By George I think he's got it!!!

Cathay Pacific CEO: Tackle Airline Emissions With Biofuels, Not Charges | Fox Business

SINGAPORE – Cathay Pacific Chief Executive John Slosar said Monday Europe's emissions trading system will not satisfactorily address airline emissions and biofuels offer a better opportunity to curb aircraft pollution. The ETS scheme of the European nations is "shoddy thinking" as it charges carriers for a passenger flying into or out of Europe based on the distance traveled to get in or out. Under the scheme, a passenger flying to Australia from Europe with a stop in the middle east pays much less than a passenger traveling nonstop, he said.

12.4% of Europe now powered by reusable energy

Europe makes rapid progress in clean energy
A new report shows the European Union is continuing to make rapid progress in clean energy: Total gross energy consumption in EU states was 12.4% in 2010, it found, up from 11.5% in 2009. The report, The State of Renewable Energies in Europe, has plenty of good news on other fronts, too. For instance: "The renewable energy sectors, taking all 27 European Union Member States together, have more than 1,114,000 people employed. This is a 25% increase on the 2009 figure".

Happy Valentine's Day Big Oil! With Love from the GOP

How the HR7 Bill will "trash the environment"

If you're not a policy wonk, you might not have heard much about HR7, the transportation bill that's currently under consideration in the House of Representatives. It was supposed to be a straightforward, nonpartisan bill that authorized funding for the nation's transportation system. But, of course, it ended up a highly politicized boondoggle after the GOP worked to stuff it full of conservative pet projects.

An unmeasurable advantage

Energy Points ‘Universal’ Sustainability Metric Launch

Energy Points today launched what it calls the world’s first universal metric for measuring sustainability. The cloud-based reporting system converts all domains, including fuel, electricity, transportation and water, into one comparable measurement.

EBRD and UkrEximBank suporting energy efficient investments in the Ukrains

EBRD and UkrEximBank scale up support to energy efficiency in Ukraine [EBRD - News and events]

The EBRD is concentrating its efforts on providing support to sectors of the Ukrainian economy, which are particularly affected by the adverse economic situation in the region – small businesses and energy efficiency. The former has been suffering from under-investment, linked with limited liquidity of domestic banks and various credit risks in Ukraine, for a number of years. The latter has become an issue of national importance in the context of Ukraine’s ongoing attempts to improve its energy security.

Carbon capture: Stuck in a rut?

7.30 - ABC

CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: As Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd had many visions. The one was to make Australia a world leader in clean coal. So an institute was created to develop technology that would capture and store carbon from power plants. The government committed $315 million to the Global CCS Institute, but as Michael Atkin reports, its critics argue it has failed to attract major investment from its global members, and the money spent has achieved little.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now

Irish finance bill opens door to forest bonds

Ireland has become the first country in the world to recognise forest carbon credits in its tax regime – paving the way for the issuance of forest bonds, according to a leading banker.

The world's first 'Plantscraper'

Plantagon Breaks Ground on its First 'Plantscraper' Vertical Farm in Sweden!

Several years ago a Swedish-American company called Plantagon unveiled plans for a series of massive skyscraper greenhouses that stood to transform urban farming in large cities. While the spiraling vertical farms seemed too good to be true at the time, Plantagon just broke ground on its very first vertical farm this week in Linkoping, Sweden! The “Plantscraper” will grow and supply fresh vegetables while creating solutions to some of the most vexing city pollution issues.

Us Californians can appreciate green agriculture

Global Leader in Sustainable Agriculture Brings Green Tech Crop Innovation to California

Among the many head-turning products at this week's 45th World Ag Expo is an innovative biotechnology formula for soil sustainability that uses discarded shrimp heads and microbiological components to fortify crop plants and cost-efficiently improve yield, quality and profit.

UK Fund Managers Avoid Solar - Time To Buy?

Environmental Finance | News | Investors welcome UK renewables reforms, but eschew solar

Managers of funds investing in UK renewable energy projects have welcomed some of the proposed changes to feed-in tariffs (FiT) announced last week, but say they are unlikely to invest in new solar projects. The UK government launched consultations last week on a raft of proposed changes, notably on a system for gradually reducing support (or ‘tariff degression’) for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, which were subject to a controversial decision to slash subsidies last year. However, this aspect was largely irrelevant to the crop of UK fund managers who use tax-efficient vehicles to invest in renewable energy projects, as the government last year decided to exclude FiT-qualifying solar and wind projects from venture capital trusts (VCTs) and enterprise investment schemes (EISs) from April 2012.

Gas, grass, or . . . nobody rides for free!

UGA Researchers' Genome Map Speeds Biofuel Development

Researchers at the University of Georgia have taken a major step in the ongoing effort to find sources of cleaner, renewable energy by mapping the genomes of two originator cells of Miscanthus x giganteus, a large perennial grass with a promise as a source of ethanol and bioenergy.

To 15 Utilities With The Highest Sustainability Scores

Which US Utilities Get the Highest Sustainability Scores?

15 US utilities are on the Target Rock High Sustainability Index, which launched today. Many pension funds and older investors looking for stable returns through dividends, will be interested in this index, which finds the highest scorers on sustainability outpace their peers in stock market returns. Target Rock Advisors, LLC released the results of its first U.S. utility sustainability rankings, identifying 15 "high performers."

The top 5 utilities for excellence in sustainability performance are:

1. Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE)
2. Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL)
3. PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG)
4. Edison International (NYSE: EIX)
5. Avista Corporation (NYSE: AVA)

Latest Carbon News Headlines

News - Point Carbon - Providing critical insights into energy and environmental markets

EUA Last 30 days

Point Carbon's OTC price assessments

		Close	+/-
EUA	Dec 2012	8.05	0.38
sCER	Dec 2012	3.96	0.27

Latest news

CDM/JI/AAU

14 Feb 2012 13:06

Airlines to save up to 150 mln euros through EU offset concession

Some of the world’s biggest airlines are expected to buy millions of controversial U.N. carbon offse…

Policy

14 Feb 2012 20:19

Obama budget plan raises climate aid concerns

The State Department's request for $769 million for international climate aid in the 2013 federal bu…

Markets

14 Feb 2012 16:54

Twenty UK-based financial firms to bid at CO2 auctions: govt

The UK expects around 20 financial firms to apply to bid at auctions for EU carbon permits in the th…

Policy

14 Feb 2012 11:33

Australian offset scheme to be under-supplied

Demand for carbon credits from Australia’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) will vastly exceed supply…

EU ETS

14 Feb 2012 16:49

Austria’s CO2 emitting power output slumps 5.5 pct

Electricity generated by Austrian thermal power plants fell 5.5 percent in 2011 compared with the pr…

Policy

13 Feb 2012 21:31

U.S. carbon rules could slam door on new coal plants

The Obama administration is expected soon to unveil long-delayed rules limiting carbon emissions fro…

Markets

14 Feb 2012 17:31

UPDATE 1: EU carbon climbs back above 8 euros on firmer power

European carbon prices rose more than 5 percent on Tuesday as gains in power prices offset macroecon… 

Latest news

• 14 Feb 12 20:19  Obama budget plan raises climate aid concerns 
• 14 Feb 12 17:31  UPDATE 1: EU carbon climbs back above 8 euros 
• 14 Feb 12 17:14  EU industrial output up 3.3 pct in 2011 despite Dec. slump 
• 14 Feb 12 16:54  Twenty UK-based financial firms to bid at CO2 auctions: govt 
• 14 Feb 12 16:49  Austria’s CO2 emitting power output slumps 5.5 pct 
• 14 Feb 12 13:06  Airlines to save up to 150 mln euros through EU concession 
• 14 Feb 12 11:33  Australian offset scheme to be under-supplied 
• 13 Feb 12 23:50  U.S. utility Duke eyes Chinese CCS technology 
• 13 Feb 12 23:17  Brazil pledges up to $585 mln for climate fund 
• 13 Feb 12 21:31  U.S. carbon rules could slam door on new coal plants 
• 13 Feb 12 18:28  Deutsche Bank ups EUA forecast, sees 20-25 euro price 
• 13 Feb 12 17:40  PGE eyes 20 pct cut in carbon intensity by 2020 
• 13 Feb 12 17:39  TABLE: Top 30 airlines receiving free CO2 permits 
• 13 Feb 12 17:35  EUAs rebuff Greek debt gains, slip 3 pct on softer energy 
• 13 Feb 12 15:11  U.N. postpones decision on Ukraine CO2 suspension 
• 13 Feb 12 14:52  Norway's Statkraft bucks trend by expanding CO2 desk 
• 13 Feb 12 13:57  Dutch utility agrees to buy 1.2mln post-2012 CERs 
• 13 Feb 12 04:47  EU aviation carbon tax fuels concerns, may go to U.N. 
• 10 Feb 12 19:01  Four fifths of U.N. carbon credits head to Europe: U.N. data 
• 10 Feb 12 18:23  California eyes dividends, deficit cuts from cap-and-trade 
• 10 Feb 12 17:10  EUAs hover near 8 euros amid mixed weather forecasts 
• 10 Feb 12 16:32  Weekly CER issuance set to dip to 4.1 mln 
• 10 Feb 12 15:21  Japanese utility Hokuriku CO2 emissions rise 44 pct 
• 10 Feb 12 09:25  Australia awards $100 million to CCS project 

All news

Green crop technology comes to California

Global Leader in Sustainable Agriculture Brings Green Tech Crop Innovation to California - MarketWatch

TULARE, CA, Feb 14, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Among the many head-turning products at this week's 45th World Ag Expo is an innovative biotechnology formula for soil sustainability that uses discarded shrimp heads and microbiological components to fortify crop plants and cost-efficiently improve yield, quality and profit.

Turks excite investors who turn from the past and move on; EBRD invests €44M in Turkish clean energy fund

EBRD supports regional fund to finance private clean energy projects [EBRD - News and events]

The EBRD is breaking new ground in its support to develop cleaner energy in one of the world’s most energy-intensive regions. The setting up of a new fund – the first of its type – will expand the capacity of Turkey and neighbouring countries in the Western Balkans and the Caucasus to tap into cleaner energy resources. The EBRD is making a €40 million equity contribution to establish the Clean Energy Transition Fund (CETF) which has a target size of €200 million. A specific feature of the Fund is that it will increase the availability of much-needed equity capital and thus expand the market to meet the growing investment needs in energy projects in the region.

EBRD 2011 sustainable investments hit a record €2.6bn

Environmental Finance | News | EBRD invests a record €2.6bn in sustainable energy in 2011

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested €2.6 billion ($3.43 billion) in sustainable energy projects in 2011. Last year’s investments under the bank’s Sustainable Energy Initiative were up more than a fifth from the €2.1 billion invested by the EBRD in these types of projects throughout central Europe and central Asia in 2010. Almost one-third of the bank’s total investments of €9 billion last year went to sustainable energy projects, compared with 22% in 2010, said Sergiy Grytsenko, spokesman for the EBRD.

Dairy Gas Emissions Model

University Park, Pennsylvania : Dairy Gas Emissions Model

What is the Dairy Gas Emissions Model?

The Dairy Gas Emissions Model (DairyGEM) is a software tool for estimating ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of dairy production systems as influenced by climate and farm management. A dairy production system generally represents the processes used on a given farm, but the full system may extend beyond the farm boundaries. A production system is defined to include emissions during the production of all feeds whether produced on the given farm or elsewhere. It also includes GHG emissions that occur during the production of resources used on the farm such as machinery, fuel, electricity, and fertilizer. Manure is assumed to be applied to cropland producing feed, but any portion of the manure produced can be exported to other uses external to the system.

Emissions computer technology delivered to UK

UK takes delivery of expanded CO2 emissions system - ComputerworldUK.com

The Environment Agency has implemented the latest module of its CO2 emissions trading scheme, in order to address industrial works and power stations. Module 2 of the Emissions Trading Scheme Workflow Automation Project (ETSWAP) automates the processes associated with reporting CO2 emissions data for stationary installations covered by the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The module was provided by SFW and will be used when operators submit reports of all their carbon dioxide emissions in 2011 by the March 2012 deadline.

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Caught In The Crossfire

BBC News - UN body at centre of Emissions Trading Scheme storm

He is president of a UN agency, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). In 2010 it was given a mandate to find a global solution for the aviation industry to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions without hurting growth in the sector.

The Carbon Market: Plenty of time for a turnaround

Carbon market: there’s still time - The Globe and Mail

A few little things separate a gold medal sprinter from an also-ran. The same applies to the European Union’s carbon emissions trading scheme. When it pioneered the idea of a fully fledged carbon trading market in 2005, the EU envisaged that a price of about €40 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted would encourage big polluters, such as power generators, to invest in clean energy. With the current price at under €8, that looks like seriously wishful thinking. Yet the market is not irretrievably broken. With another phase of the trading scheme due to begin next year, there are a few things regulators could usefully do to turn carbon trading into a proper market.

Coverage ratio for DOE well in line

Environmental Finance | News | DOE loan liabilities ‘well covered’ – consultant

Potential losses from the US Department of Energy (DOE) clean-tech loan guarantee programme would be less than the agency projected and well below the funds set aside to cover losses, according to an independent consultant’s report. Former Treasury Department official Herbert Allison’s team evaluated 30 loans and guarantees totalling $23.8 billion made under the DOE’s Section 1705 and Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing programmes. The DOE previously estimated potential losses from these programmes at about $2.9 billion, but the consultant’s report pegged that figure at less than $2.7 billion. Both figures were lower than the $10 billion set aside by Congress to cover any potential losses.

College athletic departments are dropping the ball on making their operations green.

Sustainability, College Athletics Don't Always Connect

Large college athletics departments talk the talk when it comes to concern for the environment and environmental sustainability, but only a small percentage of these departments actually walk the walk in making their operations "greener."

CSR Ratings DO Impact Share Price!

How Third-Party CSR Ratings Impact Share Price · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

Being added to external corporate social responsibility indices enhances a company’s reputation and can affect its share price, but not always in ways expected. This article examines how the stock prices of 121 companies changed after being added to or removed from the Calvert Social Index. Socially responsible investing has been growing faster than the overall market over the last decade. According to Lipper, socially responsible mutual funds are growing while other diversified equity funds are shrinking. Companies in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) and Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI) delivered double the total return of Global 500 companies between January 2005 and May 2011 (see CDP Canada 2011: Key Highlights).

DPD announces free carbon neutral shipping

DPD to Deliver Carbon Neutral Packages by July · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

Logistics company DPD has announced plans to move to completely carbon-neutral shipping, at no extra cost to customers.

"ESG" investments on the rise

Environmental Finance | News | Proportion of top-rated ESG strategies to rise, says Mercer

Around 9% of investment strategies assessed by Mercer are “highly rated” in environmental, social and governance (ESG) terms, a number the investment consultant expects to rise. “That percentage has been sneaking higher,” since Mercer began conducting ESG assessments in 2008, said Will Oulton, Mercer’s London-based European head of responsible investment, partly under the influence of governance initiatives such as the Stewardship Code in the UK, and partly due to the growing popularity of ESG-themed investment strategies.

New $3M eco-fund launched

Energy Points launches with sustainability metric and $3M - Mass High Tech Business News

Zik Energy Points Inc. has launched with a new $3 million initial funding round and a way to help companies measure their sustainability efforts - by sophisticated algorithms and a new universal energy usage metric, the EPG. The acronym stands for Energy Per Gallon, and is based on the amount of energy contained in one gallon of gasoline. With its EnergyPoints platform, which will be sold under a Software-as-a Service model, Energy Points will then take geospatial data for the region a company has its operations in, and apply that to the EPG constant, to give each company an accurate baseline of the energy cost of any activity at the company for that specific location. So, one hour of running 100 light bulbs in one office in Cambridge, for example, may be 1 EPG, but in Alexandria, Va., it might be 1.2 EPG and in Seattle maybe 0.8 EPG.