North Dakota oil boom: thousands pin their dreams on striking it rich

It's a life measured out in 18-hour shifts and washed down with 5-hour Energy Drinks and Red Bull, a job on the rigs in North Dakota's oil boom: three weeks on, two weeks off, in exchange for $100,000 or more a year and the promise of being set up for life.  In an America where 18m are out of work, the chance of finding any job – let alone a well-paid job – exerts an irresistible force that is drawing thousands to North Dakota in a 21st century re-enactment of the Gold Rush.  Only this time, it's oil. North Dakota now produces more oil than several members of Opec, and many in the industry are predicting America will soon overtake Saudi Arabia and even Russia as the world's top oil producer.

Why curbing agriculture's climate impacts is a growing challenge

Thousands of companies have developed greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories in recent years as a crucial first step towards measuring and ultimately reducing their emissions.  Agricultural emissions are a large part of many of those inventories: Farming is currently responsible for between 10 and 12 percent of global GHG emissions. Globally, agricultural emissions are expected to increase by more than 50 percent by 2030, according to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Light Bulb Battle Pits Tea Party Against Manufacturers

The Department of Energy would continue to be barred from enforcing new energy efficiency standards for incandescent light bulbs under a planned House amendment that pits bulb manufacturers against the tea party movement.  The amendment, which Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) has vowed to introduce to an upcoming appropriations bill, would prohibit funding to enforce standards that require the 100-watt light bulb, and eventually other bulbs, to be about 30 percent more efficient.

ADB raises $339m in second clean energy bond issue

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised the equivalent of $339 million from its second sale of clean energy bonds, the proceeds of which will be directed to renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.  “Asia needs to meet its growing energy needs in ways that don’t pollute the air we breathe or water we drink and, to do that, there needs to be more investment in clean energy projects,” said Mikio Kashiwagi, ADB Treasurer. “The Clean Energy Bonds provide a way for investors to direct funding to clean energy projects.”

Latest Carbon News Headlines

Point Carbon's OTC price assessments

		Close	+/-
EUA	Dec 2012	6.50	-0.05
sCER	Dec 2012	3.67	0.00

 

   

 

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16 May 2012 18:01

EU energy chief favours carbon at 12-18 eur/t

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - European carbon prices should be at least twice their current value of ju…

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16 May 2012 16:51

EC grants first free power sector EUAs for 2013-2019

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters Point Carbon) – The European Commission has given Estonia, Lithuania and Cyp…

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CDM/JI/AAU

16 May 2012 18:39

U.N. offsets could be worth “almost nil” this decade: CDC Climat

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters Point Carbon) - An over-supply of U.N. offsets in the EU’s Emissions Trading…

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Markets

16 May 2012 18:14

UPDATE 1: EU carbon bounces back from 6-week low on economy hopes

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters Point Carbon) - European carbon recovered from hitting a six-week low in ear…

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Domestic policy

16 May 2012 17:08

UPDATE 2-Merkel ditches environment minister after poll rout

BERLIN, May 16 (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel fired her environment minister on Wednesday afte…

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Markets

16 May 2012 14:48

EIB to sell 20 mln EUAs on EEX in June-July

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters Point Carbon) – The European Investment Bank will auction 2.5 million EU All…

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16 May 2012 11:37

EU firms rush to use grey CERs ahead of ban: preliminary data

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters Point Carbon) – Around 84 percent of CERs turned in by European installation…

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Saudi Arabia launches world`s largest renewable energy program on Environmental Expert

Saudi Arabia is not known for thinking small. So when the oil-rich Kingdom announced a new initiative to expand the production of renewable energy, it laid out plans for what could become the most sweeping renewable energy undertaking in the world.  The King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) will begin implementation of the Kingdom's solar energy strategy this year, with the goal to save up to 520,000 barrels of oil per day by 2032.

EON Sells Gas Grid to Macquarie-Led Group for $4 Billion

EON AG, Germany’s largest utility, sold a network of natural-gas pipelines in the country to a group led by Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG) for 3.2 billion euros ($4 billion), shoring up its funds as nuclear earnings decline.  The price for Open Grid Europe, Germany’s biggest gas- transmission system, includes adjustments for pensions and other assets, Dusseldorf-based EON said in an e-mailed statement today. The buyers also include a fund of German reinsurer Munich Re, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s Infinity Investments and British Columbia Investment Management Corp., EON said.

Indian Airlines Snub Europe's Emissions Rule

Indian and Chinese airlines failed to submit carbon-dioxide emissions data for 2011, “disregarding European rules that seek to expand the region’s emissions trading system to include aviation,” Bloomberg News reports.  There has been “systematic non-reporting” of emissions to and from Europe from 10 airlines based in India and China, the European Commission said Tuesday in a statement on its Web site.  The European Union expanded its Emissions Trading Scheme in January to include airlines, Bloomberg reports.

EC grants first free power sector EUAs for 2013-2019

The European Commission has given Estonia, Lithuania and Cyprus the green light to give their power and heat companies a total of 35 million free CO2 permits from 2013 to 2019, the 27-nation bloc’s executive said on Wednesday.

Water policy needs 'radical' change to protect people and environment

The international community needs to "radically transform" the way it manages water, energy and land to ensure the needs of the poorest people are met and the environment is protected, according to the European Report on Development, published on Wednesday.  The flagship report, Confronting scarcity: managing water, energy and land for inclusive and sustainable growth, calls on the EU to adopt an integrated approach to managing the three elements to achieve universal access to water and energy, and sustainable food security.

Carbon Pricing & Trading News from Australia, California, China, South Korea, & More

Consideration of carbon pricing and trading, a market-based (not regulation-based) approach to addressing global warming, may still be outlawed by GOP leadership in Congress, but countries around the world (and even several US states) keep moving forward with planned or existing carbon pricing and trading programs. Below is some of the latest news from this arena.

Gasoline bubble has popped

Oil and RBOB prices plummet as the market is not convinced that the EU can keep Greece in the zone and stop the contagion from spreading, despite the meeting of the minds between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and new French president Francois Hollande. Even Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, is acknowledging that a Greek exit is possible and will be messy. With safe haven seekers running to the dollar and bonds, and a lowered risk of war from Iran, oil prices and gas prices are getting hit.