In today’s edition: More attention on Europe’s carbon market, in Deutsche Bank suspends carbon traders – source and EU Carbon Pares Gains After Parliament Sets Carbon Vote. Also: Strategy of Solar Dominance Now Poses a Threat to China and U.K. Confirms Gas Role as EON, National Grid Open Heat Pipe.
Quote of the Day:
“I like coal. . .I’m going to make sure we continue to burn clean coal.”
Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney during Oct. 3 debate.
Lead Stories
Deutsche Bank suspends carbon traders – source
Reuters
Deutsche Bank has suspended a handful of employees after it was criticised by a judge last year during a trial into tax evasion on carbon permits, a financial source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/SvBLZb
EU Carbon Pares Gains After Parliament Sets Carbon Vote
Bloomberg
European Union carbon permits pared gains after the bloc’s parliament scheduled its first vote on a legal change that would enable the bloc to curb a glut of emission allowances later than regulators had planned.
http://jlne.ws/T4q8mm
**RKB – Vote set for Feb. 19 but uncertainty persists. Isabelle Curien, a Deutsche Bank analyst in Paris: “For now, timing on further steps is very uncertain.”
Spain Says EU Needs Clear Carbon Rules, Examines Backloading
Bloomberg
European Union’s draft plan to curb a glut of carbon permits may endanger the predictability of the bloc’s trading rules and Spain hasn’t decided whether to back the proposal, Environment Minister Federico Ramos de Armas said.
http://jlne.ws/RgJAgQ
**RKB – Country-by-country roll call here.
Coal Gets Renewed Focus After Debate
The Wall Street Journal
Mitt Romney cheered the coal industry in the presidential debates with his succinct declaration that “I like coal,” highlighting an issue that has divided the Republican nominee from President Barack Obama.
http://jlne.ws/SAH7k1
**RKB – Repeats in Coal section.
$90 Billion for Green Energy? A Closer Look
The New York Times Green blog
Three times in Wednesday night’s debate, Mitt Romney said that President Obama had plowed $90 billion of federal money into green energy. “Now, I like green energy as well, but that’s about 50 years’ worth of what oil and gas receives,’’ he said. “Ninety billion — that — that would have — that would have hired two million teachers,’’ he said.
http://jlne.ws/RgNzKj
China Successfully Uses Market Mechanism For Sustainable Development
Ecosystem Marketplace
Ever since the Chinese Government approved the Kyoto Protocol in August 2002, it worked with a number of international and bilateral donors on many different Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) capacity building projects, such as the China CDM Study, funded by the World Bank, the Swiss Government and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation.
http://jlne.ws/T7dWGS
Business Groups Oppose Cap and Trade Auction
Capital Public Radio
California business leaders say they are being mischaracterized as opposing the state’s pending cap and trade program. They say they simply want the California Air Resources Board to cancel the planned auction part of the program.
http://jlne.ws/SLOXnr
4 Key Issues Surrounding Climate Policies, Carbon Markets, and Competitiveness
WRI.org blog
Even in the absence of an international framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, several countries, states, and provinces are developing and implementing climate policies. A growing number of these policies include market-based programs, some of which aim to link to each other through regional and global carbon markets. Countries like the United States can learn a lot from the economic and political experiences of these climate policy “first movers.”
http://jlne.ws/O8OuhS
Strategy of Solar Dominance Now Poses a Threat to China
The New York Times
China in recent years established global dominance in renewable energy, its solar panel and wind turbine factories forcing many foreign rivals out of business and its policy makers hailed by environmentalists around the world as visionaries.
http://jlne.ws/O8RhrB
Spanish manufacturers to lobby against energy reform
Reuters
Spanish industrial manufacturers are preparing to lobby against a government energy reform plan that they say will raise electricity prices and hurt business competitiveness, the head of one business association told Reuters on Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/QxpxLD
Helping a Neighbor Ease Its Oil Use
The New York Times
Masdar, the Abu Dhabi government-backed renewable energy firm with investments all over the world, is looking into investing in neighboring Saudi Arabia for the first time.
http://jlne.ws/SAIhMn
Events
Sustainability Summit – Innovation Challenge
October 9, 2012
New York
http://jlne.ws/wKbX7U
EMA Regional Thought Leader Roundtable: Northeast REC Markets
EMA
October 17, 2012
http://jlne.ws/ViJHgR
EMA 2012 Fall Meeting
**Keynote speaker is Richard Sandor
October 24 – October 26, 2012
Santa Monica, CA
http://jlne.ws/NIFCwM
Carbon
Biofuels lead to carbon reduction
Creamer Media’s Engineering News
Carbon emissions and climate change advisory firm Promethium Carbon regards bioenergy as an additional solution to that of renewable energy in dealing with rising energy costs and the impacts of global warming, which are exacerbated by carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
http://jlne.ws/R1IfKk
A carbon tax needn’t be controversial
Crikey/Climate Spectator
Debate on climate change and carbon pricing in Australia has focused on what other wealthy nations are doing — but don’t forget South Africa. The developing country, which has per capita income (and per capita greenhouse gas emissions) about one-third of Australia’s, is due to start its economy-wide carbon tax in July.
http://jlne.ws/QMkOnP
Natural Gas/Coal
Coal Gets Renewed Focus After Debate
The Wall Street Journal
Mitt Romney cheered the coal industry in the presidential debates with his succinct declaration that “I like coal,” highlighting an issue that has divided the Republican nominee from President Barack Obama.
http://jlne.ws/SAH7k1
Canada’s New Democrats Oppose Cnooc-Nexen Deal
The Wall Street Journal
Canada’s main opposition party called on the Conservative government to reject Beijing-controlled Cnooc Ltd.’splanned $15.1 billion takeover of Canadian energy company Nexen Inc.,saying the nature of the review process offers no assurances the deal would benefit Canada.
http://jlne.ws/T7j4dW
India Oil Firms Buy Stake in Carrizo’s Colorado Asset
The Wall Street Journal
State-run explorer Oil India Ltd. and refiner Indian Oil Corp. said Thursday they will acquire a 30% stake in Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc.’s Niobrara shale-oil acreage in Colorado for $82.5 million, gaining entry to America’s booming shale industry.
http://jlne.ws/PV011Q
Alaska-to-Asia natural gas pipeline plan timeline set
The Hill’s E2 Wire
Three energy producers agreed on a plan Wednesday for a pipeline that would send Alaskan natural gas originally intended for the Lower 48 states to Japan and South Korea.
http://jlne.ws/Uk8hPe
Power
U.K. Confirms Gas Role as EON, National Grid Open Heat Pipe
Bloomberg
Natural gas remains “absolutely central” to efforts to curb U.K. emissions, Energy Secretary Ed Davey said, as EON AG and National Grid Plc (NG/) opened a heat pipe to boost efficiency at a gas-fired power station.
http://jlne.ws/SLRD4p
State-of-the-art gas plant hailed as key to government energy policy
Business Green
Businesses have been urged to explore ways of collaborating on energy efficiency projects, as E.ON and National Grid opened a giant combined heat and power project in Kent that is expected to save 300,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
http://jlne.ws/QMjph9
Impact of US ethanol waiver would arrive year later-think tank
Reuters
If the Obama administration relaxes the requirement to use corn-based ethanol in gasoline, the benefits would arrive a year later, with more corn available at lower cost for livestock feed and lower ethanol production, said a think tank on Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/PdEyFA
S&P says renewable energy standards are here to stay
S&P/Reuters
Since the late 1990s, most U.S. regulated electric utilities have grappled with renewable portfolio standards, regulations that require utilities to derive an increasing amount of energy from renewable sources. The report published by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today discusses how these standards could affect the utilities.
http://jlne.ws/REMP3H
Germany’s SMA Solar Supplies Largest Japanese Solar-Power Plant
Bloomberg
SMA Solar Technology AG (S92), Germany’s biggest solar company by market value, said it will supply Japan’s largest solar plant with its products.
http://jlne.ws/PdDVf3
RECs
Ohio utilities seek renewable energy credits including hydro
Hydro World
FirstEnergy Corp. has issued a request for proposals seeking to purchase renewable energy credits from sources including hydropower, on behalf of its Ohio utilities, Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating, and Toledo Edison.
http://jlne.ws/R1HJMq
Kaydon to shut plant as expiry of energy tax credit looms
Reuters
Kaydon Corp, a maker of specialty ball bearings for wind turbines, said it would shut a South Carolina plant and record a charge of $47 million to $52 million due to the impending expiration of a renewable energy tax credit and weak markets.
http://jlne.ws/REQHl9
Water
Dutch Drinking Water May Be Hurt by Changing Climate, Pollution
Bloomberg
The Netherlands, almost a fifth of which is covered by lakes, rivers and dikes, may be unable to use surface waters as a source for drinking water by 2050 due to the changing climate and contaminants.
http://jlne.ws/SvCYzP
India to Finance $178 Million of Water Projects Across Tanzania
Bloomberg
India approved $178 million of financing through its Export-Import Bank for water supply and infrastructure projects in Dar es Salaam and Chalinze, the Tanzania Daily News reported, citing the Indian High Commission.
http://jlne.ws/SLT17b
Reports
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
