Court ruling to shift greenhouse gas fight back to Congress

Court ruling to shift greenhouse gas fight back to Congress - News - Point Carbon
An appeals court decision to uphold proposed federal greenhouse gas rules may shift the fight over regulating the heat-trapping emissions back to Congress, where lawmakers may step up efforts to diminish the EPA’s power or renew efforts to set a price on carbon, experts said...

German mediation committee agrees carbon capture law

German mediation committee agrees carbon capture law | Reuters

Germany's parliamentary mediation committee on Wednesday approved a compromise that would allow carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Germany on a test basis, Environment Minister Peter Altmaier said. CCS is seen as a vital technology to help reduce climate-warming carbon emissions from power plants in order to achieve legally binding climate change targets, but the technology remains commercially unproven and costly to develop.  Through CCS, CO2 emissions are captured and stored underground, reducing the environmental burden of power plants.  Germany's draft law on CCS was approved by the Bundestag (lower house) last year but rejected by the Bundesrat (upper house) due to safety concerns.  Many citizen groups have protested against the idea of CCS as they fear the emissions, which are fatal in high concentrations, could leak and rise to the surface.  The mediation committee on Wednesday approved the new compromise with a close majority, meaning the law's passage through parliament is still not guaranteed.  According to the compromise, only half of the originally planned 3 million metric tons (3.3 million tons) of CO2 emissions can be captured and stored underground.

Carbon tax will create green jobs

Carbon tax will create green jobs: Milne
The federal opposition argues Labor's carbon tax will squeeze the life out of the economy but the Australian Greens insist pricing pollution will actually help create new industries and jobs.  Greens leader Christine Milne says growth in the United States and Europe is being driven by the need to move away from oil to renewable energy and the carbon tax will ensure Australia isn't left behind.  The "zero-carbon economy" will provide "big opportunities", she told AAP.

EU resists pressure to change carbon air law-letters

EU resists pressure to change carbon air law-letters | Reuters
A global scheme to curb airline emissions, under debate this week in Montreal, or national schemes to make airlines pay for their carbon costs are the only reasons for the European Commission to change a law that has provoked international anger, a series of Commission letters seen by Reuters shows.  The letters, also state the Commission sees no prospect of deferring the law requiring all flights to and from EU airports to buy allowances under the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme.  Pressure on the Commission to scrap its law has been immense and the letters show the scale of the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring. China and India have refused to comply so far, while the United States has debated legislation that would make it illegal for its airlines to abide by the EU rules.  Among those to have written to the Commission objecting are Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Major firms urge removal 1.4 bln EU carbon permits

Major firms urge removal 1.4 bln EU carbon permits | Reuters
Major companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and commodities giant Bunge have written to top EU officials calling for the urgent withdrawal of 1.4 billion carbon permits to support the market and green investment.  A huge surplus of permits because of recession has depressed their price, making it cheaper to pollute and cutting the incentive to invest in low-carbon technology.  "A fully functioning EU ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme)" is the main policy tool to achieve the EU's long-term goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 95 percent by the middle of the century, compared with 1990 levels, said the letter, signed by a total of 13 firms and associations and dated June 26.  "We also believe that auction revenues from the ETS need to play an important role in funding low-carbon innovation and the transition to a green economy."

Carbon at Korea Companies in Market Rose 9.1%

Carbon at Korea Companies in Market Rose 9.1%: New Energy - Businessweek

Output of greenhouse gases at 467 companies that will probably be in South Korea’s proposed carbon market starting in 2015 rose 9.1 percent in 2010, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Emissions rose to 515.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from 472.7 million tons in 2009, London-based New Energy Finance said in a June 22 note published on its website, citing data from the Greenhouse Gas Inventory & Research Center of Korea in Seoul.  Emissions at Posco (005490), the country’s largest steel-mill operator and biggest producer of greenhouse gases, jumped 13 percent to 73.5 million tons, New Energy said. That compares with 140.1 million tons last year for RWE AG (RWE), the Essen, Germany-based power utility that’s Europe’s biggest emitter. South Korea approved a cap-and-trade system to cut greenhouse gases in May as President Lee Myung Bak seeks support for new restrictions on factories and power plants in the fastest-growing emitter among industrialized democracies.

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EUA	Dec 2012	7.96	-0.16
sCER	Dec 2012	3.94	-0.02

 

 

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Markets

27 Jun 2012 18:36

ANALYSIS: EC CO2 plan under pressure as lobbying enters critical stage

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters Point Carbon) - The EU Commission will in July propose a one-off change to…

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27 Jun 2012 19:40

Turning carbon into gold: UK court liquidates CO2 broker

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters Point Carbon) - A UK court has wound up a company it says misled private in…

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EU ETS

27 Jun 2012 13:49

EU rubberstamps free EUA handouts

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters Point Carbon) - The EU Commission’s unit in charge of competition cleared t…

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EU ETS

27 Jun 2012 17:52

EU carbon drops 1.1 pct, dips below 8 euros

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters Point Carbon) - European carbon prices dipped below 8 euros on Wednesday as…

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EU ETS

27 Jun 2012 14:58

CO2 spot trade resumes, albeit with delays

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters Point Carbon) - Normal spot trade in European CO2 permits resumed on Tuesda…

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Policy

26 Jun 2012 18:24

US court upholds EPA's greenhouse gas rules

WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld the first-ever U.S. proposed…

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Corporate

27 Jun 2012 09:30

Scottish energy firm drops CCS coal plant

LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Scottish energy firm Ayrshire Power has scrapped plans to build a new 1.…

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US court upholds EPA's greenhouse gas rules

US court upholds EPA's greenhouse gas rules | Environment | guardian.co.uk
A US appeals court on Tuesday upheld the first-ever US-proposed rules governing heat-trapping greenhouse gases, clearing a path for sweeping regulations affecting vehicles, coal-burning power plants and other industrial facilities.  Handing a setback to industry and a victory to the Obama administration, the US court of appeals for the district of Columbia unanimously ruled the Environmental Protection Agency's finding that carbon dioxide is a public danger and the decision to set limits for emissions from cars and light trucks were "neither arbitrary nor capricious."

Major Companies Urge EU To Act On Carbon Prices

Major Companies Urge EU To Act On Carbon Prices - WSJ.com
Major companies, including Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) and General Electric Co. (GE), have urged the European Union to take action to prop up prices on the bloc's carbon market and restore its credibility, according to a letter seen by Dow Jones Newswires.  "A fully-functioning EU Emissions Trading System is the main policy to achieve the EU's goal of an 80%-95% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050" compared ...

Encana Expands in Michigan Shale Chesapeake Is Abandoning

Encana Expands in Michigan Shale Chesapeake Is Abandoning - Bloomberg
Encana Corp. (ECA), which is probing allegations it colluded to rig land auctions in Michigan, has been expanding in the state’s burgeoning shale-exploration region after one-time rival Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) decided to quit the area.  Encana paid about $185 an acre for the rights to drill oil and natural-gas wells on 2,156 acres (873 hectares) at an auction last month by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 88 percent less than the average paid two years ago in the area. The Calgary-based company said on June 25 that it began an internal review of e-mails from 2010 between Encana and Chesapeake executives concerning bidding strategies for Michigan drilling rights.

Tepco’s New Chief Sees No Plan B to Revive Profitability

Tepco’s New Chief Sees No Plan B to Revive Profitability - Bloomberg
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501), owner of the crippled Fukushima reactors, is committed to restarting another nuclear plant next year that is the world’s largest and itself was damaged in a 2007 earthquake.
Bringing the Kashiwazaki Kariwa power station online, even though it sets up the state-controlled utility for further conflicts with a nuclear-weary public, is part of “Plan A,” President Naomi Hirose, 59, said in an interview. The plan refers to a 10-year business reconstruction that handed control of the power company known as Tepco to Japan’s government.  “We have no choice right now but to do our best to carry out Plan A,” Hirose said on June 18. “We don’t have a Plan B.”

Way Too Soon To Get Into Natural Gas

Way Too Soon To Get Into Natural Gas - Forbes
Recently, mutual fund guru Jeffrey Gundlach (DoubleLine Funds) indicated that if he were a risk taker, he would lever his future, and that of his children and grandchildren to natural gas.
“If I were one of these crazy hedge fund guys… the trade I’d put on is 100-times-leveraged natural gas long versus 100-times short Apple,” he said during an interview with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Surveillance the week of May 21st...