Nigeria's penalty for gas flaring will not curb emissions, say campaigners | Environment

Nigeria is to penalise oil giants for flaring gas but campaigners say it's unlikely to curb the release of greenhouse gases in the country, which is the world's second biggest offender after Russia.
Toxic orange flares – a byproduct of Nigeria's 2m-barrel-a-day oil industry – spew the equivalent emissions of the UK's annual gas use every three months in the palm-fringed Niger Delta. Nigeria has Africa's largest natural gas reserves, which could be used for power generation if trapped.
"Because of the flares it is so hot, it is smoky, the air is thick and it is constantly daytime here," said Aniete Aniete, a fisherman from the oil-producing Delta heartland. "Our rivers are black and the [acid] rain eats our houses. Our bodies are covered in oil. You feel that if you live to old age here, it is a miracle."

Wesfarmers warns on carbon tax price rises

The introduction of the $9 billion carbon tax could send shockwaves through the food manufacturing sector, after the nation's most powerful retailer warned yesterday that it would challenge proposed price increases from its suppliers and would resist passing the cost of the new tax on to consumers.  Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder said the company, which owns the Coles supermarket chain and the Kmart and Target discount chains, hoped its customers would not see a big impact from the introduction of the tax because of the company's own cost mitigation strategies and negotiations with suppliers.

China tells state-owned companies to report CO2 emissions

All of China's 117 state-owned enterprises will have to start reporting CO2 emissions following a government order that helps the nation prepare to launch a national emissions trading scheme later this decade...

Greenhouse gas levels pass symbolic 400ppm CO2 milestone

The world's air has reached what scientists call a troubling new milestone for carbon dioxide, the main global warming pollutant.  Monitoring stations across the Arctic this spring are measuring more than 400 parts per million of the heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere. The number isn't quite a surprise, because it's been rising at an accelerating pace.  Years ago, it passed the 350ppm mark that many scientists say is the highest safe level for carbon dioxide. It now stands globally at 395.

In depth: The real story behind Germany's 22GW solar record

The hottest news in the solar industry in the past week was the 22.4 GW of peak capacity output from solar PV installations in Germany last week, the equivalent of 20 large nuclear or fossil fuel plants, and which accounted for around 30 per cent of the country’s capacity on Friday, and half on the following day, a Saturday, when a similar amount of energy was produced.  An analysis in CleanTechnica points out that while those figures made the headlines, the really significant number was the 189.24GWh of electricity produced on the Friday, which accounted for nearly 14 per cent of total electricity consumption in Europe’s most industrialised nation and largest economy.  As the article points out, this is actually not a rare event.

Exxon Plans U.S. Ethylene Plant to Make Use of Cheap Gas

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the largest U.S. oil company, plans to build factories that produce ethylene and plastics in Texas, joining a growing group of competitors racing to use cheap U.S. natural gas to make chemicals.  A new plant at the company’s site in Baytown would produce 1.5 million metric tons of ethylene annually starting in 2016, pending regulatory approvals, Irving, Texas-based Exxon said today in an e-mailed statement. The gaseous chemical would be used to make 1.3 million metric tons of polyethylene plastic at two plants to be built in nearby Mont Belvieu, the company said.  The plants would “significantly” increase exports of plastics, Exxon said in the statement. Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. is planning a $5 billion ethylene project at its Baytown site, and companies such as Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) also are expanding to use more gas-based raw materials that provide a cost advantage over oil-based production in Europe and Asia.

EU aviation carbon spat seen unlikely to reach WTO

Countries that oppose the European Union's move to include airlines in its scheme to control carbon emissions would find it difficult to bring a dispute to the World Trade Organization (WTO), an official with the global trade body said on Friday.  China and India have boycotted their airlines from taking part, raising the prospect of a potential trade war over the carbon scheme, which forces all flights to and from EU airports to limit carbon dioxide emissions and airlines to cover the cost of emissions over the limit.

Latest Carbon News Headlines

Point Carbon's OTC price assessments

		Close	+/-
EUA	Dec 2012	6.47	0.15
sCER	Dec 2012	3.47	0.04

 

 

 

Carbon Market News

Markets

01 Jun 2012 18:13

Low CO2 price, austerity plays out in halls of Cologne fair

COLOGNE, June 1 (Reuters Point Carbon) – A noticeable absence of investment banks from a major carbo…

Buy/Free trial

CDM/JI/AAU

01 Jun 2012 20:55

Brazil eyes CDM profit as country’s largest landfill closes

SAO PAULO, June 1 (Reuters Point Carbon) – Companies managing Brazil’s largest landfill, which will…

Buy/Free trial

Policy

01 Jun 2012 18:04

Review panel fails to rule out big changes to CDM

COLOGNE, June 1 (Reuters Point Carbon) – An independent panel tasked with deciding the future of the…

Buy/Free trial

CDM/JI/AAU

01 Jun 2012 12:54

Flood of U.N. offsets "underlines need for reform"

COLOGNE, May 31 (Reuters Point Carbon) –The apparent willingness of some nations to pump out million…

Buy/Free trial

Policy

01 Jun 2012 10:12

China tells state-owned companies to report CO2 emissions

BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters Point Carbon) - All of China's 117 state-owned enterprises will have to sta…

Buy/Free trial

Markets

01 Jun 2012 13:37

CER issuance to fall to 5.3 million next week

Supply of Certified Emission Reductions is set to fall to 5.3 million next week, down from 8.2 milli…

Buy/Free trial

Policy

01 Jun 2012 09:36

Australia’s CO2 price to track floor: analysts

BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters Point Carbon) - CO2 permits in Australia’s emissions trading scheme will tr…

Buy/Free trial

EU minister meeting to tackle carbon cuts: draft

European environment ministers are expected to reopen a difficult debate later this month on deeper EU carbon emissions cuts, but a draft text ahead of the meeting stops short of any firm targets. Previous discussion of bigger carbon cuts has been tense, with coal-reliant Poland objecting that they could damage its economy...

CO2 market wants tougher EU 2020 climate goal

Europe's economic slump has made it easier for the EU to reach its 2020 climate goal, and a tougher target to cut emissions would restore relevance in the EU emissions trading scheme by lifting carbon prices from record lows, they said.  The European Union needs to aim for a deeper emissions cut soon, to rescue a record low carbon price and spur long-term investment in low-carbon technology, leading carbon market players said at an industry gathering.

Fourteen Programs Show CO2 Trade Taking Off: World Bank

New carbon programs in at least 14 emerging nations from China to Costa Rica show emissions trading may take off even as U.S. lawmakers focus on non-market-based regulations for climate protection, a World Bank official said.  Seven countries including Mexico and Indonesia are considering emissions-crediting systems, five mull domestic carbon markets while India and South Africa are studying their own plans, Xueman Wang, team leader for the bank’s Partnership for Market Readiness program, said in an interview.

China May Resume Nuclear Plant Approvals as Cabinet Passes Plan

China, planning to build more nuclear reactors than any other country, approved a safety framework that may help end a ban on approving new atomic plants imposed after last year’s Fukushima disaster in Japan.  The State Council, or Cabinet, approved “in principle” the proposed plan on nuclear safety for the five-year period ending 2015 and long-term targets for 2020, the government said on its website yesterday. The report didn’t specify when approvals for new plants would resume or mention capacity goals.