---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Shouldn't Play 'Silly Games' on Carbon Prices, IETA Says
2010-10-04 12:58:18.170 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- European Union regulators shouldn't
play "silly games" to push up prices for emission allowances
and should instead take a more direct route, according to the
International Emissions Trading Association.
"Price ought to be what follows from supply and demand,"
Henry Derwent, chief executive oficer of the Geneva-based lobby
group for emissions trading, said today at the Carbon Show in
London.
He called on the EU to embrace a 30 percent emissions-
reduction target for 2020 from 1990 levels instead of its
current 20 percent cut. The bloc is setting rules for the third
phase of its carbon market, the world's largest, which runs for
the eight years through 2020.
"Everyone would like it to be clearer whether it's 20
percent or 30 percent," Derwent said. With so much uncertainty
about the rules for the period, there's a risk "the market is
going to pack its bags and go away," Derwent said.
Traders are waiting for decisions about what type of
offsets will be acceptable in the period, how many free
allowances will be given away and the timing of the first sales
that will distribute most the permits.
The global carbon market fell to $28 billion in the third
quarter from $31 billion in the year-earlier quarter, according
to estimates from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The decline of 9.7 percent was less than expected, Guy
Turner, New Energy Finance's head of carbon, said today at the
conference. It's "by no means down and out."
The world needs to convince the U.S. to join the global
market to boost demand for allowances and offsets, both of which
will curb emissions blamed for climate change, Derwent said.
"We have real problems here, not just apathy."
For Related News and Information:
European power-market stories TNI EUROPE PWRMARKET <GO>
Today's top power news PTOP <GO> and energy news ETOP <GO>
European electricity-markets home page EPWR <GO>
German power-plant shutdown news TNI GER VOLTOUT <GO>
Emissions-trading stories NI ENVMARKET <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporters 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
