In today’s edition, deal news features in the top headlines, as “Barclays sells CO2 credit firm Tricorona,” according to Reuters Point Carbon. Climate Spectator has “Could China follow Australia on a carbon price floor?” The Hill posts ”Senate GOP plans new energy push to approve Keystone XL, expand drilling.”
Quote of the Day:
“The European Commission must get its house in order, and stop issuing or leaking contradictory information, which has such material impacts on the market and diminishes confidence. It is profoundly damaging, and unless we see some strong leadership very soon from the commission, this market will implode.”
–Mark Meyrick, head of carbon at the trading unit of Dutch utility Eneco Holding NV, in Bloomberg’s “EU CO2 Plunge Reignites Criticism About Market Disclosure”
Lead Stories
US fund builds major stake in Trading Emissions
Environmental Finance
A US investment house holds more than a quarter of the shares of Trading Emissions plc (TEP), bringing it close to the threshold for making a formal offer for the company.
http://jlne.ws/LLTwjl
**RKB – Of note, Weiss has been building its stake in recent months, as TEP’s share price has slumped in line with the collapse in the price of certified emission reductions (CERs) – the carbon credits that TEP holds and has contracts to buy.
Barclays sells CO2 credit firm Tricorona
Reuters Point Carbon
Barclays has sold carbon project developer Tricorona back to the company’s management, the UK-headquartered investment bank said on Tuesday, two years after it bought the Sweden-based firm for $159 million.
http://jlne.ws/QhT7bg
**RKB – Barclays had paid 40% premium in 2010.
Carbon trading plan watered down
The Korea Herald
The government on Monday unveiled a detailed plan for its greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme, apparently seeking a smooth start of the program in light of persistent fears from industries about increased environmental costs.
http://jlne.ws/OfM6nS
China seeks N. American energy reserves, know-how
AP
Offshore Chinese energy giant CNOOC’s $15 billion offer for Canadian oil and gas producer Nexen Inc. is strategically calibrated to win regulatory approval — unlike its failed 2005 attempt to buy Unocal.
http://jlne.ws/Ml8hqb
Chinese Oil Companies’ Deal Appetite to Grow
The Wall Street Journal
Cnooc Ltd. CEO -1.02% shook up the oil patch on Monday with its $15.1 billion deal to acquire Canada’s Nexen Inc.There’s likely to be more shaking to come.
http://jlne.ws/LLXFUp
Senate GOP plans new energy push to approve Keystone XL, expand drilling
The Hill’s E2 Wire
GOP senators will roll out legislation Thursday that would require expanded onshore oil-and-gas leasing, allow drilling off Virginia’s coast, and approve the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, aides said.
http://jlne.ws/LLS1Nx
Mexico’s climate law to face challenge under new president
Reuters Point Carbon
Mexico’s new president is unlikely to implement much of the sweeping climate change law signed in June by outgoing President Felipe Calderon amid inevitable resistance from industry and his party’s focus on accelerating economic growth and ramping-up oil and gas production, policy experts said.
http://jlne.ws/OXxk1k
**RKB – Campaign pledge for oil revival could undo Mexico’s climate law, one of Calderon’s legacies. It aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from business-as-usual levels by 2020 and by 50% by 2050.
Lib Dem victory paves way for renewables subsidy announcement
Business Green
The government is expected to tomorrow announce new levels of subsidies for renewable energy projects, after a deal was brokered between the Treasury and the Department of Energy and Climate (DECC) following a lengthy stand-off over the future of the UK’s energy policy.
http://jlne.ws/OfRdo9
Benefit Sharing for REDD+: Questions countries are asking
Pro For
The concept of REDD+ is based on the idea of paying tropical countries or communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and to conserve, sustainably manage, and enhance forest carbon stocks. However the modalities for determining “who gets what” are still unclear.
http://jlne.ws/OlqZi4
**RKB – Contributor here is Neeta Hooda, Senior Carbon Finance Specialist at the World Bank.
Emission cuts not enough: report
The Age
THE greenhouse gas cuts promised by developed countries will not be enough to stop the world’s temperatures from rising by 2 degrees and crossing a threshold into dangerous climate change, new analysis shows.
http://jlne.ws/PFMxZM
Environmentalists target 5 Republicans who question humans’ impact on climate
The Washington Post
The League of Conservation Voters will launch a $1.5 million campaign Tuesday targeting five House Republicans who question the connection between human activity and climate change, in an effort to test whether the issue can sway voters.
http://jlne.ws/LLQzzh
Events
GreenGov Symposium
ACCO & White House Council on Environmental Quality
September 24-25, 2012
http://jlne.ws/OfOB9D
Carbon Forum North America
October 1-2, 2012
Washington, DC
http://jlne.ws/zDe43B
Sustainability Summit – Innovation Challenge
October 9, 2012
New York
http://jlne.ws/wKbX7U
EMA 2012 Fall Meeting
**Keynote speaker is Richard Sandor
October 24 – October 26, 2012
Santa Monica, CA
http://jlne.ws/NIFCwM
Carbon
Eurofer warns over interfering with EU ETS allowances
Argus
The European Commission should not be given free rein to interfere with the European emissions trading system (EU ETS), European steel association Eurofer has warned.
http://jlne.ws/NUxp7s
EU CO2 Plunge Reignites Criticism About Market Disclosure
Bloomberg
The biggest two-day decline this year for European carbon permits has reignited criticism that the Brussels regulator needs to improve how it releases key information to the market.
http://jlne.ws/OfNo2i
Kansai Electric’s carbon emissions grew 40 pct in 2011-12
Reuters
Kansai Electric Power Co.’s carbon dioxide emissions surged by 40 percent in the year ending March 2012 from a year earlier as utilities burnt more fossil fuels due to Japan‘s nuclear shutdown, the power company said on Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/OXx4PP
Natural Gas/Coal
Azeri energy minister backs Nabucco West gas pipeline
Reuters
Azerbaijan’s best bet for piping natural gas to western Europe from the Caspian Sea is the Nabucco West project, Industry and Energy Minister Natik Aliyev said on Tuesday ahead of a formal decision.
http://jlne.ws/QhWdfg
Natural Gas: Tough To Be A Bull From Here, Says Morgan Stanley
Barron’s
Morgan Stanley is attempting to call off the natural gas bulls. The commodity just touched a fresh seven-month high, driven by forecasts for more unusual heat this summer and a less beglutted supply. The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) is up 0.9% in midsession trading.
http://jlne.ws/M7Nx9Z
Power
Obama administration announces solar energy projects
The Hill’s E2 Wire
The Obama administration will open public lands in six Western states to more solar projects as part of a solar energy road map it publicized Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/OfJfvf
Romney: Obama ‘doesn’t have a clue’ when it comes to energy, drilling
The Hill’s E2 Wire
Mitt Romney is pouncing on the White House threat to veto GOP offshore drilling legislation, alleging through an aide Tuesday that President Obama “doesn’t have a clue” when it comes to energy.
http://jlne.ws/N0k5N4
Interserve Wins $227 Million Pact for Scotland Renewables Center
Bloomberg
Interserve Plc (IRV), a U.K. construction company, said it won a 146 million-pound ($227 million) contract to build a recycling and renewable energy center with the water provider Pennon Group’s Viridor unit in Scotland.
http://jlne.ws/N0oTlF
GE, Gama Complete Turkish Wind Farm as Country Boosts Renewables
Bloomberg
General Electric Co. (GE), the biggest U.S. maker of wind turbines, completed its second wind farm project in Turkey with Gama Holding AS.
http://jlne.ws/OlrybG
Germany Will Publish Progress Report on Nuclear Exit in December
Bloomberg
Germany plans to publish in December a report to monitor progress on its plan to phase out nuclear- energy generation and power a greater share of Europe’s biggest economy from clean-energy.
http://jlne.ws/Qzq3L9
German industry sees stable 2012 power prices-ZEW
Reuters
Only 30 percent of German industrial players expect electricity prices to keep rising in 2012, while 70 percent believe they will be stable, ZEW’s bi-annual energy prices survey showed on Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/PFKUuQ
RECs
3Degrees Launches New Renewable Energy Products
Press Release
3Degrees, a five-time winner of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Green Power Supplier of the Year Award, today announced the public launch of three new Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) products — Regional Green Power RECs, Catalyst Wind RECs, and Brighter Schools Solar RECs. As with 3Degrees’ other voluntary REC offerings, these RECs are certified by Green-e Energy, the nation’s leading voluntary certification program for renewable energy.
http://jlne.ws/QhS2QQ
CleanTech
Clear Solar Film Means Power From Windows, UCLA Says
Bloomberg
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have developed a transparent film that may be affixed to glass and other surfaces to capture sunlight and generate electricity.
http://jlne.ws/NIJk9G
Reports
Per capita CO2 emissions in China reached European level (July 18, 2012)
http://jlne.ws/NAjBQQ
The Interim Regulation of Voluntary Greenhouse Gases Emission Trading in China (Posted July 10, 2012)
The Climate Group
http://jlne.ws/Mhv62s
Measure for Management: C40 Cities (July 9, 2012)
Carbon Disclosure Project
http://jlne.ws/L9LC37
Characterizing Pivotal Sources of Methane Emissions from Unconventional Natural Gas Production (Posted June 4, 2012)
API, ANGA
http://jlne.ws/M6RzMQ
Vulnerability of US and European electricity supply to climate change (Posted June 4, 2012)
Nature Climate Change
http://jlne.ws/L3Slcb
Developing Dimension: State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2012 (Posted May 31, 2012)
Ecosystem Marketplace
http://jlne.ws/JQ18Bv
Tackling exposure: placing disaster risk management at the heart of national economic and fiscal policy (Posted May 22, 2012)
http://jlne.ws/JArFwf
Fossil fuel price shocks and a low carbon economy (Posted May 21, 2012)
Oxford/DECC
http://jlne.ws/JgVKG9
Using the Allowance Value from California’s Carbon Trading System: Legal Risk Factors, Impacts to Ratepayers and the Economy (Posted May 17, 2012)
Next10
http://jlne.ws/KEYcW5.
Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathways to Sustainable Development (Posted May 9, 2012)
World Bank
http://jlne.ws/IJXP8B
Meeting Canada’s 2020 Climate Change Commitments (Posted May 8, 2012)
Office of Auditor General
http://jlne.ws/K9Lxvd
