EU Commission Announces Plans for Greener Cars

EU Commission Announces Plans for Greener Cars: Scientific American
The European Commission published plans on Wednesday to tighten limits on how much carbon dioxide new cars can emit, drawing warnings that it could inflict damage on an already fragile automobile industry.  The proposals, which the Commission says can shave billions of euros off the EU fuel bill and cut greenhouse gas emissions by millions of tonnes, retain much of the detail of a draft seen by Reuters last month.  However, after lobbying from the car industry, they allow limited flexibility on how a binding 2020 target to limit CO2 to an average of 95 grams per kilometer (g/km) for cars and 147 g/km for vans should be implemented. The existing legislation sets a binding 2015 limit for cars of 130 g/km, with a target of 175 g/km for vans by 2017.

U.S. Navy Unveils New Shore Energy Policy

U.S. Navy Unveils New Shore Energy Policy: Scientific American
The U.S. Navy unveiled a major update of its energy policies ashore on Tuesday, calling for improved efficiency, greater conservation and increased use of renewable power to cut energy consumption in half at bases worldwide by the end of the decade.  Vice Admiral Phil Cullom, deputy chief of naval operations, said the first updated energy policy for shore installations in 18 years... 

U.S. Utility Rules to Allow State CO2 Markets

U.S. Utility Rules to Allow State CO2 Markets: Forrister - Bloomberg
The U.S. will probably allow states to regulate emissions from existing coal-fired power plants using carbon markets, according to the president of the International Emissions Trading Association. The nation’s Environmental Protection Agency is set to let states including New York and California regulate emissions in their own way rather than via a federal power station emission standard, assuming President Barack Obama wins a second term in office, said IETA president Dirk Forrister, a former climate adviser to U.S. President Bill Clinton.  Federal cap-and-trade legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate after narrowly passing the House of Representatives in 2009. Still, California’s trading program is planned for next year and Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont formed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in 2008.  “A state could propose a cap-and-trade as an alternative...

’No More Solyndras’ Bill Seen Hurting Clean-Energy Innovation

’No More Solyndras’ Bill Seen Hurting Clean-Energy Innovation - Bloomberg
A House bill introduced by Republicans in response to Solyndra LLC’s collapse may keep the U.S. from backing the latest clean-energy projects under its remaining $34 billion in loan authority, the Energy Department said.  The bill, a response to an 18-month investigation into Solyndra’s $535 million U.S. loan guarantee, would bar the Energy Department from issuing loan backing for future projects.  That could keep the U.S. from supporting the most promising proposals, David Frantz, the acting director of the department’s loan-guarantee program, said today at a House energy committee hearing...

Warm 2011 Weather Shows Climate Change Despite La Nina

Warm 2011 Weather Shows Climate Change Despite La Nina - Bloomberg
Last year was among the 15 warmest since record keeping began in the late 19th century, despite a La Nina weather pattern that should have cooled global temperatures, according to an annual climate assessment.  La Nina’s failure to cause significantly cooler global temperatures is one of many indications of long-term climate warming, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s State of the Climate report compiled by 378 scientists from 48 nations. La Nina was responsible for droughts in eastern Africa and North America, the scientists reported.
Last year “will be remembered as a year of extreme events, both in the United States and around the world...

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12 Jul 2012 17:36

EU carbon snaps resistance to hit 3-week low

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters Point Carbon) - European carbon hit a near three-week low on Thursday, drag…

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12 Jul 2012 19:39

U.S. to host meeting of opponents of EU airline law

WASHINGTON, July 12 (Reuters Point Carbon) – The U.S. government will host a meeting on July 31 of a…

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12 Jul 2012 09:20

UK to sell at least 4 mln more phase 2 EUAs in 2012

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters Point Carbon) – The UK will hold two more auctions of phase two EU Allowanc…

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12 Jul 2012 13:54

EU shortlists 30 clean energy projects for $1.8-billion subsidy

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters Point Carbon) - The EU has published a shortlist of eight carbon capture an…

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12 Jul 2012 18:17

Europe coal $50 jump would match gas power profits

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - European coal prices would have to rise by $50 a tonne, or more than 50…

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12 Jul 2012 19:01

U.N. parties eye fossil fuel subsidies for climate cash

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters Point Carbon) - U.N. parties this week said a redeployment of fossil fuel s…

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12 Jul 2012 17:40

UN panel to scrutinise coal, waste gas projects

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters Point Carbon) - The U.N.’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Executive Boar…

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Davey Indicates U.K. May Maintain Clean Energy

Davey Indicates U.K. May Maintain Clean Energy Subsidies - Bloomberg
U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Davey criticized arguments against renewable-energy policies as “dangerous” for the country’s economy, a sign that he’s resisting pressure from within the government to reduce subsidies for the industry.  “Too often, we are told that those who go low-carbon first will sacrifice their competitiveness,” the Cabinet minister said in a speech in London yesterday. “This is misleading and dangerous.”  Davey, who’s planning to announce changes to subsidy levels for renewable energy from wind to biomass later this month, said he’ll consider evidence given about how best to shape the so- called green economy. He said the industry is worth 122 billion pounds ($189 billion) to the U.K...

TPG, Samsung-Backed Carbon Capture Project Leads in EU Funds

TPG, Samsung-Backed Carbon Capture Project Leads in EU Funds - Bloomberg
A U.K. carbon-capture project part- owned by Samsung Group and developed by a British company held by TPG Capital is first in line for a share of as much as 1.5 billion-euros ($1.8 billion) in European Union funding.  The Don Valley Power Project in northern England proposed by 2Co Energy Ltd. leads a list of ventures selected as candidates in a European Commission funding program, the commission said today in a report on its website. Four of the eight projects on the list are based in the U.K.  Britain’s coalition government is ahead of other European countries having separately offered 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) of funding for the technology, which gathers emissions for underground storage. Without CCS, the U.K may fail to meet climate goals, Energy Minister Charles Hendry said in February.

EU’s energy efficiency policy lacking, say investors

Environmental Finance | News | EU’s energy efficiency policy lacking, say investors
Financing energy efficiency improvements in Europe’s building stock will be difficult under the current EU regulatory framework, according to a group of institutional investors.  The EU recently passed legislation aimed at improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020, against a business-as-usual forecast. Addressing energy savings in buildings will be key, said the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), as it represents about 40% of EU energy consumption.  “Energy efficiency in the property sector is a central issue for institutional investors, who allocate an average of 5.5% of assets to property investments and whose investments in the property sector face significant long-term performance risks as a result of environmental issues,” the group said.

New Zealand Resists Higher Carbon Price, Plans Link to Australia

New Zealand Resists Higher Carbon Price, Plans Link to Australia - Bloomberg
New Zealand is resisting higher carbon prices as a threat to its economic recovery, even as the government steps up plans to merge its emissions market with the two-week-old program in Australia.
New Zealand will review its climate program in 2015, a year earlier than previously scheduled, to coincide with Australia’s planned transition from a fixed-cost system to market-based pricing, Tim Groser, Minister for Climate Change Issues, said in an interview in Wellington. The country decided against restrictions for now on how many so-called international offsets emitters can use to meet New Zealand’s limits on greenhouse gas linked to climate change.  “We considered the international economic situation is very fragile, and our recovery is actually coming in to play,” Groser said. Regarding Australia’s emissions-trading program, “the review is ideally place to allow us to start linking at an operational level, rather than just talking about it.”

EU says up to 1.5 billion euros ready for low-carbon investment

EU says up to 1.5 billion euros ready for low-carbon investment | Reuters

Up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.83 billion) could be available by the end of this year to fund renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects across the European Union bloc, the European Commission said on Thursday.  The funding will be allocated to two to three CCS projects and 16 renewable energy projects on a shortlist of proposals submitted by EU member states to the Commission, it said.  The Don Valley Power Project in the United Kingdom, the Belchatow CCS Project in Poland and the Green Hydrogen project in the Netherlands top the shortlist of eight CCS projects.  Investments in CCS and renewable energy are needed to help the bloc achieve its legally-binding target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, as well as any of its longer-term emissions goals.

Why European Shale Is Totally 'Fracked'

Why European Shale Is Totally 'Fracked' - Forbes
When we discuss European shale, the typical questions that tend to crop up are which markets, how much can be had, and how fast?  All perfectly valid thoughts, but they rarely bother to ask the broader international question; does it actually matter? That’s the single most important question for the EU to ponder, precisely because the downside risks to developing European shale remain more formidable than anywhere else on earth. Simply put, shale gas isn’t going to be a serious prospect on Charlemagne’s turf any time soon. Europe needs global gas fundamentals to go its way elsewhere, or it risks ending up back at square one, bent over a Russian pipeline...