Isramart News:
Edificii prestigioase precum cladirea Operei de la Sydney, Orasul Interzis din Beijing si turnul Taipei 101 din Taiwan s-au cufundat in bezna timp de o ora sambata seara odata cu peste 120 de tari care si-au anuntat participarea la campania globala Earth Hour organizata de World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), informeaza Reuters.
Actinuea simbolica de stingere a luminilor care a inceput prima data in Sydney, in 2007, a devenit un eveniment global anual, iar organizatorii acestuia, membrii WWF, au spus ca anul acesta a fost cel mai intens sarbatorit.
Stingerea luminilor in intreaga lume a inceput in Insulele Chatham si s-a terminat in statul independent Samoa la 24 de ore mai tarziu. Micutul stat insular Tuvalu din Polinezia, care risca sa dispara de pe harta din cauza ca este amenintat de cresterea nivelului marii, a incercat sa fie neutru din punct de vedere al carbonului pentru evenimentul Earth Hour garantand ca va inrerupe curentul electric in tot statul si rugandu-i pe soferi si motociclisti sa nu circule in timpul orei dedicate Pamantului.
De asemenea, in sud, in Antarctica, statia australiana de cercetare Davis a stins luminile de Earth Hour. Apoi, intunericul a urmat in Londra la binecunoscutul Big Ben, in Paris la turnul Eiffel si la Arcul de Triumf. Dupa care New York-ul a marcat evenimentul Earth Hour cu singerea luminilor la Empire State Building si cladirea Chrysler, precum si in Times Square si in sediul Natiunilor Unite.
"Pe masura ce priveam cu se stingeau luminile pe continent, ne-am dat seama de fragilitatea si importanta mediului nostru natural si am garantat ca il vom proteja pentru un viitor sustenabil pentru toata lumea", a declarat secretarul general al ONU, Ban Ki-moon.
Aceasta a patra editie a evenimentului Earth Hour, care a avut loc la trei luni dupa esecul Summitului de la Copenhaga, a avut un succes mai mare, 125 de tari, inclusiv Romania, anuntandu-si participarea, comparativ cu cele 88 de state care au participat la editia precedenta. "Toata lumea stinge lumina pentru o ora" este declaratia prin care si Romania s-a alaturat, pentru a doua oara, campaniei globale "Ora Pamantului".
Actiunea Ora Pamantului s-a nascut la Sydney, in 2007, cand 2,2 milioane de persoane au oprit toate aparatele consumatoare de electricitate din locuintele lor, timp de 60 de minute, pentru a sensibiliza opinia publica in legatura cu consumul excesiv de energie si cu poluarea provocata de emisiile de dioxid de carbon. Aceasta operatiune, organizata la initiativa World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a capatat o dimensiune mondiala in 2008.
Romania in bezna
37 de orase din Romania au stins luminile sambata seara, alaturandu-se campaniei Earth Hour, cea mai mare manifestare de mediu din istorie. Cladiri proeminente, monumente si sedii de institutii si companii din toata tara au stins luminile in mod simbolic timp de o ora, de la 20:30 la 21:30.
Presedinta Camerei Deputatilor, Roberta Anastase, alaturi de Directorul WWF Romania, Luminita Tanasie, au stins luminile interioare si exterioare ale Palatul Parlamentului, una dintre cele mai mari cladiri din lume.
Capitala se numara, ca si anul trecut, printre orasele lumii care au stins luminile in semn de sustinere a cauzei Earth Hour. Sambata seara, de la 20.30, Palatul Parlamentului, Ateneul Roman, Opera Romana, Teatrul National, Muzeul National de Arta, alaturi de zeci de sedii de companii, s-au cufundat in intuneric timp de o ora.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Isramart : Britanicii vor sa dea ceasul cu 2 ore inainte pentru a reduce consumul de energie
Isramart news:
Atat laburistii, cat si conservatorii britanici sunt de acord cu modificarea suplimentara a orelor de vara si de iarna in Marea Britanie, pentru folosirea optima a luminii naturale si pentru a reduce consumul de energie din iluminatul artificial, in ciuda opozitiei scotienilor, transmite The Guardian.
In prezent, ceasurile din Marea Britanie au trecut la ora de vara, adica GMT + 1, si se vor intoarce la ora astronomica pe 31 octombrie, la fel ca cele din Romania. Parlamentarii britanici, influentati de organizatiile care militeaza pentru siguranta rutiera si pentru mediu, vor ca ceasurile sa fie fixate cu o ora inainte iarna, pana la GMT+1, si cu doua ore in avans vara, adica GMT+2.
Organizatia britanica "Lighter Later" sustine ca masura ar reduce emisiile de dioxid de carbon cu o jumatate de milion de tone pe an. Propunerile de acest tip au atras de fiecare data protestele grupurilor de lobby ale Scotiei. Acestia se plang de faptul ca diminetile ar deveni si mai intunecate decat sunt deja.
“Chiar daca planul ar fi benefic pentru cei din sud, in Scotia, majoritatea oamenilor prefera o ora suplimentara de lumina dimineata. Copiii din circumscriptia mea nu trebuie sa fie fortati sa mearga la scoala pe intuneric”, a declarat parlamentarul scotian Angus MacNeil.
Cu toate acestea, secretarul de stat pentru cultura, media si sport Ben Bradshaw sustine ca modificarea ar fi benefica pentru “afaceri, turism, mediu, ar creste siguranta si bunastarea oamenilor”. El a amintit si ca masura ar asigura seri de vara mai lungi pe durata Jocurilor Olimpice din 2012, ce vor avea loc in Londra.
Pana acum, opt incercari succesive de a modifica ora, incepand cu 1994, au esuat.
Atat laburistii, cat si conservatorii britanici sunt de acord cu modificarea suplimentara a orelor de vara si de iarna in Marea Britanie, pentru folosirea optima a luminii naturale si pentru a reduce consumul de energie din iluminatul artificial, in ciuda opozitiei scotienilor, transmite The Guardian.
In prezent, ceasurile din Marea Britanie au trecut la ora de vara, adica GMT + 1, si se vor intoarce la ora astronomica pe 31 octombrie, la fel ca cele din Romania. Parlamentarii britanici, influentati de organizatiile care militeaza pentru siguranta rutiera si pentru mediu, vor ca ceasurile sa fie fixate cu o ora inainte iarna, pana la GMT+1, si cu doua ore in avans vara, adica GMT+2.
Organizatia britanica "Lighter Later" sustine ca masura ar reduce emisiile de dioxid de carbon cu o jumatate de milion de tone pe an. Propunerile de acest tip au atras de fiecare data protestele grupurilor de lobby ale Scotiei. Acestia se plang de faptul ca diminetile ar deveni si mai intunecate decat sunt deja.
“Chiar daca planul ar fi benefic pentru cei din sud, in Scotia, majoritatea oamenilor prefera o ora suplimentara de lumina dimineata. Copiii din circumscriptia mea nu trebuie sa fie fortati sa mearga la scoala pe intuneric”, a declarat parlamentarul scotian Angus MacNeil.
Cu toate acestea, secretarul de stat pentru cultura, media si sport Ben Bradshaw sustine ca modificarea ar fi benefica pentru “afaceri, turism, mediu, ar creste siguranta si bunastarea oamenilor”. El a amintit si ca masura ar asigura seri de vara mai lungi pe durata Jocurilor Olimpice din 2012, ce vor avea loc in Londra.
Pana acum, opt incercari succesive de a modifica ora, incepand cu 1994, au esuat.
Isramart : North American group outlines carbon trade rules
Isramart news:
Members of the Western Climate Initiative laid out some of the ground rules on Thursday on the use and timing of carbon-offset credits allowed under its planned emission cap-and-trade system.
The seven western U.S. states and four Canadian provinces have decided to stay with a plan laid out last year that would limit use of offset credits and allowances to no more than 49 percent of emission reductions.
The offset limit will be calculated as a percentage of compliance to allow the WCI to be more easily linked with other trading systems, such as one now under way in the Eastern United States, an official of the group said.
Offsets are credits for projects or technology, such as tree planting. that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Emitters such as power plants can buy offsets to meet the requirements on cutting emissions blamed for climate change.
The use of offsets is among the many details the WCI is working on for the trading system, which is set to launch in 2012 and is designed to meet a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
The recommendations endorsed by the WCI last week in Vancouver, but not made public until Thursday, will now be adopted by each of the jurisdictions as they draft their regulations.
The WCI said placing limits on the use of offsets would be easier to administer, and it rejected suggestions the offset limit be adjusted annually to allow for a carry-over of unused offsets, saying that would make it too complex.
In addition to California -- which has the eighth largest economy in the world -- the WCI's members are: Arizona, New Mexico, British Columbia, Oregon, Ontario, Montana, Utah, Washington, Quebec, and Manitoba.
Not all of the members expect to be ready when the trading system starts in 2012.
Members of the Western Climate Initiative laid out some of the ground rules on Thursday on the use and timing of carbon-offset credits allowed under its planned emission cap-and-trade system.
The seven western U.S. states and four Canadian provinces have decided to stay with a plan laid out last year that would limit use of offset credits and allowances to no more than 49 percent of emission reductions.
The offset limit will be calculated as a percentage of compliance to allow the WCI to be more easily linked with other trading systems, such as one now under way in the Eastern United States, an official of the group said.
Offsets are credits for projects or technology, such as tree planting. that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Emitters such as power plants can buy offsets to meet the requirements on cutting emissions blamed for climate change.
The use of offsets is among the many details the WCI is working on for the trading system, which is set to launch in 2012 and is designed to meet a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
The recommendations endorsed by the WCI last week in Vancouver, but not made public until Thursday, will now be adopted by each of the jurisdictions as they draft their regulations.
The WCI said placing limits on the use of offsets would be easier to administer, and it rejected suggestions the offset limit be adjusted annually to allow for a carry-over of unused offsets, saying that would make it too complex.
In addition to California -- which has the eighth largest economy in the world -- the WCI's members are: Arizona, New Mexico, British Columbia, Oregon, Ontario, Montana, Utah, Washington, Quebec, and Manitoba.
Not all of the members expect to be ready when the trading system starts in 2012.
Isramart : Investigation reveals private jets are exempt from carbon passenger tax
Isramart news:
A new untaxed perk for carbon-busting private jet travel in the UK has been revealed by new research by the Campaign for Better Transport.
More than 67,000 flights in private jets and ‘air taxis’ last year avoided paying any tax, despite emitting up to 30 times more carbon dioxide per passenger, according to the research.
Unlike conventional passengers, who pay £11 for short haul and up to £110 for long haul flights, very small aircraft, used almost exclusively by the rich and famous are exempt.
In a recent poll for easyJet, 80% supported charging private jets the same rate of tax as conventional flights.
The Campaign has urged the Chancellor, Alastair Darling, to use the upcoming Budget to close the loophole.
Executive Director Stephen Joseph said: “It’s unfair that ordinary air passengers pay tax on their flights while highly paid business people in private jets escape scot free.
“Private jets are the most polluting way to travel, so why should they be exempt from tax when everyone else has to pay?”
According to the Campaign the government’s proposal in 2008 to replace Air Passenger Duty (APD) with a tax per plane (Aviation Duty) was accompanied by a proposal to tax fuel for small planes. However, the proposal for Aviation Duty has since been dropped.
Fuel for pleasure flights has from November 1 2008 been taxed at a rate comparable to road fuel duty (with a rebate for flights with destinations outside the UK). Fuel for business flights remains untaxed.
Passengers are exempt from APD on aircraft with an authorised take-off weight under 10 tonnes or fewer than 20 passenger seats.
Aircraft below 5.7 tonnes will be exempt from the forthcoming EU Emissions Trading System.
Each 'bizjet' passenger is on average responsible for emissions equivalent to 8 tonnes of CO2, which is approximately two thirds of the average annual emissions per person in the UK and 30 times the level for each passenger departing on a scheduled flight from London City airport.
According to flight movement data, there are currently 13,000 untaxed business jet flights a month in the skies above the UK, which equates to the equivalent of over 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 a year.
A spokesperson for the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “We suggest that no types of flight should be exempt from tax. This principle rests both on grounds of fiscal equity and climate change. It could be achieved if fuel for all aircraft not subject to APD were subject to tax.
“Given these high levels of emissions, a duty on fuel for business flights at a rate higher than road fuel duty would be appropriate; but a rate equivalent to road fuel duty might be more administratively practicable.
“There would be no international impediment to taxing fuel for business flights on domestic journeys, as is now done for pleasure flights. For overseas journeys the UK’s international obligations might entitle operators to reclaim the proportion of duty paid on fuel used in the international segments of flights.
“The distinction between business and pleasure purposes may not always be clear, so tax on fuel for flights primarily for pleasure may be evaded by being claimed for business. Taxing fuel for business flights would eliminate this possible abuse.”
A new untaxed perk for carbon-busting private jet travel in the UK has been revealed by new research by the Campaign for Better Transport.
More than 67,000 flights in private jets and ‘air taxis’ last year avoided paying any tax, despite emitting up to 30 times more carbon dioxide per passenger, according to the research.
Unlike conventional passengers, who pay £11 for short haul and up to £110 for long haul flights, very small aircraft, used almost exclusively by the rich and famous are exempt.
In a recent poll for easyJet, 80% supported charging private jets the same rate of tax as conventional flights.
The Campaign has urged the Chancellor, Alastair Darling, to use the upcoming Budget to close the loophole.
Executive Director Stephen Joseph said: “It’s unfair that ordinary air passengers pay tax on their flights while highly paid business people in private jets escape scot free.
“Private jets are the most polluting way to travel, so why should they be exempt from tax when everyone else has to pay?”
According to the Campaign the government’s proposal in 2008 to replace Air Passenger Duty (APD) with a tax per plane (Aviation Duty) was accompanied by a proposal to tax fuel for small planes. However, the proposal for Aviation Duty has since been dropped.
Fuel for pleasure flights has from November 1 2008 been taxed at a rate comparable to road fuel duty (with a rebate for flights with destinations outside the UK). Fuel for business flights remains untaxed.
Passengers are exempt from APD on aircraft with an authorised take-off weight under 10 tonnes or fewer than 20 passenger seats.
Aircraft below 5.7 tonnes will be exempt from the forthcoming EU Emissions Trading System.
Each 'bizjet' passenger is on average responsible for emissions equivalent to 8 tonnes of CO2, which is approximately two thirds of the average annual emissions per person in the UK and 30 times the level for each passenger departing on a scheduled flight from London City airport.
According to flight movement data, there are currently 13,000 untaxed business jet flights a month in the skies above the UK, which equates to the equivalent of over 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 a year.
A spokesperson for the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “We suggest that no types of flight should be exempt from tax. This principle rests both on grounds of fiscal equity and climate change. It could be achieved if fuel for all aircraft not subject to APD were subject to tax.
“Given these high levels of emissions, a duty on fuel for business flights at a rate higher than road fuel duty would be appropriate; but a rate equivalent to road fuel duty might be more administratively practicable.
“There would be no international impediment to taxing fuel for business flights on domestic journeys, as is now done for pleasure flights. For overseas journeys the UK’s international obligations might entitle operators to reclaim the proportion of duty paid on fuel used in the international segments of flights.
“The distinction between business and pleasure purposes may not always be clear, so tax on fuel for flights primarily for pleasure may be evaded by being claimed for business. Taxing fuel for business flights would eliminate this possible abuse.”
Isramart : Asia to spend $40 billion on low carbon initiative
Isramart news:
One of the first international meetings to focus on climate finance since the Copenhagen summit last December ended Friday with plans in
place to mobilize some $40 billion for country-led low carbon growth.
The week-long meetings of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), held at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Manila, also made progress on support for developing country action on forests, renewable energies and building climate-resilient development.
The CIF Clean Technology Fund (CTF) endorsed investment plans for Colombia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. There are now 13 plans in place around the world and some $4.3 billion of CTF co-financing allocated to projects ranging from solar power development to the greening of public transport systems. It is estimated that an additional $36 billion will be leveraged in the coming years from other sources, including the private sector, bringing the total to be mobilized to $40 billion.
ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda announced Thursday that the CIF has allocated more than a billion dollars for the Asia and Pacific region since their inception one year ago. "We are encouraged that our developing member countries are taking a strong lead in turning their economies onto low-carbon, climate resilient pathways and are engaging the Climate Investment Funds to act more quickly and more ambitiously in response to the global climate challenge," he said at the opening of the forum.
Committees approved grants for Zambia and Nepal to better respond to the challenge of adaptation, and selected the first pilot countries under the Forest Investment Program (FIP): Burkina Faso, Ghana, Indonesia, Laos and Peru.
The FIP, designed to provide investments that help countries better manage their forests,also approved a consultation process for designing a special grant mechanism for indigenous peoples and local communities.
World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Katherine Sierra said that the CIF was moving from a planning, programming phase to one of implementation.
"We still have a lot to do, but the Climate Investment Funds are moving into high gear," Ms. Sierra said. “The ultimate solution for climate finance will be under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, but the CIF can provide important lessons in terms of
governance, leveraging and scalability."
One of the first international meetings to focus on climate finance since the Copenhagen summit last December ended Friday with plans in
place to mobilize some $40 billion for country-led low carbon growth.
The week-long meetings of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), held at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Manila, also made progress on support for developing country action on forests, renewable energies and building climate-resilient development.
The CIF Clean Technology Fund (CTF) endorsed investment plans for Colombia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. There are now 13 plans in place around the world and some $4.3 billion of CTF co-financing allocated to projects ranging from solar power development to the greening of public transport systems. It is estimated that an additional $36 billion will be leveraged in the coming years from other sources, including the private sector, bringing the total to be mobilized to $40 billion.
ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda announced Thursday that the CIF has allocated more than a billion dollars for the Asia and Pacific region since their inception one year ago. "We are encouraged that our developing member countries are taking a strong lead in turning their economies onto low-carbon, climate resilient pathways and are engaging the Climate Investment Funds to act more quickly and more ambitiously in response to the global climate challenge," he said at the opening of the forum.
Committees approved grants for Zambia and Nepal to better respond to the challenge of adaptation, and selected the first pilot countries under the Forest Investment Program (FIP): Burkina Faso, Ghana, Indonesia, Laos and Peru.
The FIP, designed to provide investments that help countries better manage their forests,also approved a consultation process for designing a special grant mechanism for indigenous peoples and local communities.
World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Katherine Sierra said that the CIF was moving from a planning, programming phase to one of implementation.
"We still have a lot to do, but the Climate Investment Funds are moving into high gear," Ms. Sierra said. “The ultimate solution for climate finance will be under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, but the CIF can provide important lessons in terms of
governance, leveraging and scalability."
Friday, March 26, 2010
Isramart : China bate SUA la investitii in energie curata
Isramart news:
China a depasit Statele Unite in 2009 la investitiile in energiile regenerabile, arata un studiu al Pew Charitable Trusts, informeaza BBC. Analiza arata ca investitiile chineze au atins valoarea de 34,6 miliarde de dolari, dublu fata de SUA.
Locul doi a fost ocupat de Marea Britanie, urmata de Spania si Brazilia. Cea mai spectaculoasa crestere s-a inregistrat in Coreea de Sud unde capacitatea instalata de energie curata a crescut cu 250% in ultimii cinci ani.
La nivel global, investitiile s-au dublat in ultimii cinci ani, situatia economica nefavorabila avand o influenta minora.
“Chiar si in mijlocul recesiunii mondiale, piata energiilor regenerabile a inregistrat o crestere impresionanta”, a declarat Phyllis Cuttino, director al campaniei pe schimbari climatice a Pew. “Tarile stiu ca investitiile in energia curata inseamna innoirea bazelor de productie, pot crea oportunitati de export si joburi”, a adaugat aceasta.
La capitolul capacitatii instalate, SUA detin in continuare conducerea, insa vor fi depasite de China in acest an daca va continua acelasi trend.
Obiectivul Chinei de a avea 30 GW de energie regenerabila instalata pana in 2020 este pe punctual de a fi depasit doar prin intermediul energiei eoliene, noi obiective fiind in pregatire, in prezent. Cu toate acestea, si consumul de combustibili fosilie se extinde rapid in China. Regenerabile reprezinta, inca, un procent mic din rezervele de energie, tinta generala fiind de 15% din energia totala pana in 2020.
China a depasit Statele Unite in 2009 la investitiile in energiile regenerabile, arata un studiu al Pew Charitable Trusts, informeaza BBC. Analiza arata ca investitiile chineze au atins valoarea de 34,6 miliarde de dolari, dublu fata de SUA.
Locul doi a fost ocupat de Marea Britanie, urmata de Spania si Brazilia. Cea mai spectaculoasa crestere s-a inregistrat in Coreea de Sud unde capacitatea instalata de energie curata a crescut cu 250% in ultimii cinci ani.
La nivel global, investitiile s-au dublat in ultimii cinci ani, situatia economica nefavorabila avand o influenta minora.
“Chiar si in mijlocul recesiunii mondiale, piata energiilor regenerabile a inregistrat o crestere impresionanta”, a declarat Phyllis Cuttino, director al campaniei pe schimbari climatice a Pew. “Tarile stiu ca investitiile in energia curata inseamna innoirea bazelor de productie, pot crea oportunitati de export si joburi”, a adaugat aceasta.
La capitolul capacitatii instalate, SUA detin in continuare conducerea, insa vor fi depasite de China in acest an daca va continua acelasi trend.
Obiectivul Chinei de a avea 30 GW de energie regenerabila instalata pana in 2020 este pe punctual de a fi depasit doar prin intermediul energiei eoliene, noi obiective fiind in pregatire, in prezent. Cu toate acestea, si consumul de combustibili fosilie se extinde rapid in China. Regenerabile reprezinta, inca, un procent mic din rezervele de energie, tinta generala fiind de 15% din energia totala pana in 2020.
Isramart : UK Government welcomes emerging findings from the Low Carbon Construction Innovation and Growth Team
Isramart news:
The IGT aims to identify how the construction industry can best deliver the future carbon reduction commitments for 2020 and beyond. Chaired by the Chief Construction Adviser Paul Morrell, the emerging findings highlight the challenge for the industry and its customers to work together in new ways to reduce costs, stimulate innovation and develop a clear proposition for low carbon retrofit and new build.
The IGT comprises experts from the construction industry and from Government. It will publish its final report later in the year, including recommendations to Government to help inform policy development.
The interim findings identify four major opportunities for the sector if the challenges and barriers are effectively addressed:
to carry out a huge programme of work, stretched out over at least the next 40 years;
to make use of that workload to reform the structure and practice of the industry;
to export the products and skills of a modernised industry;
to excite future generations of potential recruits into an industry with a noble cause.
The Secretary of State for Business, Lord Mandelson, said “The Construction Industry is central to the UK meeting our stretching carbon targets and I welcome the findings from the construction IGT which clearly show they are up to this challenge.
"As we have seen as part of our New Industry, New Jobs programme, there are huge business opportunities for growth and green jobs in the low carbon economy which will benefit construction. To support the industry to take advantage of this we are also setting up a National Skills Academy for green building services. "
Welcoming the emerging findings, Business Minister Ian Lucas said: “The Low Carbon Transition Plan is a strategy for the construction industry. The IGT has recognised the size of the opportunity it presents. The construction industry provides huge value to the economy and the Government will not be able to hit its low carbon targets without the active engagement and participation of the whole sector.
Today’s announcement that London is to be designated a Low Carbon Economic Area for energy efficient buildings is the latest in a series of endorsements that the Government has made for new skills and growth in the construction industry.”
A key issue in retrofitting housing and other buildings is the scale of the opportunity. The Low Carbon Economic Areas in Manchester and, following today’s announcement, London are examples of how we can brigade action to improve the energy efficiency of the built environment on a broad scale.
Chief Construction Adviser, Paul Morrell, said “No one should underestimate the sheer scale of the opportunity the transition to a low carbon economy will offer the construction industry. The requirement for low carbon construction is probably the biggest change management programme that the industry has faced since Victorian times.
“The industry and Government need to rise to this challenge. Only by working together will the full benefits accrue to the UK economy and help drive the growth and new jobs we all seek. The Emerging Findings are the first part of that process. They have set out the shape of the dialogue we need to have. I am looking forward to working with the industry and Government to build these into a construction industry led delivery plan all are willing and able to commit to.”
The final report from the IGT will be presented to the Government at the end of 2010.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. The IGT was launched by the Secretary of State Lord Mandelson at the Strategic Forum for Construction on 17 September 2009. This work will continue until the end of the year when the IGT will make its final report to government. You can find the report and more information at: www.bis.gov.uk/constructionIGT
2. This is part of the challenge to bring the industry together to identify how best to deliver the 2022 carbon reduction commitments, to meet the broader challenges of the low carbon future, and to capture the many new opportunities it will bring.
3. The UK construction industry consists of over 300 000 firms employing over 3 million people in a multitude of roles. The sector is defined as one which embraces the construction materials and products; suppliers and producers; building services manufacturers, providers and installers; contractors, sub-contractors, professionals, advisors and construction clients and those organisations that are relevant to the design, build, operation and refurbishment of buildings.
4. The UK construction sector contributed 8.8% of the nations GVA (Gross Value Added) in 2008. UK designers, civil engineers, contractors, component & product manufacturers have a worldwide reputation for working overseas, providing high-tech solutions to environmental, transport & building projects. (Statistics on the sector are available from the Construction Statistics and Economics pages.)
5. Paul Morrell OBE was appointed to the role of Government Chief Construction Adviser in December 2009. Previously senior partner of construction consultants Davis Langdon, and also former deputy chair of CABE, Paul Morrell brings extensive experience across both the public and private sectors to this broad role.
6. A number of initiatives are in train, or planned to address low carbon skills challenges facing construction: The Built Environment Skills Alliance Future Skills Group is working to identify skills gaps across a range of built environment sectors, looking at their impact on occupational standards and qualifications; ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for construction is planning a 'Cut the Carbon' awareness campaign for launch in the autumn under the banner 'what's in it for me'; Government will be consulting on Low Carbon Skills covering a number of industries, including construction with the intention of launching a Low Carbon Skills Strategy in the Autumn.
The IGT aims to identify how the construction industry can best deliver the future carbon reduction commitments for 2020 and beyond. Chaired by the Chief Construction Adviser Paul Morrell, the emerging findings highlight the challenge for the industry and its customers to work together in new ways to reduce costs, stimulate innovation and develop a clear proposition for low carbon retrofit and new build.
The IGT comprises experts from the construction industry and from Government. It will publish its final report later in the year, including recommendations to Government to help inform policy development.
The interim findings identify four major opportunities for the sector if the challenges and barriers are effectively addressed:
to carry out a huge programme of work, stretched out over at least the next 40 years;
to make use of that workload to reform the structure and practice of the industry;
to export the products and skills of a modernised industry;
to excite future generations of potential recruits into an industry with a noble cause.
The Secretary of State for Business, Lord Mandelson, said “The Construction Industry is central to the UK meeting our stretching carbon targets and I welcome the findings from the construction IGT which clearly show they are up to this challenge.
"As we have seen as part of our New Industry, New Jobs programme, there are huge business opportunities for growth and green jobs in the low carbon economy which will benefit construction. To support the industry to take advantage of this we are also setting up a National Skills Academy for green building services. "
Welcoming the emerging findings, Business Minister Ian Lucas said: “The Low Carbon Transition Plan is a strategy for the construction industry. The IGT has recognised the size of the opportunity it presents. The construction industry provides huge value to the economy and the Government will not be able to hit its low carbon targets without the active engagement and participation of the whole sector.
Today’s announcement that London is to be designated a Low Carbon Economic Area for energy efficient buildings is the latest in a series of endorsements that the Government has made for new skills and growth in the construction industry.”
A key issue in retrofitting housing and other buildings is the scale of the opportunity. The Low Carbon Economic Areas in Manchester and, following today’s announcement, London are examples of how we can brigade action to improve the energy efficiency of the built environment on a broad scale.
Chief Construction Adviser, Paul Morrell, said “No one should underestimate the sheer scale of the opportunity the transition to a low carbon economy will offer the construction industry. The requirement for low carbon construction is probably the biggest change management programme that the industry has faced since Victorian times.
“The industry and Government need to rise to this challenge. Only by working together will the full benefits accrue to the UK economy and help drive the growth and new jobs we all seek. The Emerging Findings are the first part of that process. They have set out the shape of the dialogue we need to have. I am looking forward to working with the industry and Government to build these into a construction industry led delivery plan all are willing and able to commit to.”
The final report from the IGT will be presented to the Government at the end of 2010.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. The IGT was launched by the Secretary of State Lord Mandelson at the Strategic Forum for Construction on 17 September 2009. This work will continue until the end of the year when the IGT will make its final report to government. You can find the report and more information at: www.bis.gov.uk/constructionIGT
2. This is part of the challenge to bring the industry together to identify how best to deliver the 2022 carbon reduction commitments, to meet the broader challenges of the low carbon future, and to capture the many new opportunities it will bring.
3. The UK construction industry consists of over 300 000 firms employing over 3 million people in a multitude of roles. The sector is defined as one which embraces the construction materials and products; suppliers and producers; building services manufacturers, providers and installers; contractors, sub-contractors, professionals, advisors and construction clients and those organisations that are relevant to the design, build, operation and refurbishment of buildings.
4. The UK construction sector contributed 8.8% of the nations GVA (Gross Value Added) in 2008. UK designers, civil engineers, contractors, component & product manufacturers have a worldwide reputation for working overseas, providing high-tech solutions to environmental, transport & building projects. (Statistics on the sector are available from the Construction Statistics and Economics pages.)
5. Paul Morrell OBE was appointed to the role of Government Chief Construction Adviser in December 2009. Previously senior partner of construction consultants Davis Langdon, and also former deputy chair of CABE, Paul Morrell brings extensive experience across both the public and private sectors to this broad role.
6. A number of initiatives are in train, or planned to address low carbon skills challenges facing construction: The Built Environment Skills Alliance Future Skills Group is working to identify skills gaps across a range of built environment sectors, looking at their impact on occupational standards and qualifications; ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for construction is planning a 'Cut the Carbon' awareness campaign for launch in the autumn under the banner 'what's in it for me'; Government will be consulting on Low Carbon Skills covering a number of industries, including construction with the intention of launching a Low Carbon Skills Strategy in the Autumn.
Isramart : Opposition calls for investigation into Hungary's carbon credits
Isramart news:
Hungary's main opposition Fidesz on Monday called on the government to investigate a recent scandal in connection with the country's tradable carbon credits.
The investigation should determine whether Hungarian Energy Power, the company which bought credits from the Environment Ministry, was the best bidder, said Mihaly Varga, Fidesz's deputy leader.
Varga, who is also head of a parliamentary budget and finance committee, said he was outraged that Socialist Party MPs had stayed away from a parliamentary committee meeting convened to investigate the government's role in carbon credit trading. He insisted that government representatives present at the meeting had failed to answer questions put at the meeting.
Last Thursday, the European Commission said it would launch an investigation itself into the circumstances of the Hungarian Environment Ministry's recent carbon credit dealings. The scandal broke when some 7,000 of Hungary's Certified Emission Reduction (CER) units turned up in trading at European carbon markets last week.
The Environment Ministry said earlier that it had signed a contract to sell 2 million tonnes of the country's CO2 emissions quota in a transaction expected to bring in 4 billion forints (EUR 15m). The ministry said it sold the units to a company which then resold them to a London-based firm, and the end-user was a Japanese buyer. The ministry said it did not know how some of the units could have ended up on the Parisien Bluenext market.
Hungary's main opposition Fidesz on Monday called on the government to investigate a recent scandal in connection with the country's tradable carbon credits.
The investigation should determine whether Hungarian Energy Power, the company which bought credits from the Environment Ministry, was the best bidder, said Mihaly Varga, Fidesz's deputy leader.
Varga, who is also head of a parliamentary budget and finance committee, said he was outraged that Socialist Party MPs had stayed away from a parliamentary committee meeting convened to investigate the government's role in carbon credit trading. He insisted that government representatives present at the meeting had failed to answer questions put at the meeting.
Last Thursday, the European Commission said it would launch an investigation itself into the circumstances of the Hungarian Environment Ministry's recent carbon credit dealings. The scandal broke when some 7,000 of Hungary's Certified Emission Reduction (CER) units turned up in trading at European carbon markets last week.
The Environment Ministry said earlier that it had signed a contract to sell 2 million tonnes of the country's CO2 emissions quota in a transaction expected to bring in 4 billion forints (EUR 15m). The ministry said it sold the units to a company which then resold them to a London-based firm, and the end-user was a Japanese buyer. The ministry said it did not know how some of the units could have ended up on the Parisien Bluenext market.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Isramart : Japanese firms eye Hungary's carbon credits
Isramart news:
Hungary held talks on Monday with a large London-based trading firm representing Japanese companies over the sale of Kyoto emissions rights, a Hungarian environment ministry official said on Tuesday.
According to the ministry, the London trading house said the four Japanese firms it represented were interested in Hungary's sovereign emissions rights called Assigned Amount Units (AAUs).
Under Kyoto, governments that are comfortably under their emissions targets can sell the difference in the form of AAUs to other countries not able to meet their targets.
"These were small amounts, 1-2 million (tonnes of carbon dioxide)," said the ministry's cabinet chief Jozsef Molnar.
He said the ministry informed the trading firm that the government would only decide on a sale after consulting with parliamentary committees.
"Now it will ask the Japanese buyers whether they will maintain their interest if publicity is bigger than usual," Molnar added.
The Hungarian government has been criticised this month for selling 800,000 'recycled' Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs), which Hungarian firms had already submitted to cover their greenhouse gas emissions under the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme.
Hungary said it intended to sell the CERs, which fetch a higher price at the market than AAUs, to Japan and retire the equivalent number of AAUs. Such a transaction is legal, exploiting a loophole under Kyoto, but it renders the CERs invalid for compliance in the EU scheme.
Molnar said 7,000 CERs were traded over Paris-based BlueNext last week, a move that prompted the emissions exchange to suspend spot CER trading.
Molnar also said that another Japanese firm had contacted the ministry over the country's 140 million AAU surplus.
Hungary says it has some 1 million more surrendered CERs to sell, but it requires stronger guarantees that they will not end up in the European market again before it sells them.
END BUYER?
Both market and media attention is now focused on how the 7,000 recycled CERs appeared on BlueNext.
Hungarian Energy Power kft bought the CERs from the ministry for between 9-9.5 euros, selling them onto London-based Microdyne Ltd.
Microdyne was unavailable for comment this week but in a letter to HEP last week seen by Reuters it said it advised its unnamed Hong Kong-based buyer that the CERs were recycled.
Deutsche Bank was among the initial bidders for the Hungarian CERs but Molnar said a deal never went ahead.
A spokeswoman for the bank said this was because the deal was not acceptable under its due diligence rules.
"We absolutely did not purchase or facilitate the purchase of those CERs," she said.
The bank declined to comment on whether it had bought any of these CERs further down the chain.
A trader requesting anonymity said a few London-based trading firms which had unwittingly bought recycled CERs over BlueNext were weighing their legal options, awaiting further action from the EU Commission or reimbursement from BlueNext.
Hungary held talks on Monday with a large London-based trading firm representing Japanese companies over the sale of Kyoto emissions rights, a Hungarian environment ministry official said on Tuesday.
According to the ministry, the London trading house said the four Japanese firms it represented were interested in Hungary's sovereign emissions rights called Assigned Amount Units (AAUs).
Under Kyoto, governments that are comfortably under their emissions targets can sell the difference in the form of AAUs to other countries not able to meet their targets.
"These were small amounts, 1-2 million (tonnes of carbon dioxide)," said the ministry's cabinet chief Jozsef Molnar.
He said the ministry informed the trading firm that the government would only decide on a sale after consulting with parliamentary committees.
"Now it will ask the Japanese buyers whether they will maintain their interest if publicity is bigger than usual," Molnar added.
The Hungarian government has been criticised this month for selling 800,000 'recycled' Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs), which Hungarian firms had already submitted to cover their greenhouse gas emissions under the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme.
Hungary said it intended to sell the CERs, which fetch a higher price at the market than AAUs, to Japan and retire the equivalent number of AAUs. Such a transaction is legal, exploiting a loophole under Kyoto, but it renders the CERs invalid for compliance in the EU scheme.
Molnar said 7,000 CERs were traded over Paris-based BlueNext last week, a move that prompted the emissions exchange to suspend spot CER trading.
Molnar also said that another Japanese firm had contacted the ministry over the country's 140 million AAU surplus.
Hungary says it has some 1 million more surrendered CERs to sell, but it requires stronger guarantees that they will not end up in the European market again before it sells them.
END BUYER?
Both market and media attention is now focused on how the 7,000 recycled CERs appeared on BlueNext.
Hungarian Energy Power kft bought the CERs from the ministry for between 9-9.5 euros, selling them onto London-based Microdyne Ltd.
Microdyne was unavailable for comment this week but in a letter to HEP last week seen by Reuters it said it advised its unnamed Hong Kong-based buyer that the CERs were recycled.
Deutsche Bank was among the initial bidders for the Hungarian CERs but Molnar said a deal never went ahead.
A spokeswoman for the bank said this was because the deal was not acceptable under its due diligence rules.
"We absolutely did not purchase or facilitate the purchase of those CERs," she said.
The bank declined to comment on whether it had bought any of these CERs further down the chain.
A trader requesting anonymity said a few London-based trading firms which had unwittingly bought recycled CERs over BlueNext were weighing their legal options, awaiting further action from the EU Commission or reimbursement from BlueNext.
Isramart : Opposition calls for investigation into Hungary's carbon credits
Isramart news:
Hungary's main opposition Fidesz on Monday called on the government to investigate a recent scandal in connection with the country's tradable carbon credits.
The investigation should determine whether Hungarian Energy Power, the company which bought credits from the Environment Ministry, was the best bidder, said Mihaly Varga, Fidesz's deputy leader.
Varga, who is also head of a parliamentary budget and finance committee, said he was outraged that Socialist Party MPs had stayed away from a parliamentary committee meeting convened to investigate the government's role in carbon credit trading. He insisted that government representatives present at the meeting had failed to answer questions put at the meeting.
Last Thursday, the European Commission said it would launch an investigation itself into the circumstances of the Hungarian Environment Ministry's recent carbon credit dealings. The scandal broke when some 7,000 of Hungary's Certified Emission Reduction (CER) units turned up in trading at European carbon markets last week.
The Environment Ministry said earlier that it had signed a contract to sell 2 million tonnes of the country's CO2 emissions quota in a transaction expected to bring in 4 billion forints (EUR 15m). The ministry said it sold the units to a company which then resold them to a London-based firm, and the end-user was a Japanese buyer. The ministry said it did not know how some of the units could have ended up on the Parisien Bluenext market.
Hungary's main opposition Fidesz on Monday called on the government to investigate a recent scandal in connection with the country's tradable carbon credits.
The investigation should determine whether Hungarian Energy Power, the company which bought credits from the Environment Ministry, was the best bidder, said Mihaly Varga, Fidesz's deputy leader.
Varga, who is also head of a parliamentary budget and finance committee, said he was outraged that Socialist Party MPs had stayed away from a parliamentary committee meeting convened to investigate the government's role in carbon credit trading. He insisted that government representatives present at the meeting had failed to answer questions put at the meeting.
Last Thursday, the European Commission said it would launch an investigation itself into the circumstances of the Hungarian Environment Ministry's recent carbon credit dealings. The scandal broke when some 7,000 of Hungary's Certified Emission Reduction (CER) units turned up in trading at European carbon markets last week.
The Environment Ministry said earlier that it had signed a contract to sell 2 million tonnes of the country's CO2 emissions quota in a transaction expected to bring in 4 billion forints (EUR 15m). The ministry said it sold the units to a company which then resold them to a London-based firm, and the end-user was a Japanese buyer. The ministry said it did not know how some of the units could have ended up on the Parisien Bluenext market.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Isramart : North American group outlines carbon trade rules
Isramart news:
Members of the Western Climate Initiative laid out some of the ground rules on Thursday on the use and timing of carbon-offset credits allowed under its planned emission cap-and-trade system.
The seven western U.S. states and four Canadian provinces have decided to stay with a plan laid out last year that would limit use of offset credits and allowances to no more than 49 percent of emission reductions.
The offset limit will be calculated as a percentage of compliance to allow the WCI to be more easily linked with other trading systems, such as one now under way in the Eastern United States, an official of the group said.
Offsets are credits for projects or technology, such as tree planting. that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Emitters such as power plants can buy offsets to meet the requirements on cutting emissions blamed for climate change.
The use of offsets is among the many details the WCI is working on for the trading system, which is set to launch in 2012 and is designed to meet a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
The recommendations endorsed by the WCI last week in Vancouver, but not made public until Thursday, will now be adopted by each of the jurisdictions as they draft their regulations.
The WCI said placing limits on the use of offsets would be easier to administer, and it rejected suggestions the offset limit be adjusted annually to allow for a carry-over of unused offsets, saying that would make it too complex.
In addition to California -- which has the eighth largest economy in the world -- the WCI's members are: Arizona, New Mexico, British Columbia, Oregon, Ontario, Montana, Utah, Washington, Quebec, and Manitoba.
Not all of the members expect to be ready when the trading system starts in 2012.
Members of the Western Climate Initiative laid out some of the ground rules on Thursday on the use and timing of carbon-offset credits allowed under its planned emission cap-and-trade system.
The seven western U.S. states and four Canadian provinces have decided to stay with a plan laid out last year that would limit use of offset credits and allowances to no more than 49 percent of emission reductions.
The offset limit will be calculated as a percentage of compliance to allow the WCI to be more easily linked with other trading systems, such as one now under way in the Eastern United States, an official of the group said.
Offsets are credits for projects or technology, such as tree planting. that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Emitters such as power plants can buy offsets to meet the requirements on cutting emissions blamed for climate change.
The use of offsets is among the many details the WCI is working on for the trading system, which is set to launch in 2012 and is designed to meet a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
The recommendations endorsed by the WCI last week in Vancouver, but not made public until Thursday, will now be adopted by each of the jurisdictions as they draft their regulations.
The WCI said placing limits on the use of offsets would be easier to administer, and it rejected suggestions the offset limit be adjusted annually to allow for a carry-over of unused offsets, saying that would make it too complex.
In addition to California -- which has the eighth largest economy in the world -- the WCI's members are: Arizona, New Mexico, British Columbia, Oregon, Ontario, Montana, Utah, Washington, Quebec, and Manitoba.
Not all of the members expect to be ready when the trading system starts in 2012.
Isramart : Hungary's sale of 'used' CO2 credits worries carbon traders
Isramart news:
Hungary's sale of 'used' carbon credits - or 'hot air' as environmentalists call them - had harmed the reputation of cap and trade, an industry lobby said on Friday (20 March), but analysts expected little price impact.
Budapest last week carried out the first sale of certified emissions reductions (CERs) which Hungarian companies had already used to offset against their emissions in the European Union's emissions trading scheme.
Such used CERs are invalid as carbon offsets in Europe and the European Commission on Thursday (19 March) amended trading rules to stop them from re-entering the EU carbon market.
But European governments have about 100 million used carbon offsets, equivalent to the national greenhouse gas emissions of Austria, which they can in theory re-sell to non-EU buyers.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, rich countries can buy carbon offsets to help them meet emissions caps, paying for carbon cuts in developing countries.
Japan has been the biggest buyer of offsets outside Europe, and if it bought used CERs that would effectively increase the global supply and dampen prices. Tokyo said on Friday that it would not block Japanese companies from buying recycled credits.
"It's not a problem for companies to use them here to meet their voluntary emissions targets," said Eisaku Toda, head of the environment ministry's office of market mechanisms.
Japanese traders doubted high demand. "In Japan, the buyers are all volunteers with high morals," said one, pointing out that Japanese companies face voluntary emissions caps, unlike binding targets in Europe.
'Hot air' in Eastern Europe
International trade in recycled credits is legal, and exploits the fact that the greenhouse gas emissions of some former communist countries are far below their Kyoto targets, leaving them with surplus emissions rights called assigned amount units (AAUs).
Hungary last week sold some 800,000 tonnes of used CERs, saying it would put aside the equivalent number of AAUs.
That deal allowed Budapest to benefit from a higher price for CERs compared with AAUs, whose trade is also much less liquid and disparaged by some environmentalists as "hot air".
The International Emissions Trading Association lobby group said Hungary had damaged the integrity of the European and Kyoto carbon markets, however, and asked for EU member states to set up "retirement accounts" for CERs submitted by companies, so that these could not be re-sold.
Japanese companies have bought about 300 million tonnes of carbon offsets under the Kyoto Protocol for delivery between 2008 and 2012, almost all of which are thought to be CERs.
The companies will eventually submit these to Toyko to count against their voluntary targets, but in the meantime could sell them and buy cheaper, recycled credits, raising CER supply.
"From a market impact perspective, we could see more CERs come back onto the market and it could soften prices a bit and make the market less tight, but actually the impact would be quite small," said Barclays Capital's Trevor Sikorski.
He estimated that East European countries had no more than 11.5 million CERs which they could recycle in this way.
The Hungarian deal drew criticism especially after the used CERs were traded on the Paris-based BlueNext exchange, meaning EU companies could unwittingly buy invalid offsets.
That publicity could limit further trades, said Deutsche Bank's Mark Lewis. "Given the fuss this has caused I would be very surprised if we saw many more deals of this kind," he said.
Hungary's sale of 'used' carbon credits - or 'hot air' as environmentalists call them - had harmed the reputation of cap and trade, an industry lobby said on Friday (20 March), but analysts expected little price impact.
Budapest last week carried out the first sale of certified emissions reductions (CERs) which Hungarian companies had already used to offset against their emissions in the European Union's emissions trading scheme.
Such used CERs are invalid as carbon offsets in Europe and the European Commission on Thursday (19 March) amended trading rules to stop them from re-entering the EU carbon market.
But European governments have about 100 million used carbon offsets, equivalent to the national greenhouse gas emissions of Austria, which they can in theory re-sell to non-EU buyers.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, rich countries can buy carbon offsets to help them meet emissions caps, paying for carbon cuts in developing countries.
Japan has been the biggest buyer of offsets outside Europe, and if it bought used CERs that would effectively increase the global supply and dampen prices. Tokyo said on Friday that it would not block Japanese companies from buying recycled credits.
"It's not a problem for companies to use them here to meet their voluntary emissions targets," said Eisaku Toda, head of the environment ministry's office of market mechanisms.
Japanese traders doubted high demand. "In Japan, the buyers are all volunteers with high morals," said one, pointing out that Japanese companies face voluntary emissions caps, unlike binding targets in Europe.
'Hot air' in Eastern Europe
International trade in recycled credits is legal, and exploits the fact that the greenhouse gas emissions of some former communist countries are far below their Kyoto targets, leaving them with surplus emissions rights called assigned amount units (AAUs).
Hungary last week sold some 800,000 tonnes of used CERs, saying it would put aside the equivalent number of AAUs.
That deal allowed Budapest to benefit from a higher price for CERs compared with AAUs, whose trade is also much less liquid and disparaged by some environmentalists as "hot air".
The International Emissions Trading Association lobby group said Hungary had damaged the integrity of the European and Kyoto carbon markets, however, and asked for EU member states to set up "retirement accounts" for CERs submitted by companies, so that these could not be re-sold.
Japanese companies have bought about 300 million tonnes of carbon offsets under the Kyoto Protocol for delivery between 2008 and 2012, almost all of which are thought to be CERs.
The companies will eventually submit these to Toyko to count against their voluntary targets, but in the meantime could sell them and buy cheaper, recycled credits, raising CER supply.
"From a market impact perspective, we could see more CERs come back onto the market and it could soften prices a bit and make the market less tight, but actually the impact would be quite small," said Barclays Capital's Trevor Sikorski.
He estimated that East European countries had no more than 11.5 million CERs which they could recycle in this way.
The Hungarian deal drew criticism especially after the used CERs were traded on the Paris-based BlueNext exchange, meaning EU companies could unwittingly buy invalid offsets.
That publicity could limit further trades, said Deutsche Bank's Mark Lewis. "Given the fuss this has caused I would be very surprised if we saw many more deals of this kind," he said.
Isramart : Western U.S. Cap-and-Trade Program to Limit Carbon Offsets
Isramart news:
Less than half the emission cuts in a cap-and-trade program planned for the Western U.S. and parts of Canada should come from offsets or imported pollution credits, the group designing the regional carbon market said.
The Western Climate Initiative, which aims to cut emissions 15 percent below the 2005 level by 2020, said in a report yesterday that no more than 49 percent of the greenhouse gas reductions needed to meet the goal could be offsets or credits from other U.S. or European carbon markets.
Each U.S. state and Canadian province in the proposed cap- and-trade program, which is scheduled to start in 2012, “will have the discretion to set a lower limit” than 49 percent, the Western Climate Initiative said.
Offsets are pollution-cutting projects from unregulated sources, such as farms and forests, that power plants, oil refineries and factories covered by a cap-and-trade program can buy instead of cutting back their own emissions.
Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to set up a federal cap-and-trade program that would allow a much greater share of pollution cuts to come from domestic offsets as well as clean energy and forestry preservation projects in developing countries.
The Western initiative’s members are Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Last month, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, said her state wouldn’t participate in the proposed Western cap-and- trade program. Arizona will focus on the initiative’s “complementary policies” on energy efficiency and renewable electricity generation instead of cap-and-trade, Brewer said.
Less than half the emission cuts in a cap-and-trade program planned for the Western U.S. and parts of Canada should come from offsets or imported pollution credits, the group designing the regional carbon market said.
The Western Climate Initiative, which aims to cut emissions 15 percent below the 2005 level by 2020, said in a report yesterday that no more than 49 percent of the greenhouse gas reductions needed to meet the goal could be offsets or credits from other U.S. or European carbon markets.
Each U.S. state and Canadian province in the proposed cap- and-trade program, which is scheduled to start in 2012, “will have the discretion to set a lower limit” than 49 percent, the Western Climate Initiative said.
Offsets are pollution-cutting projects from unregulated sources, such as farms and forests, that power plants, oil refineries and factories covered by a cap-and-trade program can buy instead of cutting back their own emissions.
Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to set up a federal cap-and-trade program that would allow a much greater share of pollution cuts to come from domestic offsets as well as clean energy and forestry preservation projects in developing countries.
The Western initiative’s members are Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Last month, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, said her state wouldn’t participate in the proposed Western cap-and- trade program. Arizona will focus on the initiative’s “complementary policies” on energy efficiency and renewable electricity generation instead of cap-and-trade, Brewer said.
Isramart : Firm sells carbon credits from forest near Neah Bay
Isramart news;
A for-profit subsidiary of Portland, Ore.-based Ecotrust has sold its first carbon credits from forest land it owns near Neah Bay.
The deal puts 3,276 acres on the North Olympic Peninsula into the market for credits designed to offset business and government greenhouse gas emissions.
The land, which is off of the Sooes River, is about 15 miles south of Neah Bay, confirmed Grant Munro of Port Angeles, a timber broker whose business, Munro LLC, managed the property for Ecotrust until recently.
Private equity group
The Eco Products Fund, a private-equity group managed by Equator LLC and New Forests, will buy the carbon credits from the land.
Ecotrust, a nonprofit, purchased the land -- part of a large tree farm -- from bankrupt Crown Pacific's lenders with the intent of eventually selling carbon credits from the forest, which is dominated by Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, western hemlock and western red cedar.
By the time Ecotrust had purchased the land, all the old growth had been cut, Munro said.
"It had all been replanted and had very nice young timber growing on it," Munro said.
Before Ecotrust bought the land, it was managed in a traditional industrial model, Munro said.
"Ecotrust has a model of harvesting differently," using thinning and "patch cuts," which are small clearcuts of from 4 to 5 acres, Munro said.
The harvesting model is intended to both be better for the immediate environment -- the Sooes River, although small, is an important salmon habitat for the Makah, Munro said -- and maintain the amount of carbon collected in the trees.
Carbon collects in living trees that remove it from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.
Selling carbon credits
Eco Products will sell carbon credits to businesses and government agencies trying to offset the carbon emissions generated by their operations.
That market is voluntary now, driven by buyers aiming for a "green" image and by utilities and factories looking to stockpile high-quality credits in anticipation of possible federal and regional caps on carbon emissions.
The deal is part of Ecotrust Forest Management's long-term plan to purchase hundreds of thousands of formerly clear-cut acres from Alaska through Northern California using income from carbon credits and timber sales.
Ecotrust aims to improve habitat in its 13,000 acres of forest land and increase carbon storage to combat climate change.
The company also plans to keep sending logs to local mills through "patch cuts" and thinning.
Jobs on its forest lands should eventually double the work created by industrial-style clear-cuts, said Bettina von Hagen, CEO of the forest management group.
Northwest forests "are a tremendous and unique carbon store" said von Hagen, a former banker.
"We also believe very strongly that the Pacific Northwest is a great place to grow trees, and that wood is a great material for housing relative to other building materials like concrete or steel."
Von Hagen said she can't disclose the contract price Ecotrust is getting for the credits. But the deal is expected to generate hundreds of thousand of credits over 100 years, she said.
Not first such transaction
The deal is not the first carbon credits transaction on the Peninsula.
In December, in a transaction unique on the North Olympic Peninsula and in the Pacific Northwest, Jefferson Land Trust sold 400 metric tons of carbon credits to Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia for $8,000.
The land trust sold the carbon collected in the living trees in the Bulis Forest Preserve near Old Fort Townsend.
In return, Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia -- a nonprofit financial institution that works with local organizations to promote economic opportunity and a healthy environment -- will offset three years of its "carbon footprint" -- or the amount of carbon dioxide emissions created by the firm in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
The agreement, made for 100 years, was the first transaction involving carbon credits on the Peninsula and the first direct purchase by a firm in the Pacific Northwest.
All forests store carbon in the trees and in the soil, but the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest have the greatest carbon accumulations of any ecosystem on Earth, the land trust said.
Critics' questions
Critics of carbon credits question whether they're truly helping the environment or just giving polluters an easy alternative to cutting emissions.
If carbon emissions are regulated by the government, big emitters like coal plants or paper mills would likely be allowed to offset a portion of their emissions by buying credits.
The going rate for credits under Europe's "cap-and-trade" carbon regulation ranges from $20 to $30 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, von Hagen said.
A for-profit subsidiary of Portland, Ore.-based Ecotrust has sold its first carbon credits from forest land it owns near Neah Bay.
The deal puts 3,276 acres on the North Olympic Peninsula into the market for credits designed to offset business and government greenhouse gas emissions.
The land, which is off of the Sooes River, is about 15 miles south of Neah Bay, confirmed Grant Munro of Port Angeles, a timber broker whose business, Munro LLC, managed the property for Ecotrust until recently.
Private equity group
The Eco Products Fund, a private-equity group managed by Equator LLC and New Forests, will buy the carbon credits from the land.
Ecotrust, a nonprofit, purchased the land -- part of a large tree farm -- from bankrupt Crown Pacific's lenders with the intent of eventually selling carbon credits from the forest, which is dominated by Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, western hemlock and western red cedar.
By the time Ecotrust had purchased the land, all the old growth had been cut, Munro said.
"It had all been replanted and had very nice young timber growing on it," Munro said.
Before Ecotrust bought the land, it was managed in a traditional industrial model, Munro said.
"Ecotrust has a model of harvesting differently," using thinning and "patch cuts," which are small clearcuts of from 4 to 5 acres, Munro said.
The harvesting model is intended to both be better for the immediate environment -- the Sooes River, although small, is an important salmon habitat for the Makah, Munro said -- and maintain the amount of carbon collected in the trees.
Carbon collects in living trees that remove it from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.
Selling carbon credits
Eco Products will sell carbon credits to businesses and government agencies trying to offset the carbon emissions generated by their operations.
That market is voluntary now, driven by buyers aiming for a "green" image and by utilities and factories looking to stockpile high-quality credits in anticipation of possible federal and regional caps on carbon emissions.
The deal is part of Ecotrust Forest Management's long-term plan to purchase hundreds of thousands of formerly clear-cut acres from Alaska through Northern California using income from carbon credits and timber sales.
Ecotrust aims to improve habitat in its 13,000 acres of forest land and increase carbon storage to combat climate change.
The company also plans to keep sending logs to local mills through "patch cuts" and thinning.
Jobs on its forest lands should eventually double the work created by industrial-style clear-cuts, said Bettina von Hagen, CEO of the forest management group.
Northwest forests "are a tremendous and unique carbon store" said von Hagen, a former banker.
"We also believe very strongly that the Pacific Northwest is a great place to grow trees, and that wood is a great material for housing relative to other building materials like concrete or steel."
Von Hagen said she can't disclose the contract price Ecotrust is getting for the credits. But the deal is expected to generate hundreds of thousand of credits over 100 years, she said.
Not first such transaction
The deal is not the first carbon credits transaction on the Peninsula.
In December, in a transaction unique on the North Olympic Peninsula and in the Pacific Northwest, Jefferson Land Trust sold 400 metric tons of carbon credits to Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia for $8,000.
The land trust sold the carbon collected in the living trees in the Bulis Forest Preserve near Old Fort Townsend.
In return, Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia -- a nonprofit financial institution that works with local organizations to promote economic opportunity and a healthy environment -- will offset three years of its "carbon footprint" -- or the amount of carbon dioxide emissions created by the firm in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
The agreement, made for 100 years, was the first transaction involving carbon credits on the Peninsula and the first direct purchase by a firm in the Pacific Northwest.
All forests store carbon in the trees and in the soil, but the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest have the greatest carbon accumulations of any ecosystem on Earth, the land trust said.
Critics' questions
Critics of carbon credits question whether they're truly helping the environment or just giving polluters an easy alternative to cutting emissions.
If carbon emissions are regulated by the government, big emitters like coal plants or paper mills would likely be allowed to offset a portion of their emissions by buying credits.
The going rate for credits under Europe's "cap-and-trade" carbon regulation ranges from $20 to $30 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, von Hagen said.
Isramart : World Energy Supports Seventh Successful RGGI Carbon Dioxide Allowances Auction
Isramart news:
World Energy Solutions, Inc. an operator of online exchanges for energy and green commodities, today announced it has successfully supported the first quarterly auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances in 2010, and seventh overall, administered by Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI, Inc.) on March 10, 2010.
According to RGGI, Inc., all 40,612,408 CO(2) allowances for the first three-year control period (2009-2011) offered in Wednesday's auction sold at $2.07 per allowance, while 2,091,000 allowances for the second control period (2012-2014) sold at $1.86 per allowance. Proceeds from all auctions held to date now total more than $582.3 million, with RGGI states investing the proceeds to improve energy efficiency and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies, creating thousands of jobs.
In a previously released statement, David Littell, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Chair of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. Board of Directors, said: "RGGI has provided a roadmap to a clean energy future. With each successful auction, the RGGI states continue to show that cap-and-trade works and can jumpstart a green economy with fewer emissions, lower electric bills and more jobs."
Added Richard Domaleski, CEO of World Energy: "Since winning the contract to provide the RGGI auction platform back in early 2008, we have relished the opportunity to contribute to the success of America's landmark carbon cap-and-trade program. Seven successful auctions later, I am delighted to say it remains a singular honor to work with RGGI, Inc. on behalf of the RGGI states while showcasing for the world how well auction-based cap-and-trade works."
World Energy Solutions, Inc. an operator of online exchanges for energy and green commodities, today announced it has successfully supported the first quarterly auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances in 2010, and seventh overall, administered by Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI, Inc.) on March 10, 2010.
According to RGGI, Inc., all 40,612,408 CO(2) allowances for the first three-year control period (2009-2011) offered in Wednesday's auction sold at $2.07 per allowance, while 2,091,000 allowances for the second control period (2012-2014) sold at $1.86 per allowance. Proceeds from all auctions held to date now total more than $582.3 million, with RGGI states investing the proceeds to improve energy efficiency and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies, creating thousands of jobs.
In a previously released statement, David Littell, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Chair of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. Board of Directors, said: "RGGI has provided a roadmap to a clean energy future. With each successful auction, the RGGI states continue to show that cap-and-trade works and can jumpstart a green economy with fewer emissions, lower electric bills and more jobs."
Added Richard Domaleski, CEO of World Energy: "Since winning the contract to provide the RGGI auction platform back in early 2008, we have relished the opportunity to contribute to the success of America's landmark carbon cap-and-trade program. Seven successful auctions later, I am delighted to say it remains a singular honor to work with RGGI, Inc. on behalf of the RGGI states while showcasing for the world how well auction-based cap-and-trade works."
Isramart : Topirea gheţarilor din Alaska, supraestimată?
Isramart news:
Topirea anterioară a contribuit la creşterea nivelului mării cu o treime mai puţin decât a fost estimat.
Topirea gheţarilor este mult cercetată, dar privind rata de topire, o echipă internaţională de cercetători trage un semnal de alarmă.
Studii anterioare au supraestimat foarte mult pierderea masei de gheaţă în cazul gheţarilor din Alaska în ultimii 40 de ani sau chiar mai mult, conform lui Erik Schiefer, geograf în cadrul Northern Arizona University, care a fost coautor la un articol apărut în ediţia din februarie a Nature Geoscience care recalculează rata de topire a gheţarilor din Alaska.
Echipa de cecetători, condusă de Étienne Berthier de la Laboratory for Space Studies in Geophysics and Oceanography la Université de Toulouse din Franţa, spune că topirea gheţarilor din Alaska între 1962 şi 2006 a contribuit cu aproximativ o treime mai puţin la creşterea nivelui mării decât se estimase anterior.
Schiefer a spus că topirea gheţarilor din Alaska era considerată responsabilă pentru aproximativ 0.0047 inchi pe an. Deşi numele par mici, Schiefer spune că “se adaugă de-a lungul deceniilor”.
În vreme ce echipa a luat în considerare 3 sferturi din cantitatea totală de gheaţă din Alaska, Schiefer notează: “Am luat în discuţie de asemenea şi o mică proporţie de gheaţă de pe planetă. Atunci când se adaugă straturi masive de gheaţă (ca în cazul Antarcticii sau Groenlandei), suntem martorii unor creşteri semnificativ mai mari a nivelului mării”.
Schiefer spune că echipa doreşte să aplice în viitoar aceleaşi metodologii în alte regiuni glaciare pentru a stabili dacă măsurătorile efectuate anterior sunt corecte. Aceste măsurători sunt bazate pe date preluate de satelit, care scanează vaste regiuni acoperite de gheaţă.
Măsurătorile efectuate anterior estimau topirea pentru o cantitate mai redusă de gheaţă. Cea mai bună tehnică folosită până acum a folosit avioane care zburau la mare apropiere de anumiţi gheţari aleşi pentru a se măsura nivelul de creştere. Acestea erau apoi comparate cu cele realizate în anii 1950 şi 1960. Pornind de la aceste date, cercetătorii au obţinut rezultate pe care apoi le-au extins şi în cazul altor gheţari.
Doi factori au determinat erorile de măsurare, supraestimarea pierderii cantităţii de gheaţă prin folosire acestei metode, conform lui Schiefer. Primul factor este impactul depozitelor importante de resturi de rocă, care oferă protecţie contra radiaţiei solare şi, implicit, a topirii. Celălalt este trecerea cu vederea a cantităţilor mai reduse de la marginile gheţarilor, care au avut drept rezultat mai mici pierderi de masă glaciară.
Schiefer şi colegii lui au folosit date puse la dispoziţie de sateliţii SPOT 5 French şi NASA/Japanese ASTER, convertind imaginile realizate de aceşti sateliţi în informaţii privind nivelul de creştere. Apoi, datele obţinute au fost comparate cu hărţi topografice care datează din 1950.
În timp ce echipa a concluzionat că topirea gheţarilor în perioada ultimilor 40 de ani a fost mai scăzută, Schiefer a spus că alte studii au demonstrat faptul că rata de topire a gheţarilor s-a dublat, sau chiar mai mult decât dublat, numai în ultimele 2 decenii. “Date fiind predicţiile actuale privind schimbările climatice, ne aşteptăm ca această accelerare să continue”, a spus Schiefer.
Această creştere, în ceea ce priveşte pierderea masei glaciare din 1990 încoace, determină creşterea nivelui mării cu 0.0098 până la 0.0118 inchi pe an- mai mult decat dublu ratei înregistrate în ultimii 40 de ani.
Alături de Schiefer şi Berthier, la acest studiu au colaborat Garry Clarke de la University of British Columbia, Brian Menounos de la University of Northern British Columbia şi Frédérique Rémy de la Université de Toulouse.
Topirea anterioară a contribuit la creşterea nivelului mării cu o treime mai puţin decât a fost estimat.
Topirea gheţarilor este mult cercetată, dar privind rata de topire, o echipă internaţională de cercetători trage un semnal de alarmă.
Studii anterioare au supraestimat foarte mult pierderea masei de gheaţă în cazul gheţarilor din Alaska în ultimii 40 de ani sau chiar mai mult, conform lui Erik Schiefer, geograf în cadrul Northern Arizona University, care a fost coautor la un articol apărut în ediţia din februarie a Nature Geoscience care recalculează rata de topire a gheţarilor din Alaska.
Echipa de cecetători, condusă de Étienne Berthier de la Laboratory for Space Studies in Geophysics and Oceanography la Université de Toulouse din Franţa, spune că topirea gheţarilor din Alaska între 1962 şi 2006 a contribuit cu aproximativ o treime mai puţin la creşterea nivelui mării decât se estimase anterior.
Schiefer a spus că topirea gheţarilor din Alaska era considerată responsabilă pentru aproximativ 0.0047 inchi pe an. Deşi numele par mici, Schiefer spune că “se adaugă de-a lungul deceniilor”.
În vreme ce echipa a luat în considerare 3 sferturi din cantitatea totală de gheaţă din Alaska, Schiefer notează: “Am luat în discuţie de asemenea şi o mică proporţie de gheaţă de pe planetă. Atunci când se adaugă straturi masive de gheaţă (ca în cazul Antarcticii sau Groenlandei), suntem martorii unor creşteri semnificativ mai mari a nivelului mării”.
Schiefer spune că echipa doreşte să aplice în viitoar aceleaşi metodologii în alte regiuni glaciare pentru a stabili dacă măsurătorile efectuate anterior sunt corecte. Aceste măsurători sunt bazate pe date preluate de satelit, care scanează vaste regiuni acoperite de gheaţă.
Măsurătorile efectuate anterior estimau topirea pentru o cantitate mai redusă de gheaţă. Cea mai bună tehnică folosită până acum a folosit avioane care zburau la mare apropiere de anumiţi gheţari aleşi pentru a se măsura nivelul de creştere. Acestea erau apoi comparate cu cele realizate în anii 1950 şi 1960. Pornind de la aceste date, cercetătorii au obţinut rezultate pe care apoi le-au extins şi în cazul altor gheţari.
Doi factori au determinat erorile de măsurare, supraestimarea pierderii cantităţii de gheaţă prin folosire acestei metode, conform lui Schiefer. Primul factor este impactul depozitelor importante de resturi de rocă, care oferă protecţie contra radiaţiei solare şi, implicit, a topirii. Celălalt este trecerea cu vederea a cantităţilor mai reduse de la marginile gheţarilor, care au avut drept rezultat mai mici pierderi de masă glaciară.
Schiefer şi colegii lui au folosit date puse la dispoziţie de sateliţii SPOT 5 French şi NASA/Japanese ASTER, convertind imaginile realizate de aceşti sateliţi în informaţii privind nivelul de creştere. Apoi, datele obţinute au fost comparate cu hărţi topografice care datează din 1950.
În timp ce echipa a concluzionat că topirea gheţarilor în perioada ultimilor 40 de ani a fost mai scăzută, Schiefer a spus că alte studii au demonstrat faptul că rata de topire a gheţarilor s-a dublat, sau chiar mai mult decât dublat, numai în ultimele 2 decenii. “Date fiind predicţiile actuale privind schimbările climatice, ne aşteptăm ca această accelerare să continue”, a spus Schiefer.
Această creştere, în ceea ce priveşte pierderea masei glaciare din 1990 încoace, determină creşterea nivelui mării cu 0.0098 până la 0.0118 inchi pe an- mai mult decat dublu ratei înregistrate în ultimii 40 de ani.
Alături de Schiefer şi Berthier, la acest studiu au colaborat Garry Clarke de la University of British Columbia, Brian Menounos de la University of Northern British Columbia şi Frédérique Rémy de la Université de Toulouse.
Isramart : Poluarea in Hong Kong a atins luni un nivel record
Isramart news:
Gradul de poluare in Hong Kong a atins niveluri record luni, a anuntat Departamentul pentru Protectia Mediului, avertizand ca aerul toxic ce invaluie orasul este un pericol pentru populatie. Agentia guvernamentala pentru mediu a spus ca indexul de poluare a aerului s-a dublat.poluare in hong kong
Oamenii au fost avertizati sa nu plece din case si sa ocoleasca zonele cu trafic intens, scrie Reuters.
Nivelul poluarii a atins 413. Cel mai mare grad al poluarii de pana acum fusese inregistrat in iulie 2008, cand aceasta a masurat 202.
“Nivelul poluarii inregistrat acum este unul record”, arata un comunicat de presa al agentiei.
Cerul Hong Kong-ului este adesea invaluit intr-o patura de ceata din cauza poluarii considerata un dezastru de sanatate publica.
Calitatea aerului din Hong Kong s-a deteriorat incepand cu anii 1990, mai ales din cauza poluarii industriale din regiunea de sud invecinata.
Gradul de poluare in Hong Kong a atins niveluri record luni, a anuntat Departamentul pentru Protectia Mediului, avertizand ca aerul toxic ce invaluie orasul este un pericol pentru populatie. Agentia guvernamentala pentru mediu a spus ca indexul de poluare a aerului s-a dublat.poluare in hong kong
Oamenii au fost avertizati sa nu plece din case si sa ocoleasca zonele cu trafic intens, scrie Reuters.
Nivelul poluarii a atins 413. Cel mai mare grad al poluarii de pana acum fusese inregistrat in iulie 2008, cand aceasta a masurat 202.
“Nivelul poluarii inregistrat acum este unul record”, arata un comunicat de presa al agentiei.
Cerul Hong Kong-ului este adesea invaluit intr-o patura de ceata din cauza poluarii considerata un dezastru de sanatate publica.
Calitatea aerului din Hong Kong s-a deteriorat incepand cu anii 1990, mai ales din cauza poluarii industriale din regiunea de sud invecinata.
Isramart : Lecţii nemţeşti despre energia verde
Isramart news:
Trei specialişti în domeniul energiei eoliene au participat la Alba Iulia la prezentării strategiei Regiunii de Dezvoltare Centru în domeniul energiei regenerabile. Conform acestora, judeţul Alba are potenţial crescut în ceea ce priveşte obţinerea de energie regenerabilă din deşeuri lemnoase.stalp viteza vantului
„Strategia Regiunii Centru pentru utilizarea resurselor regenerabile de energie“, primul document de acest gen elaborat la nivelul unei Regiuni de Dezvoltare din România, a fost prezentat azi. La prezentare au participat şi trei specialişti în energie eoliană din landul german Brandenburg, parteneri în implementarea proiectului.
Energie din lemne
Strategia de utilizare a resurselor energetice „verzi“ a fost realizată pe baza unei analize a situaţiei energetice din cele şase judeţe ale Regiunii Centru – Alba, Sibiu, Braşov, Mureş, Harghita, Covasna – fiind luate în calcul potenţialul resurselor energetice, consumul şi producţia de energie precum şi alţi factori.
Anul trecut a fost instalat, în apropiere de Alba Iulia, un stâlp pe care au fost montaţi senzori pentru determinarea potenţialului eolian şi solar din zonă. Astfel de stâlpi au fost amplasaţi şi în alte zone din Regiunea Centru. Pe baza datelor obţinute până la acest moment s-a ajuns la concluzia că judeţul Alba are potenţial crescut pe obţinerea de energie regenerabilă din biomasă (deşeuri lemnoase), iar judeţul Braşov are potenţial eolian crescut.
Proiect pentru zonele izolate
„S-au stabilit obiectivele generale şi specifice şi s-a urmărit identificarea şi diversificarea surselor de finanţare pentru activitatea de producere şi utilizare a energiilor regenerabile“, a explicat Mihai Pocanschi, directorul departamentului de Politici Regionale din cadrul Agenţiei de Dezvoltare Regională (ADR) Centru. Reprezentanţii ADR Centru au punctat câteva dintre obiectivele importante printre care şi stimularea alimentării cu energie regenerabilă a comunelor izolate.
„Atât în judeţul Alba, cât şi în alte judeţe din regiune există comunităţi izolate. Noi am analizat potenţialul energetic regenerabil pe suprafeţe mai mari, dar nu şi pe suprafeţe mai restrânse, pentru că ne-au lipsit fondurile. Este posibil să existe surse de energie verde pe spaţii restrânse, care ar putea fi folosite de localităţile mici“, a explicat Pocanschi.
Trei specialişti în domeniul energiei eoliene au participat la Alba Iulia la prezentării strategiei Regiunii de Dezvoltare Centru în domeniul energiei regenerabile. Conform acestora, judeţul Alba are potenţial crescut în ceea ce priveşte obţinerea de energie regenerabilă din deşeuri lemnoase.stalp viteza vantului
„Strategia Regiunii Centru pentru utilizarea resurselor regenerabile de energie“, primul document de acest gen elaborat la nivelul unei Regiuni de Dezvoltare din România, a fost prezentat azi. La prezentare au participat şi trei specialişti în energie eoliană din landul german Brandenburg, parteneri în implementarea proiectului.
Energie din lemne
Strategia de utilizare a resurselor energetice „verzi“ a fost realizată pe baza unei analize a situaţiei energetice din cele şase judeţe ale Regiunii Centru – Alba, Sibiu, Braşov, Mureş, Harghita, Covasna – fiind luate în calcul potenţialul resurselor energetice, consumul şi producţia de energie precum şi alţi factori.
Anul trecut a fost instalat, în apropiere de Alba Iulia, un stâlp pe care au fost montaţi senzori pentru determinarea potenţialului eolian şi solar din zonă. Astfel de stâlpi au fost amplasaţi şi în alte zone din Regiunea Centru. Pe baza datelor obţinute până la acest moment s-a ajuns la concluzia că judeţul Alba are potenţial crescut pe obţinerea de energie regenerabilă din biomasă (deşeuri lemnoase), iar judeţul Braşov are potenţial eolian crescut.
Proiect pentru zonele izolate
„S-au stabilit obiectivele generale şi specifice şi s-a urmărit identificarea şi diversificarea surselor de finanţare pentru activitatea de producere şi utilizare a energiilor regenerabile“, a explicat Mihai Pocanschi, directorul departamentului de Politici Regionale din cadrul Agenţiei de Dezvoltare Regională (ADR) Centru. Reprezentanţii ADR Centru au punctat câteva dintre obiectivele importante printre care şi stimularea alimentării cu energie regenerabilă a comunelor izolate.
„Atât în judeţul Alba, cât şi în alte judeţe din regiune există comunităţi izolate. Noi am analizat potenţialul energetic regenerabil pe suprafeţe mai mari, dar nu şi pe suprafeţe mai restrânse, pentru că ne-au lipsit fondurile. Este posibil să existe surse de energie verde pe spaţii restrânse, care ar putea fi folosite de localităţile mici“, a explicat Pocanschi.
Isramart : Energiile verzi sunt ignorate de statul român
Isramart news:
Tări precum SUA, Germania sau China investesc masiv în producerea de energie alternativă. România abia se mişcă deşi are potenţialenergie verde
20% din bugetul pentru sectorul energetic naţional trebuie să meargă spre energii regenerabile. În felul acesta, 10.000 de case verzi ar putea produce o treime din capacitatea unui reactor nuclear. Aceasta este concluzia reprezentanţilor Asociaţiei Patronale Surse Noi de Energie (SunE), prezenţi astăzi la Romexpo, la expoziţia pentru tehnologii şi echipamente de protecţie a mediului.
Ţintele asumate de România faţă de UE în ceea ce priveşte producţia de energie regenerabilă ar trebui să reprezinte 24 de procente din totalul consumului naţional până în 2020.
„O casă locuită de o familie medie îşi poate acoperi consumul de energie la nivel anual, cu un cost de aproximativ 11.000 de euro“, a spus Manuela Draghicescu, director executiv la SunE.
Turbine eoliene pe mare
Reprezentanţii SunE au subliniat faptul că România are un potenţial foarte mare la capitolul energie. Domeniul este însă neglijat la noi în ţară. Sunt state însă care că aceste resurse inepuizabile de energie trebuie exploatate. De exemplu, China, prin compania Firs Soral, are un acord de principiu pentru a construi o centrală soalară în deşertul Mongoliei, care ar reprezenta recordul mondial al momentului.
În ceea ce priveşte producerea de energie eoliană, SUA şi Germania se află pe primele locuri. Vine din urmă China care şi-a dublat efectiv capacitatea anul trecut. Anglia se axează pe producerea energiei de la vânt prin instalarea de turbine pe mare.
Tări precum SUA, Germania sau China investesc masiv în producerea de energie alternativă. România abia se mişcă deşi are potenţialenergie verde
20% din bugetul pentru sectorul energetic naţional trebuie să meargă spre energii regenerabile. În felul acesta, 10.000 de case verzi ar putea produce o treime din capacitatea unui reactor nuclear. Aceasta este concluzia reprezentanţilor Asociaţiei Patronale Surse Noi de Energie (SunE), prezenţi astăzi la Romexpo, la expoziţia pentru tehnologii şi echipamente de protecţie a mediului.
Ţintele asumate de România faţă de UE în ceea ce priveşte producţia de energie regenerabilă ar trebui să reprezinte 24 de procente din totalul consumului naţional până în 2020.
„O casă locuită de o familie medie îşi poate acoperi consumul de energie la nivel anual, cu un cost de aproximativ 11.000 de euro“, a spus Manuela Draghicescu, director executiv la SunE.
Turbine eoliene pe mare
Reprezentanţii SunE au subliniat faptul că România are un potenţial foarte mare la capitolul energie. Domeniul este însă neglijat la noi în ţară. Sunt state însă care că aceste resurse inepuizabile de energie trebuie exploatate. De exemplu, China, prin compania Firs Soral, are un acord de principiu pentru a construi o centrală soalară în deşertul Mongoliei, care ar reprezenta recordul mondial al momentului.
În ceea ce priveşte producerea de energie eoliană, SUA şi Germania se află pe primele locuri. Vine din urmă China care şi-a dublat efectiv capacitatea anul trecut. Anglia se axează pe producerea energiei de la vânt prin instalarea de turbine pe mare.
Isramart : Promisiuni pentru adoptarea legii regenerabilelor prin OUG
Isramart news:
Ministrul Economiei, Adriean Videanu, a declarat, marti, ca va discuta cu premierul Emil Boc despre adoptarea, prin Ordonanta de Urgenta, a Legii 220 pentru stabilirea sistemului de promovare a producerii energiei din surse regenerabile.
"Promit ca voi avea o discutie cu premierul Boc sa trecem Legea 220 prin OUG, pentru ca prin Parlament dureaza trei-patru luni", a spus Videanu.
Presedintele Autoritatii Nationale de Reglementare in domeniul Energiei, Petru Lificiu, a declarat ca legea respectiva va fi adoptata in acest an, pana la vacanta parlamentara.
"Am avut probleme cu Legea 220, avem o corespondenta intensiva cu Consiliul Concurentei si cu Comisia Europeana. Chiar miercuri pleaca o delegatie a ANRE la CE. Personal sunt nerabdator sa avem raspunsul de la CE, mi se pare uneori prea mult, nu prea mai suportam sa vedem investitorii cum asteapta. Eu nu stiu, ca presedinte al ANRE, ce sa mai raspund oamenilor care intreaba de ce avem o lege care nu se aplica", a adaugat Lificiu.
Legea 220 ar fi trebuit sa fie functionala din 2009, dar nu are inca normele de aplicare.
Legea regenerabilelor asteapta acordul UE
Alexandru Sandulescu, director general al Directiei Generale Energie, Petrol si Gaze din cadrul Ministerului Economiei, i-a incurajat pe producatori sa aplice pentru fondurile europene diponibile si a prezentat situatia actuala din domeniul energiilor regenerabile in cadrul unei conferinte gazduita de Romenvirotec, targul tehnologiilor de mediu care a avut loc saptamana trecuta la Romexpo.
”Au tot existat comentarii ca nu s-au facut norme de aplicare, dar acestea exista. Legea 220 nu se aplica inca din cauza inexistentei unui accept al Comisiei Europene pe schema de sustinere. A fost facuta o solicitare in noiembrie, anul trecut, prin Consiliul Concurentei si aceasta este in curs de rezolvare. Speram ca pana la sfarsitul lunii sa primim un raspuns privind certificatele verzi si penalizarile furnizorilor care nu-si cumpara certificatele verzi stabilite prin schema”, a declarat Sandulescu.
El a mentionat ca o serie de prevederi legislative acorda facilitati de natura fiscala producatorilor, dar pe perioada crizei sunt excluse orice facilitati ce reduc veniturile la buget.
Ministrul Economiei, Adriean Videanu, a declarat, marti, ca va discuta cu premierul Emil Boc despre adoptarea, prin Ordonanta de Urgenta, a Legii 220 pentru stabilirea sistemului de promovare a producerii energiei din surse regenerabile.
"Promit ca voi avea o discutie cu premierul Boc sa trecem Legea 220 prin OUG, pentru ca prin Parlament dureaza trei-patru luni", a spus Videanu.
Presedintele Autoritatii Nationale de Reglementare in domeniul Energiei, Petru Lificiu, a declarat ca legea respectiva va fi adoptata in acest an, pana la vacanta parlamentara.
"Am avut probleme cu Legea 220, avem o corespondenta intensiva cu Consiliul Concurentei si cu Comisia Europeana. Chiar miercuri pleaca o delegatie a ANRE la CE. Personal sunt nerabdator sa avem raspunsul de la CE, mi se pare uneori prea mult, nu prea mai suportam sa vedem investitorii cum asteapta. Eu nu stiu, ca presedinte al ANRE, ce sa mai raspund oamenilor care intreaba de ce avem o lege care nu se aplica", a adaugat Lificiu.
Legea 220 ar fi trebuit sa fie functionala din 2009, dar nu are inca normele de aplicare.
Legea regenerabilelor asteapta acordul UE
Alexandru Sandulescu, director general al Directiei Generale Energie, Petrol si Gaze din cadrul Ministerului Economiei, i-a incurajat pe producatori sa aplice pentru fondurile europene diponibile si a prezentat situatia actuala din domeniul energiilor regenerabile in cadrul unei conferinte gazduita de Romenvirotec, targul tehnologiilor de mediu care a avut loc saptamana trecuta la Romexpo.
”Au tot existat comentarii ca nu s-au facut norme de aplicare, dar acestea exista. Legea 220 nu se aplica inca din cauza inexistentei unui accept al Comisiei Europene pe schema de sustinere. A fost facuta o solicitare in noiembrie, anul trecut, prin Consiliul Concurentei si aceasta este in curs de rezolvare. Speram ca pana la sfarsitul lunii sa primim un raspuns privind certificatele verzi si penalizarile furnizorilor care nu-si cumpara certificatele verzi stabilite prin schema”, a declarat Sandulescu.
El a mentionat ca o serie de prevederi legislative acorda facilitati de natura fiscala producatorilor, dar pe perioada crizei sunt excluse orice facilitati ce reduc veniturile la buget.
Isramart : Navele maritime pot reduce emisiile navigand mai incet
Isramart news:
Vasele comerciale isi pot diminua emisiile de carbon cu pana la 30% in urmatorii trei ani doar reducand viteza de navigare, potrivit unui grup de ecologisti din Bruxelles, citat de Reuters.
Transportul marin este responsabil pentru aproape 3% din emisiile globale de CO2, iar presiunile pentru reducerea poluarii cauzate de acest sector au devenit tot mai intense.
Un studiu elaborat de grupul ecologist Seas at Risk arata ca reducandu-si viteza de navigare, vasele marine isi pot diminua atat consumul de combustibil cat si emisiile de CO2.
La realizarea studiului au fost evaluate nave-cisterne si cargouri pentru marfuri in vrac. Potrivit studiului, reducerile de emisii sunt cel mai pronuntate in cazul cargourilor pentru marfuri, mai exact 40%.
Studiul a fost prezentat agentiei ONU pentru transport maritim, Organizatia Maritima Internationala, care va examina masurile de reducere a emisiilor de CO2.
Vasele comerciale isi pot diminua emisiile de carbon cu pana la 30% in urmatorii trei ani doar reducand viteza de navigare, potrivit unui grup de ecologisti din Bruxelles, citat de Reuters.
Transportul marin este responsabil pentru aproape 3% din emisiile globale de CO2, iar presiunile pentru reducerea poluarii cauzate de acest sector au devenit tot mai intense.
Un studiu elaborat de grupul ecologist Seas at Risk arata ca reducandu-si viteza de navigare, vasele marine isi pot diminua atat consumul de combustibil cat si emisiile de CO2.
La realizarea studiului au fost evaluate nave-cisterne si cargouri pentru marfuri in vrac. Potrivit studiului, reducerile de emisii sunt cel mai pronuntate in cazul cargourilor pentru marfuri, mai exact 40%.
Studiul a fost prezentat agentiei ONU pentru transport maritim, Organizatia Maritima Internationala, care va examina masurile de reducere a emisiilor de CO2.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Isramart : România a poluat în 2009 cu 38% mai puţin decât avea dreptul; rămân certificate de 380 mil. euro
Isramart news:
România a poluat anul trecut cu 38% mai puţin decât avea dreptul în baza Protocolului de la Kyoto, astfel că deţinătorii de certificate, entităţi de stat sau private, ar putea tranzacţiona titlurile a căror valoare însumează aproximativ 380 milioane euro la cotaţiile actuale de pe bursele externe.
Poluatorii au rămas cu 29 de milioane de certificate verzi, al căror preţ unitar pe bursele externe specializate este de circa13 euro.
Secretarul de stat în Ministerul Mediului şi Pădurilor Mircea Cotoşman a declarat că România a transmis, în martie, ultimul inventar naţional al emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră, având ca an de referinţă 2009. Documentul indică un nivel al emisiilor cu circa 38% mai scăzut decât valoarea-ţintă medie prevăzută de Protocolul de la Kyoto pentru perioada 2008-2012.
"Scăderea a fost determinată, în principal, de reducerea producţiei industriale şi restructurarea economică", a spus secretarul de stat.
Protocolul de la Kyoto obligă statele ca în fiecare an, din 2008 şi până în 2012, să reducă emisiile poluante cu 8% faţă de nivelul din 1989. Prin Protocolul de la Kyoto, România are alocată pentru fiecare dintre aceşti ani o cotă anuală de poluare de 75,9 milioane de tone de dioxid de carbon.
Întrucât în 2009 instalaţiile industriale româneşti au eliberat în atmosferă doar puţin peste 47 de milioane tone, surplusul de drept de a polua ar putea fi vândut.
Un certificat de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră conferă dreptul de a emite o tonă de dioxid de carbon într-un an, astfel că deţinătorii de certificate ar putea valorifica un număr de aproximativ 29 de milioane de astfel de titluri.
Preţul mediu al unui astfel de certificat pe cele mai importante trei burse europene unde ele se tranzacţionează este de aproape 13 euro, astfel că posesorii ar obţine pentru toate acestea un preţ în jurul a 380 de milioane de euro.
După numărul de certificate alocate pentru perioada 2008 -2012 cei mai mari poluatori din România sunt ArcelorMittal Steel Galaţi - aproximativ 71 de milioane de certificate, Complexul Energetic Turceni - 34 de milioane, Complexul Energetic Rovinari - 28 de milioane, Electrocentrale Deva - 20 de milioane, Complexul Energetic Craiova - Işalniţa - 17 milioane, RAAN Sucursala Romag Termo - 14 milioane, Lafarge Medgidia - 12,3 milioane, Arpechim Piteşti - 9,6 milioane, potrivit datelor bursei din Sibiu, unde certificatele se tranzacţionează la preţuri apropiate de cotaţiile externe.
La nivel european, cele mai mari burse pentru tranzacţionarea acestor certificate sunt Bluenext, European Climate Exchange şi Intercontinental Exchange.
România a poluat anul trecut cu 38% mai puţin decât avea dreptul în baza Protocolului de la Kyoto, astfel că deţinătorii de certificate, entităţi de stat sau private, ar putea tranzacţiona titlurile a căror valoare însumează aproximativ 380 milioane euro la cotaţiile actuale de pe bursele externe.
Poluatorii au rămas cu 29 de milioane de certificate verzi, al căror preţ unitar pe bursele externe specializate este de circa13 euro.
Secretarul de stat în Ministerul Mediului şi Pădurilor Mircea Cotoşman a declarat că România a transmis, în martie, ultimul inventar naţional al emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră, având ca an de referinţă 2009. Documentul indică un nivel al emisiilor cu circa 38% mai scăzut decât valoarea-ţintă medie prevăzută de Protocolul de la Kyoto pentru perioada 2008-2012.
"Scăderea a fost determinată, în principal, de reducerea producţiei industriale şi restructurarea economică", a spus secretarul de stat.
Protocolul de la Kyoto obligă statele ca în fiecare an, din 2008 şi până în 2012, să reducă emisiile poluante cu 8% faţă de nivelul din 1989. Prin Protocolul de la Kyoto, România are alocată pentru fiecare dintre aceşti ani o cotă anuală de poluare de 75,9 milioane de tone de dioxid de carbon.
Întrucât în 2009 instalaţiile industriale româneşti au eliberat în atmosferă doar puţin peste 47 de milioane tone, surplusul de drept de a polua ar putea fi vândut.
Un certificat de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră conferă dreptul de a emite o tonă de dioxid de carbon într-un an, astfel că deţinătorii de certificate ar putea valorifica un număr de aproximativ 29 de milioane de astfel de titluri.
Preţul mediu al unui astfel de certificat pe cele mai importante trei burse europene unde ele se tranzacţionează este de aproape 13 euro, astfel că posesorii ar obţine pentru toate acestea un preţ în jurul a 380 de milioane de euro.
După numărul de certificate alocate pentru perioada 2008 -2012 cei mai mari poluatori din România sunt ArcelorMittal Steel Galaţi - aproximativ 71 de milioane de certificate, Complexul Energetic Turceni - 34 de milioane, Complexul Energetic Rovinari - 28 de milioane, Electrocentrale Deva - 20 de milioane, Complexul Energetic Craiova - Işalniţa - 17 milioane, RAAN Sucursala Romag Termo - 14 milioane, Lafarge Medgidia - 12,3 milioane, Arpechim Piteşti - 9,6 milioane, potrivit datelor bursei din Sibiu, unde certificatele se tranzacţionează la preţuri apropiate de cotaţiile externe.
La nivel european, cele mai mari burse pentru tranzacţionarea acestor certificate sunt Bluenext, European Climate Exchange şi Intercontinental Exchange.
Isramart : Atenţionare CNVM
Isramart news:
Potrivit CNVM, operatorii români de instalaţii aflaţi sub incidenţa schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră, pot efectua tranzacţii cu aceste instrumente în nume şi pe cont propriu, fără utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital, în condiţiile în care contrapărţile sunt operatori români sau străini. Orice tranzacţionare ulterioară a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră de către alte persoane decât operatorii de instalaţii, intră sub incidenţa Legii nr. 297/2004. Astfel, investitorii pot tranzacţiona acest tip de certificate prin intermediul unei pieţe reglementate, sau al unui sistem alternativ de tranzacţionare din România, cu utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital.
Potrivit CNVM, operatorii români de instalaţii aflaţi sub incidenţa schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră, pot efectua tranzacţii cu aceste instrumente în nume şi pe cont propriu, fără utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital, în condiţiile în care contrapărţile sunt operatori români sau străini. Orice tranzacţionare ulterioară a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră de către alte persoane decât operatorii de instalaţii, intră sub incidenţa Legii nr. 297/2004. Astfel, investitorii pot tranzacţiona acest tip de certificate prin intermediul unei pieţe reglementate, sau al unui sistem alternativ de tranzacţionare din România, cu utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital.
Isramart : Poluarea aerului, mai periculoasa decat accidentele rutiere
Isramart news:
Aerul poluat din Marea Britanie este mai periculos pentru viata oamenilor decat fumatul pasiv, accidentele rutiere si obezitatea, sustin membrii parlamentului britanic care au prezentat o evaluare a masurilor luate de guvern pentru imbunatatirea calitatii aerului, informeaza The Ecologist.
Calitatea proasta a aerului reduce speranta medie de viata cu sapte – opt luni si ar putea duce la pana la 50.000 de decese premature in fiecare an, arata raportul Comitetului pentru Audit Ecologic (EAC). Membrii Comitetului spun ca Marea Britanie ar trebui sa fie rusinata de calitatea aerului si cer masuri drastice in strategia de transport pentru a imbunatati situatia. Raportul mai arata ca lipsa actiunilor in acest sens ar duce la amenzi din partea Uniunii Europene de pana la 300 de milioane de lire sterline.
Londra a fost atentionata in repetate randuri pentru esecul de a nu depasi limitele de pulberi in suspensie PM 10, care sunt periculoase in primul rand pentru bolnavii de astm. “Aproape o treime dintre bolnavii de astm spun ca o reducere a poluarii aerului este singurul lucru care le-ar imbunatati calitatea vietii”, a declarat un purtator de cuvant al asociatiei Asthma UK.
Expertii motiveaza lipsa de masuri concrete prin pasarea de responsabilitate intre autoritati. “Primaria acuza guvernul, guvernul acuza primaria”, a declarat Alan Andrews, avocat al Client Earth. In acest timp, londonezii respira cel mai poluat aer din Europa, a adaugat acesta.
Aerul poluat din Marea Britanie este mai periculos pentru viata oamenilor decat fumatul pasiv, accidentele rutiere si obezitatea, sustin membrii parlamentului britanic care au prezentat o evaluare a masurilor luate de guvern pentru imbunatatirea calitatii aerului, informeaza The Ecologist.
Calitatea proasta a aerului reduce speranta medie de viata cu sapte – opt luni si ar putea duce la pana la 50.000 de decese premature in fiecare an, arata raportul Comitetului pentru Audit Ecologic (EAC). Membrii Comitetului spun ca Marea Britanie ar trebui sa fie rusinata de calitatea aerului si cer masuri drastice in strategia de transport pentru a imbunatati situatia. Raportul mai arata ca lipsa actiunilor in acest sens ar duce la amenzi din partea Uniunii Europene de pana la 300 de milioane de lire sterline.
Londra a fost atentionata in repetate randuri pentru esecul de a nu depasi limitele de pulberi in suspensie PM 10, care sunt periculoase in primul rand pentru bolnavii de astm. “Aproape o treime dintre bolnavii de astm spun ca o reducere a poluarii aerului este singurul lucru care le-ar imbunatati calitatea vietii”, a declarat un purtator de cuvant al asociatiei Asthma UK.
Expertii motiveaza lipsa de masuri concrete prin pasarea de responsabilitate intre autoritati. “Primaria acuza guvernul, guvernul acuza primaria”, a declarat Alan Andrews, avocat al Client Earth. In acest timp, londonezii respira cel mai poluat aer din Europa, a adaugat acesta.
Isramart : Power companies Endesa and ENEL top Euro list of carbon offsetters
Isramart news:
Campaign group Sandbag has launched an online interactive map and report showing for the first time exactly what European companies are using to comply with their carbon emissions caps and where they are getting their offsets from.
Top corporate offsetter – Spanish power company Endesa offset 25% of its emissions in 2008 and Italian power company ENEL, which part owns Endesa, got nearly all (97.7%) of its offsets from Chinese HFC chemical plant projects. Thyssenkrup’s Duisburg steelworks in Germany is the biggest single site to use offsets for 56% of total emissions in 2008. The vast majority came from chemical plant projects in India (72%).
A report based on the data also released contains recommendations for improving EU offsetting policy, including introducing tighter limits on the types and origins of projects and increasing caps on EU emissions.
Commenting on the new resource Bryony Worthington Founder and Director of Sandbag said: “Offsetting is a big part of what the EU is doing to meet its climate targets and we hope that this new resource will inform people about what is happening and help to drive changes in offsetting policy.
“By opening this information up to public scrutiny we also hope that companies using offsetting will pay more attention to the standards met by the projects they buy from.”
The new resource is a compilation of two official databases – the UN database of international offset projects and the European emissions trading registry combined with company information provided by Carbon Market Data. By linking the sources together it is possible to trace exactly what the big emitters of Europe are using as offsets to allow them to continue emitting.
Campaign group Sandbag has launched an online interactive map and report showing for the first time exactly what European companies are using to comply with their carbon emissions caps and where they are getting their offsets from.
Top corporate offsetter – Spanish power company Endesa offset 25% of its emissions in 2008 and Italian power company ENEL, which part owns Endesa, got nearly all (97.7%) of its offsets from Chinese HFC chemical plant projects. Thyssenkrup’s Duisburg steelworks in Germany is the biggest single site to use offsets for 56% of total emissions in 2008. The vast majority came from chemical plant projects in India (72%).
A report based on the data also released contains recommendations for improving EU offsetting policy, including introducing tighter limits on the types and origins of projects and increasing caps on EU emissions.
Commenting on the new resource Bryony Worthington Founder and Director of Sandbag said: “Offsetting is a big part of what the EU is doing to meet its climate targets and we hope that this new resource will inform people about what is happening and help to drive changes in offsetting policy.
“By opening this information up to public scrutiny we also hope that companies using offsetting will pay more attention to the standards met by the projects they buy from.”
The new resource is a compilation of two official databases – the UN database of international offset projects and the European emissions trading registry combined with company information provided by Carbon Market Data. By linking the sources together it is possible to trace exactly what the big emitters of Europe are using as offsets to allow them to continue emitting.
Isramart : Carbon Reduction In The U.S. And A Linked Fee
Isramart news:
Shifting gears on the cap-and-trade debate is the latest proposed approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by decoupling the major emitters: utilities, industry, and transportation.
The latter would be addressed through a “linked-carbon fee” on transportation fuels. That is, a gasoline carbon tax, but also on aviation fuel and diesel.
While details are still forthcoming, on the surface there’s a lot to like. The transportation sector is one the largest contributors of GHGs in the U.S. today so any strategy to reduce emissions will have to start there.
Taxing gasoline sends a strong signal to consumers and to the market about how to price these externalities associated with burning fossil fuels.
This is important. The most important barrier to the development of the green economy is the lack of these signals and the political commitment to low carbon. While there is still not broad agreement on a low carbon policy and there is no political process for transition, my colleague David Burwell points out, the ‘link’ is the alignment of the new fee with the price of carbon on the carbon market.
Plus, there are revenues. Some proponents of this approach propose directing the funds into a ‘low carbon transportation fund’ ostensibly to support clean transportation options. The Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act (CLEAN-TEA) lays some of these out: transit, intercity rail, bike and pedestrian projects, freight rail, demand reduction programs (carpool, pricing, telecommuting strategies), and others.
And since the proposal supported by the major oil companies (ConocoPhillips, BP America, and Exxon Mobil), what’s not to like?
Well, the idea is still in its embryonic stages and many questions remain–such as, what to do with the revenues?
One option sends the revenues created by the linked fee back to consumers to offset the increase at the pump.
There are also suggestions to funnel the money from the low carbon trust fund into the existing highway trust fund which is running a perilous deficit.
Others (like Mark Muro) have suggested targeting revenues to early-stage transportation technology innovation and its commercialization to help accelerate the deployment of existing clean technologies. Any deal would ultimately be a mix of these ideas.
Shifting gears on the cap-and-trade debate is the latest proposed approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by decoupling the major emitters: utilities, industry, and transportation.
The latter would be addressed through a “linked-carbon fee” on transportation fuels. That is, a gasoline carbon tax, but also on aviation fuel and diesel.
While details are still forthcoming, on the surface there’s a lot to like. The transportation sector is one the largest contributors of GHGs in the U.S. today so any strategy to reduce emissions will have to start there.
Taxing gasoline sends a strong signal to consumers and to the market about how to price these externalities associated with burning fossil fuels.
This is important. The most important barrier to the development of the green economy is the lack of these signals and the political commitment to low carbon. While there is still not broad agreement on a low carbon policy and there is no political process for transition, my colleague David Burwell points out, the ‘link’ is the alignment of the new fee with the price of carbon on the carbon market.
Plus, there are revenues. Some proponents of this approach propose directing the funds into a ‘low carbon transportation fund’ ostensibly to support clean transportation options. The Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act (CLEAN-TEA) lays some of these out: transit, intercity rail, bike and pedestrian projects, freight rail, demand reduction programs (carpool, pricing, telecommuting strategies), and others.
And since the proposal supported by the major oil companies (ConocoPhillips, BP America, and Exxon Mobil), what’s not to like?
Well, the idea is still in its embryonic stages and many questions remain–such as, what to do with the revenues?
One option sends the revenues created by the linked fee back to consumers to offset the increase at the pump.
There are also suggestions to funnel the money from the low carbon trust fund into the existing highway trust fund which is running a perilous deficit.
Others (like Mark Muro) have suggested targeting revenues to early-stage transportation technology innovation and its commercialization to help accelerate the deployment of existing clean technologies. Any deal would ultimately be a mix of these ideas.
Isramart : Carbon-trading delays prompt market exit
Isramart news:
Newedge Group, one of the world's biggest independent futures brokers, has closed its energy and environmental markets business in Australia after the country's carbon-trading reforms stalled.
Newedge Australia Chief Executive Nick Scarf said the energy and environmental division had ceased operations yesterday, according to an email sent to Reuters.
Scarf was not immediately available for further comment.
The closure of Newedge, a joint venture between Credit Agricole CIB and Societe Generale, comes as Australia's "green market" is in disarray after the Senate twice rejected the government's proposed emissions trading scheme.
The scheme would have put a price on carbon emissions in Australia, one of the world's highest polluters per capita, and created a market with billions of dollars of annual turnover.
The government wants carbon trading to start in July 2011, covering the top 1,000 polluters and forcing them to buy or receive permits for their emissions.
The scheme is expected to come up for a third vote in 2010 but faces almost certain defeat and investors have largely given up on it.
Concerns are also abundant about trading in renewable energy certificates (RECs), even after the government reshaped the scheme on February 26 to require 20 per cent of energy to come from renewable sources by 2020.
"There's still regulatory uncertainty about the whole scheme and that's one thing the market doesn't like, so there's very low liquidity," said a trader, who asked not to be named.
The government revised its clean energy scheme to separate the household market from large renewable project investments.
The trader said government incentives to install household solar panels and heat pumps, which generated RECs, had oversupplied the market, discouraging investment in bigger renewable schemes, such as wind farms.
REC prices jumped to around $42 each from $30 prior to the February 26 announcement but remain below a peak of around $53 a year ago. They slumped to a low of $27.75 in early October 2009 because of the oversupplied market. Each certificate represents one megawatt-hour of electricity generated from renewable energy.
Newedge Group, one of the world's biggest independent futures brokers, has closed its energy and environmental markets business in Australia after the country's carbon-trading reforms stalled.
Newedge Australia Chief Executive Nick Scarf said the energy and environmental division had ceased operations yesterday, according to an email sent to Reuters.
Scarf was not immediately available for further comment.
The closure of Newedge, a joint venture between Credit Agricole CIB and Societe Generale, comes as Australia's "green market" is in disarray after the Senate twice rejected the government's proposed emissions trading scheme.
The scheme would have put a price on carbon emissions in Australia, one of the world's highest polluters per capita, and created a market with billions of dollars of annual turnover.
The government wants carbon trading to start in July 2011, covering the top 1,000 polluters and forcing them to buy or receive permits for their emissions.
The scheme is expected to come up for a third vote in 2010 but faces almost certain defeat and investors have largely given up on it.
Concerns are also abundant about trading in renewable energy certificates (RECs), even after the government reshaped the scheme on February 26 to require 20 per cent of energy to come from renewable sources by 2020.
"There's still regulatory uncertainty about the whole scheme and that's one thing the market doesn't like, so there's very low liquidity," said a trader, who asked not to be named.
The government revised its clean energy scheme to separate the household market from large renewable project investments.
The trader said government incentives to install household solar panels and heat pumps, which generated RECs, had oversupplied the market, discouraging investment in bigger renewable schemes, such as wind farms.
REC prices jumped to around $42 each from $30 prior to the February 26 announcement but remain below a peak of around $53 a year ago. They slumped to a low of $27.75 in early October 2009 because of the oversupplied market. Each certificate represents one megawatt-hour of electricity generated from renewable energy.
Isramart : USDA's Vilsack: proper carbon bill to help farmers
Isramart news:
The U.S. agriculture secretary told a farm group on Monday that a well-designed climate bill would provide opportunities for farmers and ranchers to make money in contracts for carbon offsets.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture "is committed to helping Congress design and implement a carbon offsets market that will provide significant income opportunities to America's farmers and ranchers," Secretary Tom Vilsack told the National Farmers Union convention in South Dakota on Monday.
Climate bill opponents, such as the 6 million member American Farm Bureau Federation, have said higher fuel and fertilizer costs resulting from the legislation would outweigh revenue from contracts to offset greenhouse gases by planting trees and crops that capture carbon.
USDA chief economist Joseph Glauber said in a memo released by the department on Monday that "some actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions can reduce commodity output." He said converting bare or cultivated land into forests, or afforestation, was one example of where that can occur.
Glauber is working with the Environmental Protection Agency to study ways to improve agricultural carbon offsets. Offsets would allow polluters to invest in clean agriculture projects such as afforestation and techniques to store carbon in soil, rather than cut their own emissions.
"USDA and third-party analyses, as well as our experience in implementing conservation techniques, make it absolutely clear that properly structured legislation will avoid unintended consequences and provide enormous benefits to our agricultural economy, and our environment," Vilsack said.
Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Joe Lieberman, an independent, are working on a compromise climate bill. They could outline the bill next week, but the legislation faces an uncertain future on opposition from lawmakers from energy-rich and agriculture states.
The U.S. agriculture secretary told a farm group on Monday that a well-designed climate bill would provide opportunities for farmers and ranchers to make money in contracts for carbon offsets.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture "is committed to helping Congress design and implement a carbon offsets market that will provide significant income opportunities to America's farmers and ranchers," Secretary Tom Vilsack told the National Farmers Union convention in South Dakota on Monday.
Climate bill opponents, such as the 6 million member American Farm Bureau Federation, have said higher fuel and fertilizer costs resulting from the legislation would outweigh revenue from contracts to offset greenhouse gases by planting trees and crops that capture carbon.
USDA chief economist Joseph Glauber said in a memo released by the department on Monday that "some actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions can reduce commodity output." He said converting bare or cultivated land into forests, or afforestation, was one example of where that can occur.
Glauber is working with the Environmental Protection Agency to study ways to improve agricultural carbon offsets. Offsets would allow polluters to invest in clean agriculture projects such as afforestation and techniques to store carbon in soil, rather than cut their own emissions.
"USDA and third-party analyses, as well as our experience in implementing conservation techniques, make it absolutely clear that properly structured legislation will avoid unintended consequences and provide enormous benefits to our agricultural economy, and our environment," Vilsack said.
Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Joe Lieberman, an independent, are working on a compromise climate bill. They could outline the bill next week, but the legislation faces an uncertain future on opposition from lawmakers from energy-rich and agriculture states.
Isramart : Study: Corn Ethanol an 'Unattractive Compliance Option' for Carbon Mandates
Isramart news:
The use of corn ethanol in place of gasoline causes enough carbon emissions from land-use changes to cancel immediate tailpipe benefits, according to research published last week that confirms a controversial earlier study.
The analysis examines a hypothesis by Timothy Searchinger and his co-authors published in 2008 in Science magazine that says using U.S.-grown corn for fuel triggers commodity price changes that ultimately lead to native ecosystems being destroyed, with a high carbon price tag.
The new study, published in the March issue of BioScience, finds much lower emissions from indirect land-use change than the Searchinger paper calculated but still enough to tip the balance away from corn ethanol.
The analysis by Thomas Hertel of Purdue University found that the indirect greenhouse gas releases associated with corn ethanol are 800 grams of carbon dioxide per megajoule, or 27 grams of carbon dioxide per megajoule per year over 30 years of production.
That amount is about a quarter of what Searchinger estimated. "Nonetheless, 800 grams are enough to cancel out the benefits that corn ethanol has on global warming," Hertel wrote.
Hertel said the indirect emissions are in addition to 60 to 65 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule in direct emissions from cultivating and processing the fuel. Those emissions are subject to process improvements and farming practice changes that could improve the overall picture, he said.
Hertel concluded corn ethanol has limited potential for use in California's low-carbon fuel standard.
He noted that while both Californian and federal regulators have, like himself, found lower indirect land-use change estimates than Searchinger estimated, the figures have consistently been high enough to make corn ethanol "an unattractive compliance option for mitigating current carbon intensity or meeting fuel-use mandates."
Hertel's analysis uses a different model for the price-mediated market analysis than Searchinger did, relying on a global economic commodity and trade model known as GTAP-BIO, and breaks the globe down into 18 distinct regions.
He also used a different analytical approach than that used by U.S. EPA for its analysis of the renewable fuel standard, a comparative static analysis, and said he welcomes further scientific comparisons of the two strategies.
The use of corn ethanol in place of gasoline causes enough carbon emissions from land-use changes to cancel immediate tailpipe benefits, according to research published last week that confirms a controversial earlier study.
The analysis examines a hypothesis by Timothy Searchinger and his co-authors published in 2008 in Science magazine that says using U.S.-grown corn for fuel triggers commodity price changes that ultimately lead to native ecosystems being destroyed, with a high carbon price tag.
The new study, published in the March issue of BioScience, finds much lower emissions from indirect land-use change than the Searchinger paper calculated but still enough to tip the balance away from corn ethanol.
The analysis by Thomas Hertel of Purdue University found that the indirect greenhouse gas releases associated with corn ethanol are 800 grams of carbon dioxide per megajoule, or 27 grams of carbon dioxide per megajoule per year over 30 years of production.
That amount is about a quarter of what Searchinger estimated. "Nonetheless, 800 grams are enough to cancel out the benefits that corn ethanol has on global warming," Hertel wrote.
Hertel said the indirect emissions are in addition to 60 to 65 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule in direct emissions from cultivating and processing the fuel. Those emissions are subject to process improvements and farming practice changes that could improve the overall picture, he said.
Hertel concluded corn ethanol has limited potential for use in California's low-carbon fuel standard.
He noted that while both Californian and federal regulators have, like himself, found lower indirect land-use change estimates than Searchinger estimated, the figures have consistently been high enough to make corn ethanol "an unattractive compliance option for mitigating current carbon intensity or meeting fuel-use mandates."
Hertel's analysis uses a different model for the price-mediated market analysis than Searchinger did, relying on a global economic commodity and trade model known as GTAP-BIO, and breaks the globe down into 18 distinct regions.
He also used a different analytical approach than that used by U.S. EPA for its analysis of the renewable fuel standard, a comparative static analysis, and said he welcomes further scientific comparisons of the two strategies.
Isramart : China, Not UN, Controls Carbon Offsets, Stanford Says
isramart news:
China’s control over the prices of power from wind is dictating the supply of tradable emission credits in the UN carbon market, the world’s second biggest, according to a report from Stanford University.
The board overseeing the United Nations carbon market is forced to rely on data from China to judge when windfarms qualify for emissions credits, said Richard Morse, a Stanford University research associate and co-author of the report. The board, established to channel funds to greenhouse-gas projects in developing nations, rejected 16 Chinese windfarms since November, including submissions backed by EDF SA, Essent NV and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
To be eligible for UN credits, projects must show they aren’t economically viable without such assistance. The rules are designed to weed out projects that don’t add to overall emission reduction. Questions in China and India, where governments set prices and data can’t be independently verified, threaten investments in sustainable energy, Morse said.
“This can become a real cancer on the integrity of the market if not addressed properly,” Morse said in a March 10 interview. “Uncertainty will undermine sustainable investment and undermine the carbon market.”
Rate of Return
Chinese wind projects qualify for emissions credits if their projected rate of return is less than 8 percent, Morse said. Changes in prices for wind power can lower returns below the 8 percent threshold, he said.
It’s almost impossible to independently verify what would have occurred without the credits in China, where transparency is limited, according to the research from Palo Alto, California-based Stanford.
“The Chinese government is basically determining the outcomes,” Morse said. “We can’t prove manipulation, but you can prove they control it.”
The regulatory board of the UN Clean Development Mechanism is embroiled in an internal struggle that will influence the number of credits issued. Chairman Clifford Mahlung is pressing colleagues to ease registrations and increase supply of its Certified Emission Reduction credits. Other members say that would allow projects that won’t deliver genuine emission cuts. The board meets on March 22 to consider policies.
Easing requirements for windfarms in China would add credits for about 100 million metric tons through 2012, the Stanford report estimated. That’s about 10 percent of expected supply of 1.04 billion tons of CERs through that year, according to an estimate by the UN’s Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate & Sustainable Development in Roskilde, Denmark.
‘Streamlined Approach’
The CDM needs to finds a “simpler and more streamlined approach” for project approvals, said Martin Berg, vice president for carbon-market origination at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We do not believe that the CDM can be scaled-up in its current form,” he said March 11 by e-mail. Merrill Lynch was a participant in one of the rejected Chinese windfarms.
“While trying to streamline and improve the procedure, you have to make sure that those who are paying for the credits are not taken for a ride,” Kakakhel said last week. “The board is seized with this in earnest and we will find a solution.”
Emmanuel Fages, a Paris-based analyst at Orbeo, cut his estimate today for 2010 supply by 25 percent to 150 million tons. The regulatory board at the CDM is struggling to boost issuance, he said in an e-mailed research note. Orbeo is Societe Generale SA’s carbon-trading venture with Rhodia SA.
CERs for December rose 1.2 percent today to 11.44 euros ($15.63) a metric ton on the European Climate Exchange in London. They’ve fallen 7 percent in the past six months.
China’s control over the prices of power from wind is dictating the supply of tradable emission credits in the UN carbon market, the world’s second biggest, according to a report from Stanford University.
The board overseeing the United Nations carbon market is forced to rely on data from China to judge when windfarms qualify for emissions credits, said Richard Morse, a Stanford University research associate and co-author of the report. The board, established to channel funds to greenhouse-gas projects in developing nations, rejected 16 Chinese windfarms since November, including submissions backed by EDF SA, Essent NV and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
To be eligible for UN credits, projects must show they aren’t economically viable without such assistance. The rules are designed to weed out projects that don’t add to overall emission reduction. Questions in China and India, where governments set prices and data can’t be independently verified, threaten investments in sustainable energy, Morse said.
“This can become a real cancer on the integrity of the market if not addressed properly,” Morse said in a March 10 interview. “Uncertainty will undermine sustainable investment and undermine the carbon market.”
Rate of Return
Chinese wind projects qualify for emissions credits if their projected rate of return is less than 8 percent, Morse said. Changes in prices for wind power can lower returns below the 8 percent threshold, he said.
It’s almost impossible to independently verify what would have occurred without the credits in China, where transparency is limited, according to the research from Palo Alto, California-based Stanford.
“The Chinese government is basically determining the outcomes,” Morse said. “We can’t prove manipulation, but you can prove they control it.”
The regulatory board of the UN Clean Development Mechanism is embroiled in an internal struggle that will influence the number of credits issued. Chairman Clifford Mahlung is pressing colleagues to ease registrations and increase supply of its Certified Emission Reduction credits. Other members say that would allow projects that won’t deliver genuine emission cuts. The board meets on March 22 to consider policies.
Easing requirements for windfarms in China would add credits for about 100 million metric tons through 2012, the Stanford report estimated. That’s about 10 percent of expected supply of 1.04 billion tons of CERs through that year, according to an estimate by the UN’s Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate & Sustainable Development in Roskilde, Denmark.
‘Streamlined Approach’
The CDM needs to finds a “simpler and more streamlined approach” for project approvals, said Martin Berg, vice president for carbon-market origination at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We do not believe that the CDM can be scaled-up in its current form,” he said March 11 by e-mail. Merrill Lynch was a participant in one of the rejected Chinese windfarms.
“While trying to streamline and improve the procedure, you have to make sure that those who are paying for the credits are not taken for a ride,” Kakakhel said last week. “The board is seized with this in earnest and we will find a solution.”
Emmanuel Fages, a Paris-based analyst at Orbeo, cut his estimate today for 2010 supply by 25 percent to 150 million tons. The regulatory board at the CDM is struggling to boost issuance, he said in an e-mailed research note. Orbeo is Societe Generale SA’s carbon-trading venture with Rhodia SA.
CERs for December rose 1.2 percent today to 11.44 euros ($15.63) a metric ton on the European Climate Exchange in London. They’ve fallen 7 percent in the past six months.
Isramart : Royal Huisman’s Ethereal gets zero-carbon-footprint status twice
Isramart news:
The carbon footprint of the 58m (190-foot) Ethereal from the Royal Huisman yard has become zero by using carbon offsets supplied by The CarbonNeutral Company. Ethereal’s carbon footprint for 2009 has been offset through the Tieling coal mine methane project in China, which captures coal mine methane and uses it as an energy source to supply gas to homes and local industry.
Its 2010 footprint will be offset through The CarbonNeutral Company’s OneNature portfolio, made up of 100 percent renewable energy projects.
Camper & Nicholsons Palma has sold the 24.7m (80-foot) M/Y Babette II.
The brokerage also added new listings, including the 78.6m (257-foot) M/Y Princess Marianaby brokers Fernando Nicholson and Rick Morales; the 35m (114-foot) M/Y Moon Goddess, also by Nicholson and Morales; the 62m (203-foot) M/Y Icon 62 by broker Jean-Marie Recamier; the 36.6m (120-foot) M/Y Beverley by broker Alex Lees Buckley; and the 27.4m (90-foot) M/Y MM by broker Michael Payne.
CNI’s added to its charter fleet the 78.6m (257-foot) M/Y Princess Mariana in the Med; M/Y Roma, a 62m (203-foot) Viareggio, in the Indian Ocean; and M/Y Moon Goddess, a 35m (114-foot) in the western Med. And due for launch later this year, the 45.6m (150-foot) M/Y Illusion from Benetti will be available for charters in the Med.
Merle Wood & Associates has sold the 142-foot Marinteknik M/Y Griff, and the 70-foot Hatteras M/Y Pisces IV.
The brokerage also added the following yachts to its central listings for sale: the 258-foot Royal Denship M/Y Princess Mariana (joint with Camper & Nicholsons), the 154-foot Heesen M/Y Elandess II (joint with Burgess); the 145-foot Heesen M/Y At Last; and the 123-foot Palmer Johnson M/Y Temptation.
The 145-foot Benetti M/Y Lady Sheila was added to its charter fleet.
For more information, visit www.merlewood.com.
Northrop and Johnson broker Ann Landry was named the 2009 Charter Broker of the Year by the Florida Yacht Broker's Association. Landry has been a charter broker since 1992. Her passion for yachting began during a Caribbean sailing vacation, following which she bought a 44-foot sailing yacht and sailed more than 30,000 miles to the Virgin Islands where she was crew aboard charter yachts.
Landry has worked at Koch, Newton & Partners and Merrill-Stevens Yachts before joining Northrop and Johnson in early 2008. Contact her via e-mail at alandry@njyachts.com.
Broker Wes Sanford sold M/Y Prime Time, an 82-foot Hargrave Monte Fino; and broker Jonathan Chapman sold the 78-foot Burger M/Y Easterly.
The brokerage added several yachts to its central listings for sale: M/Y Monte Carlo, the 132-foot Amels; M/Y Beothuk, a 102-foot Kuipers Doggersbank, a joint listing with Vripack Yacht and Ship; M/Y Bermuda IV, a 96-foot Cheoy Lee; M/Y Desirade, a 95-foot Sangermani; S/Y Adjutor, an 82-foot Custom Performance Sloop by Langan Design and Yachting Developments of New Zealand; and S/Y Fearless, an 82-foot custom Alden Sloop.
In other company news, the brokerage opened its first Asian office in alliance with Bart Kimman of Asia Yachting Services
RJC Yacht Sales has sold M/Y Prime Time, a 82-foot Monte Fino, and M/Y Jenny O, a 61-foot Viking. For more information visit www.rjcyachts.com.
Broker Andrew Cilla of Luke Brown was honored as Broker of the Year by the Florida Yacht Broker's Association. The award recognizes an individual for his/her dedication, professionalism and community service.
Cilla joined Luke Brown and Associates in 1977 and a year later took over the company and assumed the role as president.
FYBA also announced its 2010 Board of Directors: Newly elected Jeff Erdmann, Whit Kirtland, Lon McCloskey, Bob Zarchen and Jonathan Burkard. Returning to complete their two-year term is Georges Bourgoignie, Jason Dunbar, Paul Flannery, Crom Littlejohn, Bruce Schattenburg and Gary Smith.
International Yacht Collection has selected broker Mark Elliott as its Sales and Charter Broker of the Year for 2009.
"This is the first time a broker has come in as the top charter and sales broker in the same year," said Brian Tansey, VP of International Yacht Collection. "We are very excited for Mark. He has worked very hard in what most would consider a difficult year, but his creativity and tenacity really paid off."
One of the deals that Elliott closed with broker Noell Vawter involved the sale of two superyachts totaling more than $100 million.
"2009 has been a tough year across the industry, but I have been blessed with a great team of colleagues and some wonderful clients who have been open to creative deals and some great market opportunities," Elliott said.
For more information please contact IYC at +1 954-522-2323.
HMY has been appointed authorized dealer to represent Grand Banks Yachts on Florida’s east coast. For more information, visit www.hmy.com
Vicem Yachts has hired Gary Smith and Jason Mashke from Sarasota Yacht & Ship in Sarasota, Fla. to represent Vicem on Florida's west coast, Noelle Semmes from American Global Yacht Group to represent the brand in three mid-Atlantic states from its Maryland locations, Russ Forkert from Yacht Works in Sister Bay, Wisc., for the Lake Michigan region, and Barry Bailey of Queensland, Australia, as its Asia-Pacific regional representative.
The carbon footprint of the 58m (190-foot) Ethereal from the Royal Huisman yard has become zero by using carbon offsets supplied by The CarbonNeutral Company. Ethereal’s carbon footprint for 2009 has been offset through the Tieling coal mine methane project in China, which captures coal mine methane and uses it as an energy source to supply gas to homes and local industry.
Its 2010 footprint will be offset through The CarbonNeutral Company’s OneNature portfolio, made up of 100 percent renewable energy projects.
Camper & Nicholsons Palma has sold the 24.7m (80-foot) M/Y Babette II.
The brokerage also added new listings, including the 78.6m (257-foot) M/Y Princess Marianaby brokers Fernando Nicholson and Rick Morales; the 35m (114-foot) M/Y Moon Goddess, also by Nicholson and Morales; the 62m (203-foot) M/Y Icon 62 by broker Jean-Marie Recamier; the 36.6m (120-foot) M/Y Beverley by broker Alex Lees Buckley; and the 27.4m (90-foot) M/Y MM by broker Michael Payne.
CNI’s added to its charter fleet the 78.6m (257-foot) M/Y Princess Mariana in the Med; M/Y Roma, a 62m (203-foot) Viareggio, in the Indian Ocean; and M/Y Moon Goddess, a 35m (114-foot) in the western Med. And due for launch later this year, the 45.6m (150-foot) M/Y Illusion from Benetti will be available for charters in the Med.
Merle Wood & Associates has sold the 142-foot Marinteknik M/Y Griff, and the 70-foot Hatteras M/Y Pisces IV.
The brokerage also added the following yachts to its central listings for sale: the 258-foot Royal Denship M/Y Princess Mariana (joint with Camper & Nicholsons), the 154-foot Heesen M/Y Elandess II (joint with Burgess); the 145-foot Heesen M/Y At Last; and the 123-foot Palmer Johnson M/Y Temptation.
The 145-foot Benetti M/Y Lady Sheila was added to its charter fleet.
For more information, visit www.merlewood.com.
Northrop and Johnson broker Ann Landry was named the 2009 Charter Broker of the Year by the Florida Yacht Broker's Association. Landry has been a charter broker since 1992. Her passion for yachting began during a Caribbean sailing vacation, following which she bought a 44-foot sailing yacht and sailed more than 30,000 miles to the Virgin Islands where she was crew aboard charter yachts.
Landry has worked at Koch, Newton & Partners and Merrill-Stevens Yachts before joining Northrop and Johnson in early 2008. Contact her via e-mail at alandry@njyachts.com.
Broker Wes Sanford sold M/Y Prime Time, an 82-foot Hargrave Monte Fino; and broker Jonathan Chapman sold the 78-foot Burger M/Y Easterly.
The brokerage added several yachts to its central listings for sale: M/Y Monte Carlo, the 132-foot Amels; M/Y Beothuk, a 102-foot Kuipers Doggersbank, a joint listing with Vripack Yacht and Ship; M/Y Bermuda IV, a 96-foot Cheoy Lee; M/Y Desirade, a 95-foot Sangermani; S/Y Adjutor, an 82-foot Custom Performance Sloop by Langan Design and Yachting Developments of New Zealand; and S/Y Fearless, an 82-foot custom Alden Sloop.
In other company news, the brokerage opened its first Asian office in alliance with Bart Kimman of Asia Yachting Services
RJC Yacht Sales has sold M/Y Prime Time, a 82-foot Monte Fino, and M/Y Jenny O, a 61-foot Viking. For more information visit www.rjcyachts.com.
Broker Andrew Cilla of Luke Brown was honored as Broker of the Year by the Florida Yacht Broker's Association. The award recognizes an individual for his/her dedication, professionalism and community service.
Cilla joined Luke Brown and Associates in 1977 and a year later took over the company and assumed the role as president.
FYBA also announced its 2010 Board of Directors: Newly elected Jeff Erdmann, Whit Kirtland, Lon McCloskey, Bob Zarchen and Jonathan Burkard. Returning to complete their two-year term is Georges Bourgoignie, Jason Dunbar, Paul Flannery, Crom Littlejohn, Bruce Schattenburg and Gary Smith.
International Yacht Collection has selected broker Mark Elliott as its Sales and Charter Broker of the Year for 2009.
"This is the first time a broker has come in as the top charter and sales broker in the same year," said Brian Tansey, VP of International Yacht Collection. "We are very excited for Mark. He has worked very hard in what most would consider a difficult year, but his creativity and tenacity really paid off."
One of the deals that Elliott closed with broker Noell Vawter involved the sale of two superyachts totaling more than $100 million.
"2009 has been a tough year across the industry, but I have been blessed with a great team of colleagues and some wonderful clients who have been open to creative deals and some great market opportunities," Elliott said.
For more information please contact IYC at +1 954-522-2323.
HMY has been appointed authorized dealer to represent Grand Banks Yachts on Florida’s east coast. For more information, visit www.hmy.com
Vicem Yachts has hired Gary Smith and Jason Mashke from Sarasota Yacht & Ship in Sarasota, Fla. to represent Vicem on Florida's west coast, Noelle Semmes from American Global Yacht Group to represent the brand in three mid-Atlantic states from its Maryland locations, Russ Forkert from Yacht Works in Sister Bay, Wisc., for the Lake Michigan region, and Barry Bailey of Queensland, Australia, as its Asia-Pacific regional representative.
Isramart : NYU aims to reduce its carbon footprint
Isramart news:
New York University (NYU) released its Climate Action Plan (CAP), a comprehensive approach to reducing the university's carbon footprint and enhancing its overall sustainability, on March 12, 2010.
NYU's CAP details the university's current greenhouse gas inventory and lays out projects to mitigate these emissions using current fiscally sound technologies while maintaining NYU's vital teaching, learning and research missions.
The development of the university's CAP was spurred on by the signing of two separate commitments to mitigate climate change: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlaNYC Climate Challenge and the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).
As part of the PlaNYC Climate Challenge, NYU will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per square foot by 30 per cent by 2017, and will commit to a goal of achieving zero emissions by 2040 as part of the ACUPCC.
NYU plans to accomplish these aims by upgrading university buildings to become more efficient and by generating cleaner on-site and renewable energy.
"Across the university- from academics to financial and space planning to sustainability- we are striving to plan for the long-term," says Michael Alfano, NYU's executive vice president. "This Climate Action Plan fits within that template, relying on a rigorous analysis to point the way toward a 30-year goal of attaining carbon neutrality."
"Through energy saving initiatives, NYU has already made significant progress in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, cutting them by 20% in just the past three years", says Cecil Scheib, NYU's director of Energy and Sustainability.
In addition to its efforts to reduce climate change, NYU will foster a campus-wide culture of sustainability through expanded environment-related course work at both NYU and the affiliated Polytechnic Institute of NYU, as well as through deepened engagement efforts that directly involve the university community.
PlaNYC was unveiled by Bloomberg on Earth Day 2007 and calls for New York City to improve environmental sustainability in air, water, land, energy and transportation by 2030. A goal of the project is to lower the city's global warming emissions by 30 per cent.
The ACUPCC Climate Commitment calls for U.S. colleges and universities to take charge in their communities to reduce global warming emissions while also spreading awareness.
New York University (NYU) released its Climate Action Plan (CAP), a comprehensive approach to reducing the university's carbon footprint and enhancing its overall sustainability, on March 12, 2010.
NYU's CAP details the university's current greenhouse gas inventory and lays out projects to mitigate these emissions using current fiscally sound technologies while maintaining NYU's vital teaching, learning and research missions.
The development of the university's CAP was spurred on by the signing of two separate commitments to mitigate climate change: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlaNYC Climate Challenge and the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).
As part of the PlaNYC Climate Challenge, NYU will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per square foot by 30 per cent by 2017, and will commit to a goal of achieving zero emissions by 2040 as part of the ACUPCC.
NYU plans to accomplish these aims by upgrading university buildings to become more efficient and by generating cleaner on-site and renewable energy.
"Across the university- from academics to financial and space planning to sustainability- we are striving to plan for the long-term," says Michael Alfano, NYU's executive vice president. "This Climate Action Plan fits within that template, relying on a rigorous analysis to point the way toward a 30-year goal of attaining carbon neutrality."
"Through energy saving initiatives, NYU has already made significant progress in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, cutting them by 20% in just the past three years", says Cecil Scheib, NYU's director of Energy and Sustainability.
In addition to its efforts to reduce climate change, NYU will foster a campus-wide culture of sustainability through expanded environment-related course work at both NYU and the affiliated Polytechnic Institute of NYU, as well as through deepened engagement efforts that directly involve the university community.
PlaNYC was unveiled by Bloomberg on Earth Day 2007 and calls for New York City to improve environmental sustainability in air, water, land, energy and transportation by 2030. A goal of the project is to lower the city's global warming emissions by 30 per cent.
The ACUPCC Climate Commitment calls for U.S. colleges and universities to take charge in their communities to reduce global warming emissions while also spreading awareness.
Isramart : Sale of used carbon offsets unlikely to hit prices
Isramart news:
Trade in "recycled" carbon credits, which companies have already used to offset their greenhouse gas emissions, is unlikely to become widespread enough to hit prices, analysts said on Friday.
Hungary last week carried out the first such sale of certified emissions reductions (CERs) which its own companies had already surrendered to offset against their emissions in the European Union's emissions trading scheme.
Such CERs are not valid for re-use in Europe and the EU executive Commission on Thursday amended trading rules to stop them from re-entering the EU carbon market.
But that still left about 100 million used carbon offsets, equivalent to the national greenhouse gas emissions of Austria, in the registries of European governments which they could re-sell to non-European buyers if they pleased.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, rich countries can buy carbon offsets to help them meet emissions caps, paying for carbon cuts in developing countries.
Japan has been the biggest buyer of offsets outside Europe, and if it started buying used CERs that would effectively increase the global supply and may dampen prices. Tokyo said on Friday that it would not block Japanese companies from buying recycled credits.
"It's not a problem for companies to use them here to meet their voluntary emissions targets," said Eisaku Toda, head of the environment ministry's office of market mechanisms.
But Japanese traders doubted they would find a large market there. "In Japan, the buyers are all volunteers with high morals," said one carbon trader in Tokyo. Japanese companies are using offsets to meet voluntary emissions caps, unlike the binding targets in Europe.
PRICES
International trade in recycled credits is not illegal, and exploits the fact that the greenhouse gas emissions of some former communist countries are far below their Kyoto targets, leaving them with surplus emissions rights called assigned amount units (AAUs).
Hungary last week sold some 800,000 tonnes of used CERs, saying it would put aside the equivalent number of AAUs.
That deal allowed Budapest to benefit from a higher price for CERs compared with AAUs, whose trade is also much less liquid and disparaged by some environmentalists as "hot air".
Japanese companies, mainly steelmakers and power generators, have bought about 300 million tonnes of carbon offsets under the Kyoto Protocol for delivery between 2008 and 2012, almost all of which are thought to be CERs, 2009 data show.
The companies will eventually submit these to Toyko to count against their voluntary targets, but in the meantime in theory could exchange some for cheaper, recycled credits, effectively increasing the global CER supply and impacting prices.
"From a market impact perspective, we could see more CERs come back onto the market and it could soften prices a bit and make the market less tight, but actually the impact would be quite small," said Barclays Capital's Trevor Sikorski.
He estimated that east European countries had no more than 11.5 million CERs which they could recycle in this way.
The Hungarian deal has attracted huge market criticism, especially after the used CERs were traded on the Paris-based BlueNext exchange, meaning European companies could unwittingly buy invalid offsets which left them out of pocket.
Trade in "recycled" carbon credits, which companies have already used to offset their greenhouse gas emissions, is unlikely to become widespread enough to hit prices, analysts said on Friday.
Hungary last week carried out the first such sale of certified emissions reductions (CERs) which its own companies had already surrendered to offset against their emissions in the European Union's emissions trading scheme.
Such CERs are not valid for re-use in Europe and the EU executive Commission on Thursday amended trading rules to stop them from re-entering the EU carbon market.
But that still left about 100 million used carbon offsets, equivalent to the national greenhouse gas emissions of Austria, in the registries of European governments which they could re-sell to non-European buyers if they pleased.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, rich countries can buy carbon offsets to help them meet emissions caps, paying for carbon cuts in developing countries.
Japan has been the biggest buyer of offsets outside Europe, and if it started buying used CERs that would effectively increase the global supply and may dampen prices. Tokyo said on Friday that it would not block Japanese companies from buying recycled credits.
"It's not a problem for companies to use them here to meet their voluntary emissions targets," said Eisaku Toda, head of the environment ministry's office of market mechanisms.
But Japanese traders doubted they would find a large market there. "In Japan, the buyers are all volunteers with high morals," said one carbon trader in Tokyo. Japanese companies are using offsets to meet voluntary emissions caps, unlike the binding targets in Europe.
PRICES
International trade in recycled credits is not illegal, and exploits the fact that the greenhouse gas emissions of some former communist countries are far below their Kyoto targets, leaving them with surplus emissions rights called assigned amount units (AAUs).
Hungary last week sold some 800,000 tonnes of used CERs, saying it would put aside the equivalent number of AAUs.
That deal allowed Budapest to benefit from a higher price for CERs compared with AAUs, whose trade is also much less liquid and disparaged by some environmentalists as "hot air".
Japanese companies, mainly steelmakers and power generators, have bought about 300 million tonnes of carbon offsets under the Kyoto Protocol for delivery between 2008 and 2012, almost all of which are thought to be CERs, 2009 data show.
The companies will eventually submit these to Toyko to count against their voluntary targets, but in the meantime in theory could exchange some for cheaper, recycled credits, effectively increasing the global CER supply and impacting prices.
"From a market impact perspective, we could see more CERs come back onto the market and it could soften prices a bit and make the market less tight, but actually the impact would be quite small," said Barclays Capital's Trevor Sikorski.
He estimated that east European countries had no more than 11.5 million CERs which they could recycle in this way.
The Hungarian deal has attracted huge market criticism, especially after the used CERs were traded on the Paris-based BlueNext exchange, meaning European companies could unwittingly buy invalid offsets which left them out of pocket.
Isramart : Australia's pension funds lag on carbon risk -survey
Isramart news:
Australia's pension funds industry, the fifth largest in the world with A$1.2 trillion ($1.1 trillion) under management, is dragging its feet on climate change risk when making investment decisions, a survey has found.
Distracted by the global financial crisis, the failure to agree on a new climate pact in Copenhagen and a delayed emissions trading scheme have contributed to reduced interest in climate change risks, said the survey released on Tuesday.
The second annual survey by the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) and the independent Climate Institute think tank had a low reponse with just over 30 percent of the invited funds responding.
Those that did had A$302 billion under management, 28 percent of the entire pension fund industry in Australia.
"After last year's world first survey of superfunds, this year's survey results indicate that superfunds are generally aware of the potential impacts of climate change risks on their portfolio but are still ill-equipped to measure or manage them," the report says.
The risks include regulatory, legal, trade and credit.
Australia's proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS) has slipped off the radar screen for many funds because of the failure of the Senate to pass the carbon trading laws.
The Climate Institute's business director Julian Poulter told reporters during a teleconference that many superfunds were putting their investment portfolios at risk because of short-term problems in reaching agreements on fighting climate change.
"They're in the long-term investment business and frankly I don't think if you are in a long-term business that hiccups around Copenhagen or CPRS are part of fundamental investment strategy," Poulter said.
"In 20 years' time, we will have a high carbon price regulatory regime -- the drive to the low-carbon world will be unstoppable so that's the kind of world in which the funds need to envisage themselves in."
ACT FAST
He said Australian industry needed to act fast as internationally there was a trend toward better management of climate change risks and a move toward global regulation, despite slow policy progress at Copenhagen in December.
Many in government and green circles regard the non-binding agreement reached in Copenhagen to curb the growth of greenhouse gas emissions as a bare-minumum outcome that increased uncertainty on carbon pricing in the near-term.
"With no clear, global, price on carbon having yet materialised it is understandable that superfunds (and other investors) might be having difficulty accurately valuing the financial costs/benefits of climate change risks/opportunities," said the report.
Nonetheless, companies were facing growing pressure to assess the cost of carbon and other climate change policy risks.
In January, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ordered corporations to disclose climate change risk in their annual reports.
As well, in response to the sub-prime meltdown the G20 Financial Stability Board is recommending regulations to prevent long-term systemic risks of which climate change is one.
"The need is for funds to get back to their knitting, back to their long-term returns and take a proper and sensible approach to climate change risk and carbon pricing has to be part of that," said Andrew Barr, policy and research manager at the AIST.
As examples, the report pointed to India's intention to charge a levy on coal, including coal imports, carbon costs imposed by Europe's emissions trading scheme and the threat of carbon tariffs on goods from nations with weak climate policies.
Barr said there had been some degree of disengagement from the management of climate risk because of the financial crisis.
The survey found the main funds responding to climate change were industry funds but a key area where all funds were falling behind was at the portfolio level where they did not have systems in place to manage climate change risks.
Climate change risk disclosure was another problem facing Australian funds at a time when stock exchanges around the world were in the process of increasing such disclosure requirements.
Australia's pension funds industry, the fifth largest in the world with A$1.2 trillion ($1.1 trillion) under management, is dragging its feet on climate change risk when making investment decisions, a survey has found.
Distracted by the global financial crisis, the failure to agree on a new climate pact in Copenhagen and a delayed emissions trading scheme have contributed to reduced interest in climate change risks, said the survey released on Tuesday.
The second annual survey by the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) and the independent Climate Institute think tank had a low reponse with just over 30 percent of the invited funds responding.
Those that did had A$302 billion under management, 28 percent of the entire pension fund industry in Australia.
"After last year's world first survey of superfunds, this year's survey results indicate that superfunds are generally aware of the potential impacts of climate change risks on their portfolio but are still ill-equipped to measure or manage them," the report says.
The risks include regulatory, legal, trade and credit.
Australia's proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS) has slipped off the radar screen for many funds because of the failure of the Senate to pass the carbon trading laws.
The Climate Institute's business director Julian Poulter told reporters during a teleconference that many superfunds were putting their investment portfolios at risk because of short-term problems in reaching agreements on fighting climate change.
"They're in the long-term investment business and frankly I don't think if you are in a long-term business that hiccups around Copenhagen or CPRS are part of fundamental investment strategy," Poulter said.
"In 20 years' time, we will have a high carbon price regulatory regime -- the drive to the low-carbon world will be unstoppable so that's the kind of world in which the funds need to envisage themselves in."
ACT FAST
He said Australian industry needed to act fast as internationally there was a trend toward better management of climate change risks and a move toward global regulation, despite slow policy progress at Copenhagen in December.
Many in government and green circles regard the non-binding agreement reached in Copenhagen to curb the growth of greenhouse gas emissions as a bare-minumum outcome that increased uncertainty on carbon pricing in the near-term.
"With no clear, global, price on carbon having yet materialised it is understandable that superfunds (and other investors) might be having difficulty accurately valuing the financial costs/benefits of climate change risks/opportunities," said the report.
Nonetheless, companies were facing growing pressure to assess the cost of carbon and other climate change policy risks.
In January, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ordered corporations to disclose climate change risk in their annual reports.
As well, in response to the sub-prime meltdown the G20 Financial Stability Board is recommending regulations to prevent long-term systemic risks of which climate change is one.
"The need is for funds to get back to their knitting, back to their long-term returns and take a proper and sensible approach to climate change risk and carbon pricing has to be part of that," said Andrew Barr, policy and research manager at the AIST.
As examples, the report pointed to India's intention to charge a levy on coal, including coal imports, carbon costs imposed by Europe's emissions trading scheme and the threat of carbon tariffs on goods from nations with weak climate policies.
Barr said there had been some degree of disengagement from the management of climate risk because of the financial crisis.
The survey found the main funds responding to climate change were industry funds but a key area where all funds were falling behind was at the portfolio level where they did not have systems in place to manage climate change risks.
Climate change risk disclosure was another problem facing Australian funds at a time when stock exchanges around the world were in the process of increasing such disclosure requirements.
Isramart : North American group outlines carbon trade rules
Isramart news:
Members of the Western Climate Initiative laid out some of the ground rules on Thursday on the use and timing of carbon-offset credits allowed under its planned emission cap-and-trade system.
The seven western U.S. states and four Canadian provinces have decided to stay with a plan laid out last year that would limit use of offset credits and allowances to no more than 49 percent of emission reductions.
The offset limit will be calculated as a percentage of compliance to allow the WCI to be more easily linked with other trading systems, such as one now under way in the Eastern United States, an official of the group said.
Offsets are credits for projects or technology, such as tree planting. that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Emitters such as power plants can buy offsets to meet the requirements on cutting emissions blamed for climate change.
The use of offsets is among the many details the WCI is working on for the trading system, which is set to launch in 2012 and is designed to meet a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
The recommendations endorsed by the WCI last week in Vancouver, but not made public until Thursday, will now be adopted by each of the jurisdictions as they draft their regulations.
The WCI said placing limits on the use of offsets would be easier to administer, and it rejected suggestions the offset limit be adjusted annually to allow for a carry-over of unused offsets, saying that would make it too complex.
In addition to California -- which has the eighth largest economy in the world -- the WCI's members are: Arizona, New Mexico, British Columbia, Oregon, Ontario, Montana, Utah, Washington, Quebec, and Manitoba.
Not all of the members expect to be ready when the trading system starts in 2012.
Members of the Western Climate Initiative laid out some of the ground rules on Thursday on the use and timing of carbon-offset credits allowed under its planned emission cap-and-trade system.
The seven western U.S. states and four Canadian provinces have decided to stay with a plan laid out last year that would limit use of offset credits and allowances to no more than 49 percent of emission reductions.
The offset limit will be calculated as a percentage of compliance to allow the WCI to be more easily linked with other trading systems, such as one now under way in the Eastern United States, an official of the group said.
Offsets are credits for projects or technology, such as tree planting. that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Emitters such as power plants can buy offsets to meet the requirements on cutting emissions blamed for climate change.
The use of offsets is among the many details the WCI is working on for the trading system, which is set to launch in 2012 and is designed to meet a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
The recommendations endorsed by the WCI last week in Vancouver, but not made public until Thursday, will now be adopted by each of the jurisdictions as they draft their regulations.
The WCI said placing limits on the use of offsets would be easier to administer, and it rejected suggestions the offset limit be adjusted annually to allow for a carry-over of unused offsets, saying that would make it too complex.
In addition to California -- which has the eighth largest economy in the world -- the WCI's members are: Arizona, New Mexico, British Columbia, Oregon, Ontario, Montana, Utah, Washington, Quebec, and Manitoba.
Not all of the members expect to be ready when the trading system starts in 2012.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Isramart : Certificatele de emisii de gaze cu efect de sera au fost calificate ca valori mobiliare
Isramart news:
În vederea informării corecte şi complete a tuturor celor interesaţi, Comisia Naţională a Valorilor Mobiliare (C.N.V.M.) face următoarele precizări cu privire la Avizul nr.10/22.02.2010, prin care certificatele de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră au fost calificate ca valori mobiliare.
C.N.V.M. a emis Avizul nr.10/22.02.2010 în vederea creșterii transparenței tranzacționării certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră și a protecției investitorilor, precum și pentru diversificarea instrumentelor financiare care pot fi tranzacționate pe piața de capital.
Avantajul tranzacţionării acestor certificate pe piaţa de capital este dat şi de faptul că prețurile de vânzare și cumpărare se formează în urma cererii și ofertei de certificate de emisii, fiind corelate cu prețurile certificatelor tranzacționate pe piețele spot din Uniunea Europeană, în special prin intermediul operațiunilor de arbitraj, care eficientizează sistemele de cotare și aduc prețurile la niveluri identice pe toate piețele.Operatorii români de instalaţii aflaţi sub incidenţa schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră pot efectua tranzacţii cu aceste instrumente în nume şi pe cont propriu, fără utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital, în condiţiile în care contrapărţile sunt operatori români sau străini.
Orice tranzacţionare ulterioară a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră de către alte persoane decât operatorii de instalaţii intră sub incidenţa Legii nr.297/2004. Astfel, investitorii pot tranzacţiona aceste certificate prin intermediul unei pieţe reglementate sau al unui sistem alternativ de tranzacţionare din România, cu utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital.
Totodată, Avizul C.N.V.M. nr.10/22.02.2010 nu exclude posibilitatea ca operatorii de instalaţii să achiziţioneze în vederea exercitării propriilor activităţi profesionale sau să înstrăineze, în cazul deţinerii unei cantităţi suplimentare, certificatele de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră care le-au fost alocate prin Planul naţional de alocare şi pe pieţe din afara României, fără obligaţia de a utiliza intermediarii prevăzuţi în Legea nr.297/2004 privind piaţa de capital.
Reiterăm faptul că prin calificarea ca valori mobiliare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră se elimină din lanţul tranzacţiilor intermediarii nereglementaţi, neautorizaţi şi nesupravegheaţi de nicio autoritate competentă şi se asigură un mediu competitiv tranzacţiilor transfrontaliere cu astfel de certificate.
În vederea informării corecte şi complete a tuturor celor interesaţi, Comisia Naţională a Valorilor Mobiliare (C.N.V.M.) face următoarele precizări cu privire la Avizul nr.10/22.02.2010, prin care certificatele de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră au fost calificate ca valori mobiliare.
C.N.V.M. a emis Avizul nr.10/22.02.2010 în vederea creșterii transparenței tranzacționării certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră și a protecției investitorilor, precum și pentru diversificarea instrumentelor financiare care pot fi tranzacționate pe piața de capital.
Avantajul tranzacţionării acestor certificate pe piaţa de capital este dat şi de faptul că prețurile de vânzare și cumpărare se formează în urma cererii și ofertei de certificate de emisii, fiind corelate cu prețurile certificatelor tranzacționate pe piețele spot din Uniunea Europeană, în special prin intermediul operațiunilor de arbitraj, care eficientizează sistemele de cotare și aduc prețurile la niveluri identice pe toate piețele.Operatorii români de instalaţii aflaţi sub incidenţa schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră pot efectua tranzacţii cu aceste instrumente în nume şi pe cont propriu, fără utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital, în condiţiile în care contrapărţile sunt operatori români sau străini.
Orice tranzacţionare ulterioară a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră de către alte persoane decât operatorii de instalaţii intră sub incidenţa Legii nr.297/2004. Astfel, investitorii pot tranzacţiona aceste certificate prin intermediul unei pieţe reglementate sau al unui sistem alternativ de tranzacţionare din România, cu utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital.
Totodată, Avizul C.N.V.M. nr.10/22.02.2010 nu exclude posibilitatea ca operatorii de instalaţii să achiziţioneze în vederea exercitării propriilor activităţi profesionale sau să înstrăineze, în cazul deţinerii unei cantităţi suplimentare, certificatele de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră care le-au fost alocate prin Planul naţional de alocare şi pe pieţe din afara României, fără obligaţia de a utiliza intermediarii prevăzuţi în Legea nr.297/2004 privind piaţa de capital.
Reiterăm faptul că prin calificarea ca valori mobiliare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră se elimină din lanţul tranzacţiilor intermediarii nereglementaţi, neautorizaţi şi nesupravegheaţi de nicio autoritate competentă şi se asigură un mediu competitiv tranzacţiilor transfrontaliere cu astfel de certificate.
Isramart : CNVM: Poluatorii pot tranzacţiona certificatele de CO2 în afara pieţei de capital, investitorii nu
Isramart news:
Poluatorii pot tranzacţiona certificatele CO2 în afara pieţei de capital, însă investitorii sunt obligaţi să realizeze aceste transferuri în România numai prin intermediul Bursei, potrivit CNVM, care menţionează că astfel nu vor mai fi efectuate operaţiuni de intermediarii nesupravegheaţi. "Operatorii români de instalaţii aflaţi sub incidenţa schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră pot efectua tranzacţii cu aceste instrumente în nume şi pe cont propriu, fără utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital, în condiţiile în care contrapărţile sunt operatori români sau străini. Orice tranzacţionare ulterioară a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră de către alte persoane decât operatorii de instalaţii intră sub incidenţa Legii nr.297/2004. Astfel, investitorii pot tranzacţiona aceste certificate prin intermediul unei pieţe reglementate sau al unui sistem alternativ de tranzacţionare din România, cu utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital", se spune într-un comunicat transmis ieri de CNVM şi preluat de Mediafax. Totodată, Comisia menţionează că nu interzice operatorilor de instalaţii să cumpere, pentru activitatea de producţie, sau să vândă, în cazul în care au mai multe certificate decât necesare, cantitatea suplimentară alocată prin planul naţional de alocare, pe pieţele din afara României, fără să apeleze la serviciile brokerilor. "Reiterăm faptul că prin calificarea ca valori mobiliare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră se elimină din lanţul tranzacţiilor intermediarii nereglementaţi, neautorizaţi şi nesupravegheaţi de nicio autoritate competentă şi se asigură un mediu competitiv tranzacţiilor transfrontaliere cu astfel de certificate", se mai spune în comunicat.
CNVM mai arată că a clasificat certificatele de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră pentru creşterea transparenţei tranzacţionării acestor produse şi în vederea protecţiei investitorilor, precum şi pentru diversificarea instrumentelor financiare care pot fi tranzacţionate pe piaţa de capital. "Avantajul tranzacţionării acestor certificate pe piaţa de capital este dat şi de faptul că preţurile de vânzare şi cumpărare se formează în urma cererii şi ofertei de certificate de emisii, fiind corelate cu preţurile certificatelor tranzacţionate pe pieţele spot din Uniunea Europeană, în special prin intermediul operaţiunilor de arbitraj, care eficientizează sistemele de cotare şi aduc preţurile la niveluri identice pe toate pieţele", se arată în comunicat.
CNVM a înregistrat în luna februarie certificatele de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră drept valori mobiliare şi a stabilit că transferul acestora se va desfăşura exclusiv prin brokeri autorizaţi. După numărul de certificate alocate pentru perioada 2008-2012 cei mai mari poluatori din România sunt ArcelorMittal Steel Galaţi - aproximativ 71 de milioane de certificate, Complexul Energetic Turceni - 34 de milioane, Complexul Energetic Rovinari - 28 de milioane, Electrocentrale Deva - 20 de milioane, Complexul Energetic Craiova - Işalniţa - 17 milioane, RAAN Sucursala Romag Termo - 14 milioane, Lafarge Medgidia - 12,3 milioane, Arpechim Piteşti - 9,6 milioane.
Poluatorii pot tranzacţiona certificatele CO2 în afara pieţei de capital, însă investitorii sunt obligaţi să realizeze aceste transferuri în România numai prin intermediul Bursei, potrivit CNVM, care menţionează că astfel nu vor mai fi efectuate operaţiuni de intermediarii nesupravegheaţi. "Operatorii români de instalaţii aflaţi sub incidenţa schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră pot efectua tranzacţii cu aceste instrumente în nume şi pe cont propriu, fără utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital, în condiţiile în care contrapărţile sunt operatori români sau străini. Orice tranzacţionare ulterioară a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră de către alte persoane decât operatorii de instalaţii intră sub incidenţa Legii nr.297/2004. Astfel, investitorii pot tranzacţiona aceste certificate prin intermediul unei pieţe reglementate sau al unui sistem alternativ de tranzacţionare din România, cu utilizarea intermediarilor specifici pieţei de capital", se spune într-un comunicat transmis ieri de CNVM şi preluat de Mediafax. Totodată, Comisia menţionează că nu interzice operatorilor de instalaţii să cumpere, pentru activitatea de producţie, sau să vândă, în cazul în care au mai multe certificate decât necesare, cantitatea suplimentară alocată prin planul naţional de alocare, pe pieţele din afara României, fără să apeleze la serviciile brokerilor. "Reiterăm faptul că prin calificarea ca valori mobiliare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră se elimină din lanţul tranzacţiilor intermediarii nereglementaţi, neautorizaţi şi nesupravegheaţi de nicio autoritate competentă şi se asigură un mediu competitiv tranzacţiilor transfrontaliere cu astfel de certificate", se mai spune în comunicat.
CNVM mai arată că a clasificat certificatele de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră pentru creşterea transparenţei tranzacţionării acestor produse şi în vederea protecţiei investitorilor, precum şi pentru diversificarea instrumentelor financiare care pot fi tranzacţionate pe piaţa de capital. "Avantajul tranzacţionării acestor certificate pe piaţa de capital este dat şi de faptul că preţurile de vânzare şi cumpărare se formează în urma cererii şi ofertei de certificate de emisii, fiind corelate cu preţurile certificatelor tranzacţionate pe pieţele spot din Uniunea Europeană, în special prin intermediul operaţiunilor de arbitraj, care eficientizează sistemele de cotare şi aduc preţurile la niveluri identice pe toate pieţele", se arată în comunicat.
CNVM a înregistrat în luna februarie certificatele de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră drept valori mobiliare şi a stabilit că transferul acestora se va desfăşura exclusiv prin brokeri autorizaţi. După numărul de certificate alocate pentru perioada 2008-2012 cei mai mari poluatori din România sunt ArcelorMittal Steel Galaţi - aproximativ 71 de milioane de certificate, Complexul Energetic Turceni - 34 de milioane, Complexul Energetic Rovinari - 28 de milioane, Electrocentrale Deva - 20 de milioane, Complexul Energetic Craiova - Işalniţa - 17 milioane, RAAN Sucursala Romag Termo - 14 milioane, Lafarge Medgidia - 12,3 milioane, Arpechim Piteşti - 9,6 milioane.
Isramart : Romania a poluat in 2009 cu 38% mai putin decat avea dreptul; certificate de 380 milioane euro pot fi vandute pe bursele externe
Isramart news:
Romania a poluat anul trecut cu 38% mai putin decat avea dreptul in baza Protocolului de la Kyoto, astfel ca detinatorii de certificate, entitati de stat sau private, ar putea tranzactiona titlurile a caror valoare insumeaza aproximativ 380 milioane euro la cotatiile actuale de pe bursele externe, informeaza Mediafax Business. Poluatorii au ramas cu 29 de milioane de certificate verzi, al caror pret unitar pe bursele externe specializate este de circa13 euro.
Secretarul de stat in Ministerul Mediului si Padurilor Mircea Cotosman a declarat ca Romania a transmis, in martie, ultimul inventar national al emisiilor de gaze cu efect de sera, avand ca an de referinta 2009. Documentul indica un nivel al emisiilor cu circa 38% mai scazut decat valoarea-tinta medie prevazuta de Protocolul de la Kyoto pentru perioada 2008-2012.
"Scaderea a fost determinata, in principal, de reducerea productiei industriale si restructurarea economica", a spus secretarul de stat.
Protocolul de la Kyoto obliga statele ca in fiecare an, din 2008 si pana in 2012, sa reduca emisiile poluante cu 8% fata de nivelul din 1989. Prin Protocolul de la Kyoto, Romania are alocata pentru fiecare dintre acesti ani o cota anuala de poluare de 75,9 milioane de tone de dioxid de carbon.
Romania a poluat anul trecut cu 38% mai putin decat avea dreptul in baza Protocolului de la Kyoto, astfel ca detinatorii de certificate, entitati de stat sau private, ar putea tranzactiona titlurile a caror valoare insumeaza aproximativ 380 milioane euro la cotatiile actuale de pe bursele externe, informeaza Mediafax Business. Poluatorii au ramas cu 29 de milioane de certificate verzi, al caror pret unitar pe bursele externe specializate este de circa13 euro.
Secretarul de stat in Ministerul Mediului si Padurilor Mircea Cotosman a declarat ca Romania a transmis, in martie, ultimul inventar national al emisiilor de gaze cu efect de sera, avand ca an de referinta 2009. Documentul indica un nivel al emisiilor cu circa 38% mai scazut decat valoarea-tinta medie prevazuta de Protocolul de la Kyoto pentru perioada 2008-2012.
"Scaderea a fost determinata, in principal, de reducerea productiei industriale si restructurarea economica", a spus secretarul de stat.
Protocolul de la Kyoto obliga statele ca in fiecare an, din 2008 si pana in 2012, sa reduca emisiile poluante cu 8% fata de nivelul din 1989. Prin Protocolul de la Kyoto, Romania are alocata pentru fiecare dintre acesti ani o cota anuala de poluare de 75,9 milioane de tone de dioxid de carbon.
Isramart : IEA calls for low-carbon revolution
Isramart news:
The International Energy Agency and technology officers from 30 global companies in Paris called Wednesday for dramatic action to usher in a low-carbon economy.
"The global energy system must be transformed to a low-carbon system," the statement read. "This will require a dramatic ramp up of our annual investment in a portfolio of low-carbon energy technology solutions within the next decade bearing in mind technology shifts take decades to create material impacts."
The IEA said studies indicate that the technological capacity exists to cut carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2050. This requires a strong focus on energy efficiency in a "decarbonized" power and transport sector, the IEA said.
The challenge for the private sector and national governments is how to move forward with the development of technologies that will enable the transition to a low carbon economy.
"To realize the revolution in energy technologies that the world desperately needs, governments and business from developed and developing countries will need to work together closely," the statement read.
The IEA statement said government support for low-carbon economies is "essential" to encourage private sector investments.
"This means a revolution in the way modern society uses and produces energy," the statement added.
© 2010 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.
The International Energy Agency and technology officers from 30 global companies in Paris called Wednesday for dramatic action to usher in a low-carbon economy.
"The global energy system must be transformed to a low-carbon system," the statement read. "This will require a dramatic ramp up of our annual investment in a portfolio of low-carbon energy technology solutions within the next decade bearing in mind technology shifts take decades to create material impacts."
The IEA said studies indicate that the technological capacity exists to cut carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2050. This requires a strong focus on energy efficiency in a "decarbonized" power and transport sector, the IEA said.
The challenge for the private sector and national governments is how to move forward with the development of technologies that will enable the transition to a low carbon economy.
"To realize the revolution in energy technologies that the world desperately needs, governments and business from developed and developing countries will need to work together closely," the statement read.
The IEA statement said government support for low-carbon economies is "essential" to encourage private sector investments.
"This means a revolution in the way modern society uses and produces energy," the statement added.
© 2010 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
