, "hopefully within the next few days,"
it said.
The premium of 2010 credits over 2012 contracts surged 12
cents, or 32 percent, to 50 cents a ton, its widest since June
8.
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>
------------------------------------------------------------
Mathew Carr, emissions markets, energy reporter. London Bloomberg News ph +44 207 073 3531 yahoo ID carr_mathew
