In this edition, EU Carbon Link Presents Political, Price Risks for Australians says Bloomberg. Europe’s power markets in focus in U.K Energy Reform Pace Is ‘Frustrating,’ Business Lobby Says and Combining operators would speed German grid expansion -Oettinger. And on U.S. soil, Obama campaign defends debate silence on climate change.
Quote of the Day:
“Australia’s price will be influenced by the market where the reduction target is the highest in the world. If EU prices go much higher, say 30 euros, then the Australian government will be placed under a lot of pressure by industry to revisit the linking arrangements.”
–Martijn Wilder of Sydney law firm Baker & McKenzie in Bloomberg’s “EU Carbon Link Presents Political, Price Risks for Australians”
Lead Stories
EU Carbon Link Presents Political, Price Risks for Australians
Bloomberg
Australia handed control of its carbon price to a partner with more ambitious climate targets when it agreed to link with the European Union market, according to a partner at Baker & McKenzie LLP.
http://jlne.ws/WqKa1h
Australia’s EU carbon link faces risks, lawyer says
The Sydney Morning Herald
Higher carbon prices in Europe would challenge Australia’s willingness to link its new greenhouse-gas market with the world’s largest as rising compliance costs hurt emitters, according to a lawyer.
http://jlne.ws/PDyVAu
Enviros argue emissions trading is working in Europe
The Hill’s E2 Wire
A European Union requirement that companies trade credits for carbon emissions they emit is already working, an environmental group argued Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/OKnoy9
REPORT
The EU Emissions Trading System
Environmental Defense Fund
http://jlne.ws/R5RSKM
South Korea May Link Energy Tax to Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Bloomberg
South Korea may link an energy taxation system to emissions as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, the finance ministry said in an e-mailed statement.
http://jlne.ws/WqJqsJ
Amid drilling boom, U.S. states rush to update laws: Kemp
Reuters
Legislatures in 34 U.S. states, from Alaska and California to Kentucky and Maryland, have enacted no fewer than 94 separate laws relating to oil, gas and coal so far this year, as the surge in exploration and production pushes fossil fuels high up the agenda for state lawmakers.
http://jlne.ws/R5Qbx4
**RKB – Interesting local-level tally that raises questions about the potency of any renewable efforts post-November election. See next two items.
Enviros say debate a ‘missed opportunity’ for Obama to discuss climate change
The Hill’s E2 Wire
Several environmental groups called the lack of discussion about climate change a “missed opportunity” at Tuesday night’s presidential debate, but they refrained from chastising President Obama for skirting the issue.
http://jlne.ws/RaN9pH
Obama campaign defends debate silence on climate change
The Hill’s E2 Wire
The Obama campaign defended the president’s silence on climate change during Tuesday’s debate after environmentalists and activists criticized him for not directly addressing the issue.
http://jlne.ws/T2dLeO
White House energy aide hopes for ‘reset button’ with Congress
The Hill’s E2 Wire
Heather Zichal, a top White House energy and climate change aide, expressed hope Wednesday that the Obama administration and Capitol Hill can boost collaboration on green energy after the elections.
http://jlne.ws/RDA1se
Video: Urgent Investment Needed in Renewable Energy: New IEA Chief
Reuters
http://jlne.ws/WqOYDB
U.K Energy Reform Pace Is ‘Frustrating,’ Business Lobby Says
Bloomberg
The U.K. energy market’s pace of reform is “frustrating” and risks falling victim to “paralysis by analysis,” the U.K.’s biggest business lobby group said.
http://jlne.ws/TvHqJh
Combining operators would speed German grid expansion -Oettinger
Stern/Reuters
Combining Germany’s electricity grids and giving the state a stake in the new entity would speed up the expansion of power lines in Europe’s biggest economy, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told German magazine Stern.
http://jlne.ws/RIjKFu
Why Brazil sees partnerships as key to solving urban problems
GreenBiz.com
How can Brazil be a leader for its deployment of renewable energy, boast a strong entrepreneurial culture, yet land near the back of the pack when it comes to innovation in sustainable business and technology?
http://jlne.ws/T1gocp
**RKB – More from Verge conference in CleanTech section.
Welcome To The UN’s Secret Climate Adaptation Summit
Ecosystem Marketplace
COP 11 in Hyderabad is probably the biggest climate adaptation conference you have never heard of. Representatives from 192+ countries have travelled to India, drawing a crowd of 14,000 delegates to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) bi-annual summit.
http://jlne.ws/Vde35O
Insurance giant cites climate in rising North American disaster costs
The Hill’s E2 Wire
North America incurred $510 billion in insured losses from weather catastrophes over the last three decades, and climate change is emerging as one of the reasons why, reinsurance giant Munich Re said Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/RIrasm
Events
EMA 2012 Fall Meeting
**Keynote speaker is Richard Sandor
October 24 – October 26, 2012
Santa Monica, CA
http://jlne.ws/NIFCwM
Carbon
Finnish Carbon Emissions Fall as Hydropower Imports Increase
Bloomberg
Carbon dioxide emissions from Finnish power producers fell by 43 percent in the first nine months of 2012 compared with the same period last year, according to the country’s Energy Industries Association.
http://jlne.ws/RVM9oJ
**RKB – Repeats in Water
Yallourn cutback proof carbon policies are working, ACF says
Brisbane Times
The decision by one of Victoria’s biggest brown-coal-fired power stations to cut its generating capacity by a quarter is proof the carbon price and renewable energy target is succeeding in cutting greenhouse gases, an environmental group said.
http://jlne.ws/RVWAZy
No restrictions on foreign-sourced carbon credits confirmed
The National Business Review (New Zealand)
The government MPs have, as expected, blocked attempts by Labour and Green Party politicians to limit the number of foreign-sourced carbon credits used to offset New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions under its Kyoto Protocol obligations.
http://jlne.ws/R0O5fH
Natural Gas/Coal
What Is The Future Of King Coal In China?
Bloomberg
World Resources Institute — When it comes to coal consumption, no other nation comes close to China. The country reigns as the world’s largest coal user, burning almost half of the global total each year. About 70 percent of China’s total energy consumption and nearly 80 percent of its electricity production come from coal, and its recent shift from being a historical net coal exporter to the world’s largest net coal importer took only three years.
http://jlne.ws/RFO7ZN
Is Obama Really Waging a War on Coal?
Bloomberg’s The Grid column
InsideClimateNews.org — Power plant operators are shuttering aging coal facilities at record rates—a trend presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his supporters pin squarely on EPA air pollution rules.
http://jlne.ws/RItvmV
Conservation Groups Sue Calif Agency Over Fracking
FuelFix (Statoil) blog
Conservation groups are suing California’s oil and gas drilling regulators over hydraulic fracturing, charging officials with failing to properly study the practice’s environmental impacts.
http://jlne.ws/RW0L7x
Power
Falling Wind Price to Spur Gains in Next Decade, Sieminski Says
Bloomberg
Adam Sieminski, head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, said falling costs for wind power will make the alternate energy competitive with natural gas and coal, spurring expansion in the next two decades.
http://jlne.ws/RaILXO
Statoil Joins Statkraft to Add U.K. Offshore Wind-Power Project
Bloomberg
Statoil ASA (STL), Norway’s biggest oil company, joined Statkraft AS to buy an offshore wind project from Warwick Energy Ltd., their third U.K. venture together.
http://jlne.ws/XrvEUS
Statoil and Statkraft acquire Dudgeon Offshore wind power project
Press Release
Statoil and Statkraft have acquired the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm project through the acquisition of all shares in Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited (DOW), a subsidiary of the UK energy company Warwick Energy Limited.
http://jlne.ws/RVQKHB
CleanTech
GE, IBM share innovations at VERGE São Paulo
GreenBiz.com
Public-private partnerships will be key to cities’ efforts to better serve their constituents as more of the world’s population moves to urban centers and energy demands multiply. GE, IBM and others discussed how their efforts are working and what’s needed to move them forward.
http://jlne.ws/QtHivs
Water
Report: Energy production threatens to strain nation’s water supply
The Hill’s E2 Wire
The federal government must better monitor the nation’s water supply as expanded domestic energy production threatens to further strain water resources, warns a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/RaNnwX
**RKB – Report below.
REPORT:
Energy Water Nexus: Coordinated Federal Approach Needed to Better Manage Energy and Water Tradeoffs
GAO
http://jlne.ws/T2epJe
U.K. Water Sector Outlook Stable for 12-18 Months, Moody’s Says
Bloomberg
The U.K. water sector is stable and likely to remain that way for 12 to 18 months, reflecting steady operating performance and price increases sufficient to offset rising costs, Moody’s Investors Service said today.
http://jlne.ws/TeuYDv
Finnish Carbon Emissions Fall as Hydropower Imports Increase
Bloomberg
Carbon dioxide emissions from Finnish power producers fell by 43 percent in the first nine months of 2012 compared with the same period last year, according to the country’s Energy Industries Association.
http://jlne.ws/RVM9oJ
**RKB – Repeats in Carbon
‘Water trading is no silver bullet’ says Severn Trent boss
This is Derbyshire
A BOSS at water giant Severn Trent has warned there is no “silver bullet” solution to solving future shortages of water in the different areas of the country.
http://jlne.ws/S56LwE
Reports
The EU Emissions Trading System (Posted Oct. 17, 2012)
Environmental Defense Fund
http://jlne.ws/R5RSKM
Energy Water Nexus: Coordinated Federal Approach Needed to Better Manage Energy and Water Tradeoffs (Posted Oct. 17, 2012)
GAO
http://jlne.ws/T2epJe
Carbon Markets and Carbon Policy in China (Posted Oct. 15, 2012)
The Climate Institute/Climate Bridge
http://jlne.ws/T2mHma
The Carbon Emissions of Server Computing for small- to medium-sized organizations (Posted Oct. 15, 2012)
http://jlne.ws/Rp3Jk5
The Hidden Costs of Electricity: Comparing the Hidden Costs of Power Generation Fuels (Posted Sept. 19, 2012)
http://jlne.ws/PCt372
CDP Global 500 Climate Change Report (Posted Sept. 11, 2012)
Carbon Disclosure Project
Beyond the bluster: Why wind power is an effective technology (Posted Aug. 30, 2012)
IPPR
http://jlne.ws/UeZB9b
Carbon Tax Revenue and the Budget Deficit: A Win-Win Solution? (Posted Aug. 27, 2012)
MIT
http://jlne.ws/Ri3So8
The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability (Posted Aug. 21, 2012)
Ceres
http://jlne.ws/ONwe8M
EPA REGULATIONS AND ELECTRICITY (Posted Aug. 16, 2012)
GAO
http://jlne.ws/NHwlos
European Power & Renewables Deals: Quarterly M&A outlook (Posted August 15, 2012)
Pricewaterhousecoopers
http://jlne.ws/TFZjaV
Advancing Technology for America’s Transportation Future (Posted August 6, 2012)
http://jlne.ws/MA2U6I
Benchmarking Air Emissions Of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the United States (Posted July 31, 2012)
http://jlne.ws/QbRr0J
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
