www.isra-mart.com
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, has defended the country’s farmers against accusations from the Labour leader, Phil Goff, that they are not paying enough tax. Labour has released figures revealing that an average dairy farmer is paying less tax than a couple on a pension, however Mr Key has disputed these figures saying that they were based on turnover rather than profit.
The disagreement has come about as a result of Labour’s announcement that it would bring agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme or ETS (the proposed date for farmers to start paying for greenhouse emissions) two years earlier than currently planned. The extra revenue this would bring in, estimated at NZD800m (USD634m), would be used by a Labour Government to fund tax breaks on research and development.
At a post-cabinet press conference the Prime Minister announced: “We have said we will review the 2015 date and will only bring agriculture in if it’s consistent with other countries.
“At this point we’re not seeing a lot of movement from other countries. In face, if New Zealand was to come in with agriculture in 2015 we would be the only country in the world doing that.” He also pointed out that farmers are already paying ETS levies in kind as they were big users of electricity, petrol and diesel.
Mr Key suggested that slapping this tax onto the agriculture sector prematurely would lead to the country’s biggest exporter being uncompetitive and could lead to a price hike in staple foods like milk, butter, cheese and meat. He said: “I don’t think you can throw our biggest export earner to the wolves.”
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Isra-Mart srl: Australia’s carbon tax debate-Missing the point at great expense
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart srl news:
Canberra - The government wants to introduce a carbon tax. The Opposition says it’ll drive the country to the wall. The Greens want a higher tax. The public, as usual, is left looking at figures and press releases.
There are a lot of assumptions about this tax:
1. It’s seen as an anti-pollution measure, charging a nominal $26 per ton of carbon.
2. The assumption most relevant to consumers is that all of the costs of this tax will be passed on to them.
3. The government says it’s going to use the revenue to provide compensation to Australian households.
These are the fundamental theories on which implementing this new tax are based. The Garnaut report outlining the proposals is being spun like a bottle, and it’s anyone’s guess who gets kissed first.
Meanwhile-
1. Australia is perhaps the biggest per capita polluter in the world, producing millions of tons of coal and various other forms of carbon a lot of domestic pollution.
2. Energy companies providing electricity have been crying poor and intend to jack up their prices by a staggering 30% per year to pay for upgrading antiquated systems.
3. Motorists are getting buried under costs like petrol and parking, and this tax will probably impact them.
4. Freight costs are directly linked to petrol, and there’s another possible major cost impact there.
5. Coal producers are crying poor and will presumably up their prices, increasing cost pressures on electricity generation from coal-powered plants, hitting business, industry and consumers.
Again, macroeconomics speaks with forked, expedient tongue when it feels like it. All of this happens on the basis of the same $26 a ton.
Garnaut, to his credit, has focused on the economics to a very large extent as The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
“…He recommends that for three years after the carbon tax is introduced in mid-2012 about 55 per cent of the revenue should go to low and middle-income households to assist with price increases.
But once an emissions trading scheme (ETS) is introduced in 2015 the economist argues 60 per cent of the revenue should go to the less well-off.
That could then rise to 65 per cent by 2021/22.
Most of the assistance would be in the form of tax cuts with the tax-free threshold raised to $25,000.”
This may look like fiddling with margins, but it’s a fairly realistic appraisal of the situation for Australia’s low income earners who are likely to get stuck with monster bills from our delightfully rustic energy companies and others. It’s intended to be a progressively tailored tax regime, a new approach, but the question of how people less well-off earning less than that fabulous sum of $25,000 per year are supposed to cope.
The median wage in Australia is a bit of a sick joke. It’s calculated at $55,000, but the actual numbers of people earning under that amount is large enough to be a problem. The sick part of it is that already, without the carbon tax, many pensioners and others are saying they’ll have to go without things just to pay their electricity bills. Garnaut is obviously trying to address this problem, but the record of Australian governments understanding economists is to put it mildly abysmal.
The real elephant in the shoebox here is that there is no evidence that carbon trading actually reduces emissions. The original criticism, that polluters may theoretically pay for polluting, but consumers wear the cost, hasn’t been overturned.
Is there an incentive for polluters to clean up their act?
In Australia, like the rest of the world, the absurd infatuation with oil continues. There are many more efficient methods of providing energy, but the big money sticks with the remains of old Carboniferous swamps as its way of making an income for itself.
Oil and coal are infinitely more valuable as developed products than as fuels, but that idea is apparently too complex. A ton of coal, turned into a useful, non-polluting product, could be worth $10,000, not its current value of about 1.5% of that amount. Do coal producers want to make that sort of money? Obviously not. The same applies to most polluters, who may have business management degrees but know nothing about the science.
So the theory is that another ritual of paying to get poisoned will solve everything for consumers. The trouble is that this is about survival. We can either live on a progressively more polluted planet at ever increasing costs or we can get rid of the problem.
As usual, the wrong choices are being made. Stay tuned for more great options for going to work in acid baths instead of cars and ways of making cyanide fun for all the family.
Isra-Mart srl news:
Canberra - The government wants to introduce a carbon tax. The Opposition says it’ll drive the country to the wall. The Greens want a higher tax. The public, as usual, is left looking at figures and press releases.
There are a lot of assumptions about this tax:
1. It’s seen as an anti-pollution measure, charging a nominal $26 per ton of carbon.
2. The assumption most relevant to consumers is that all of the costs of this tax will be passed on to them.
3. The government says it’s going to use the revenue to provide compensation to Australian households.
These are the fundamental theories on which implementing this new tax are based. The Garnaut report outlining the proposals is being spun like a bottle, and it’s anyone’s guess who gets kissed first.
Meanwhile-
1. Australia is perhaps the biggest per capita polluter in the world, producing millions of tons of coal and various other forms of carbon a lot of domestic pollution.
2. Energy companies providing electricity have been crying poor and intend to jack up their prices by a staggering 30% per year to pay for upgrading antiquated systems.
3. Motorists are getting buried under costs like petrol and parking, and this tax will probably impact them.
4. Freight costs are directly linked to petrol, and there’s another possible major cost impact there.
5. Coal producers are crying poor and will presumably up their prices, increasing cost pressures on electricity generation from coal-powered plants, hitting business, industry and consumers.
Again, macroeconomics speaks with forked, expedient tongue when it feels like it. All of this happens on the basis of the same $26 a ton.
Garnaut, to his credit, has focused on the economics to a very large extent as The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
“…He recommends that for three years after the carbon tax is introduced in mid-2012 about 55 per cent of the revenue should go to low and middle-income households to assist with price increases.
But once an emissions trading scheme (ETS) is introduced in 2015 the economist argues 60 per cent of the revenue should go to the less well-off.
That could then rise to 65 per cent by 2021/22.
Most of the assistance would be in the form of tax cuts with the tax-free threshold raised to $25,000.”
This may look like fiddling with margins, but it’s a fairly realistic appraisal of the situation for Australia’s low income earners who are likely to get stuck with monster bills from our delightfully rustic energy companies and others. It’s intended to be a progressively tailored tax regime, a new approach, but the question of how people less well-off earning less than that fabulous sum of $25,000 per year are supposed to cope.
The median wage in Australia is a bit of a sick joke. It’s calculated at $55,000, but the actual numbers of people earning under that amount is large enough to be a problem. The sick part of it is that already, without the carbon tax, many pensioners and others are saying they’ll have to go without things just to pay their electricity bills. Garnaut is obviously trying to address this problem, but the record of Australian governments understanding economists is to put it mildly abysmal.
The real elephant in the shoebox here is that there is no evidence that carbon trading actually reduces emissions. The original criticism, that polluters may theoretically pay for polluting, but consumers wear the cost, hasn’t been overturned.
Is there an incentive for polluters to clean up their act?
In Australia, like the rest of the world, the absurd infatuation with oil continues. There are many more efficient methods of providing energy, but the big money sticks with the remains of old Carboniferous swamps as its way of making an income for itself.
Oil and coal are infinitely more valuable as developed products than as fuels, but that idea is apparently too complex. A ton of coal, turned into a useful, non-polluting product, could be worth $10,000, not its current value of about 1.5% of that amount. Do coal producers want to make that sort of money? Obviously not. The same applies to most polluters, who may have business management degrees but know nothing about the science.
So the theory is that another ritual of paying to get poisoned will solve everything for consumers. The trouble is that this is about survival. We can either live on a progressively more polluted planet at ever increasing costs or we can get rid of the problem.
As usual, the wrong choices are being made. Stay tuned for more great options for going to work in acid baths instead of cars and ways of making cyanide fun for all the family.
Isra-Mart srl: Netherlands likely to exceed EU emissions standards
www.isra-mart.com
The Netherlands is unlikely to achieve EU emissions standards by 2015, according to a report published on Tuesday by the national environment assessment agency PBL and the ECN energy research centre.
The report estimates the country will achieve roughly 50% of the EU standard in nitrogen emitted by traffic, industry and energy companies and in ammonia emissions in agriculture.
The two organisation estimate that CO2 emissions will be above the 6% drop on 1990 figures agreed in the Kyoto protocol for the period 2008-2012. This can be off-set by buying carbon credits under the EU emissions trading scheme.
The Netherlands will, however, reach targets on emissions of sulphuric dioxide and air-born particles, says the report.
The Netherlands is unlikely to achieve EU emissions standards by 2015, according to a report published on Tuesday by the national environment assessment agency PBL and the ECN energy research centre.
The report estimates the country will achieve roughly 50% of the EU standard in nitrogen emitted by traffic, industry and energy companies and in ammonia emissions in agriculture.
The two organisation estimate that CO2 emissions will be above the 6% drop on 1990 figures agreed in the Kyoto protocol for the period 2008-2012. This can be off-set by buying carbon credits under the EU emissions trading scheme.
The Netherlands will, however, reach targets on emissions of sulphuric dioxide and air-born particles, says the report.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Isra-Mart srl: EU exempts solar panels from toxins rule
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
The solar industry was celebrating last week after the EU confirmed late on Friday that it would exempt solar panels from new chemicals regulations that had threatened to effectively ban certain thin-film solar technologies.
The revised directive on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, which was ratified into law last week, imposes a general ban on six hazardous substances, including cadmium, which is commonly used in cadmium telluride thin-film solar technologies.
However, the solar industry secured an exemption from the directive for solar cell technologies last autumn, while certain energy-saving light bulbs have also escaped the ban.
"In order to attain the EU's ambitious targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency, photovoltaic panels to produce energy from solar light do not have to comply with the restriction," EU ministers said in a statement.
"The ban will now in principle apply to all electrical and electronic equipment, as well as to cables and spare parts."
The revised act will be published in the Official Journal of the EU, giving member states 18 months to transpose the directive into national law.
Isra-Mart news:
The solar industry was celebrating last week after the EU confirmed late on Friday that it would exempt solar panels from new chemicals regulations that had threatened to effectively ban certain thin-film solar technologies.
The revised directive on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, which was ratified into law last week, imposes a general ban on six hazardous substances, including cadmium, which is commonly used in cadmium telluride thin-film solar technologies.
However, the solar industry secured an exemption from the directive for solar cell technologies last autumn, while certain energy-saving light bulbs have also escaped the ban.
"In order to attain the EU's ambitious targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency, photovoltaic panels to produce energy from solar light do not have to comply with the restriction," EU ministers said in a statement.
"The ban will now in principle apply to all electrical and electronic equipment, as well as to cables and spare parts."
The revised act will be published in the Official Journal of the EU, giving member states 18 months to transpose the directive into national law.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Isra-Mart srl: Raport PwC: Tranzactiile din energie, revitalizate de cresterea preturilor hidrocarburilor
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
„Se observa revenirea increderii in piata dupa ce problemele de finantare au generat dificultati majore pentru companiile din acest sector in 2008 si 2009. In plus, in 2010 asteptarile cumparatorilor si cele ale vanzatorilor au fost mai realiste, ceea ce a dus la volume mai mari ale tranzactiilor", a declarat Alexandru Lupea (foto), partener PwC in cadrul departamentului de servicii de audit, liderul grupului pentru industria energetica, miniera si de utilitati.
Lupea spune ca se asteapta ca nivelul de incredere sa ramana relativ ridicat si anul acesta, in ciuda incertitudinilor legate de cadrul de reglementare din unele piete
"Si in Romania, volumul tranzactiilor in acest sector a crescut in 2010 si este posibil sa se mentina ridicat si in anii urmatori daca se limpezeste cadrul legislativ si daca se fac imbunatatirile necesare in sistemul de transport al energiei electrice”, potrivit lui Lupea.
Pe plan global, tranzactiile legate de eficienta energetica s-au triplat in volum la peste 3 miliarde de dolari, adica 11% din totalul tranzactiilor din sectorul energiilor regenerabile, depasind chiar ca valoare segmentul de piata cel mai activ din 2009, hidroenergia.
Totusi, remarca specialistii PwC, proiectele de energie solara si cele de energie eoliana reprezinta in continuare grosul tranzactiilor din acest sector.
Piata americana a generat cea mai mare parte a cresterii tranzactiilor din zona eficientei energetice, ceea ce reflecta trei factori: potentialul ridicat de a face economii de energie, impactul crescut al cadrului de reglementare (spre exemplu noul cod american al constructiilor civile care vizeaza reducerea cu 30% a consumului de energie pentru cladirile noi) si cresterea pretului energiei conventionale, in special a hidrocarburilor.
„Cresterea tranzactiilor din domeniul eficientei energetice nu este surprinzatoare, indeosebi in America de Nord, pentru ca, in incercarea de a reduce factura energetica si emisiile de gaze cu efect de sera, trebuie sa te orientezi catre zonele care pot genera cele mai rapide rezultate. (...) La noi in tara, economia de energie si eficienta energetica va deveni de mare actualitate odata cu uniformizarea pretului la gaze pe piata interna si a reducerii subventiei la incalzire”, a adaugat Alexandru Lupea.
Alte evolutii semnificative ale pietei au reprezentat intrarile unor companii americane si franceze din sfera energiei nucleare in sectorul energiei solare si eoliene, intrari care fac parte dintr-o miscare mai ampla a companiilor din sectorul nuclear de a patrunde in zona energiilor regenerabile pentru a-si diversifica productia de energie.
„Multe dintre aceste companii producatoare de energie nucleara cauta sa-si diversifice oferta. Reactia fata de accidentul nuclear din Japonia a fost de a-si reanaliza strategia. Desi acest lucru nu va duce la blocarea investitiilor in energia nucleara, ar putea duce pe termen scurt la o implicare si mai mare a producatorilor de energie nucleara in sectorul energiei regenerabile”, a precizat Lupea.
In ciuda volumelor de tranzactionare in crestere, „prima verde” aferenta fuziunilor si achizitiilor din sectorul energiei regenerabile, adica pretul suplimentar pe care sunt dispusi investitorii sa-l plateasca pentru o afacere din acest domeniu, s-a redus, in principal datorita diminuarii asteptarilor de pret ale vanzatorilor, precum si a intarzierii introducerii unor reglementari referitoare la reducerea emisiilor de carbon.
Achizitiile companiilor de utilitati au scazut la o treime din nivelurile anterioare, in parte ca urmare a schimbarilor cadrului de reglementare din Spania, Germania, Italia si Marea Britanie, dar si pentru ca accentul cade acum pe investitiile masive de capital necesare pentru companiile din domeniu.
Cele mai mari tranzactii au fost dominate de listarile pe bursele internationale a unor companii din sector, incluzand tranzactia de 3,4 miliarde de Euro prin care s-a desprins activitatea de energie regenerabila a Enel, precum si de listarile unor companii din China, prin care s-a obtinut capital pentru noi investitii si dezvoltarea pietei.
„Revenirea cotatiei petrolului la peste 100 de dolari americani pe baril, precum si reactia fata de tragedia nucleara din Japonia ar trebui sa duca la cresterea evaluarii companiilor active pe segmentul energiilor regenerabile si sa aduca aminte guvernelor ca trecerea la o economie care genereaza mai putine gaze cu efect de sera este importanta nu numai din punct de vedere al impactului asupra mediului, dar si al asigurarii continuitatii aprovizionarii cu energie”, a concluzionat Lupea.
Raportul "Renewable Deals" publicat de PwC, in cifre
- Numarul tranzactiilor in Europa a crescut cu 50%, dar valoarea totala a acestora s-a redus cu mai mult de jumatate, pana la 13 miliarde de dolari americani;
- Numarul tranzactiilor din America de Nord a crescut cu 71%, iar valoarea acestora a crescut cu 43% pana la 12,9 miliarde de dolari;
- Numarul tranzactiilor din America de Sud a crescut cu 111%, iar valoarea acestora s-a dublat pana la 3,3 miliarde de dolari;
- In regiunea Asia Pacific (incluzand Australasia) numarul tranzactiilor s-a dublat, dar valoarea acestora s-a redus la jumatate pana la 3,5 miliarde de dolari.
PwC este o companie multinationala care ofera servicii de audit financiar, consultanta fiscala si consultanta pentru afaceri. Compania are in prezent 161.000 de angajati in 154 de tari, inclusiv Romania.
Isra-Mart news:
„Se observa revenirea increderii in piata dupa ce problemele de finantare au generat dificultati majore pentru companiile din acest sector in 2008 si 2009. In plus, in 2010 asteptarile cumparatorilor si cele ale vanzatorilor au fost mai realiste, ceea ce a dus la volume mai mari ale tranzactiilor", a declarat Alexandru Lupea (foto), partener PwC in cadrul departamentului de servicii de audit, liderul grupului pentru industria energetica, miniera si de utilitati.
Lupea spune ca se asteapta ca nivelul de incredere sa ramana relativ ridicat si anul acesta, in ciuda incertitudinilor legate de cadrul de reglementare din unele piete
"Si in Romania, volumul tranzactiilor in acest sector a crescut in 2010 si este posibil sa se mentina ridicat si in anii urmatori daca se limpezeste cadrul legislativ si daca se fac imbunatatirile necesare in sistemul de transport al energiei electrice”, potrivit lui Lupea.
Pe plan global, tranzactiile legate de eficienta energetica s-au triplat in volum la peste 3 miliarde de dolari, adica 11% din totalul tranzactiilor din sectorul energiilor regenerabile, depasind chiar ca valoare segmentul de piata cel mai activ din 2009, hidroenergia.
Totusi, remarca specialistii PwC, proiectele de energie solara si cele de energie eoliana reprezinta in continuare grosul tranzactiilor din acest sector.
Piata americana a generat cea mai mare parte a cresterii tranzactiilor din zona eficientei energetice, ceea ce reflecta trei factori: potentialul ridicat de a face economii de energie, impactul crescut al cadrului de reglementare (spre exemplu noul cod american al constructiilor civile care vizeaza reducerea cu 30% a consumului de energie pentru cladirile noi) si cresterea pretului energiei conventionale, in special a hidrocarburilor.
„Cresterea tranzactiilor din domeniul eficientei energetice nu este surprinzatoare, indeosebi in America de Nord, pentru ca, in incercarea de a reduce factura energetica si emisiile de gaze cu efect de sera, trebuie sa te orientezi catre zonele care pot genera cele mai rapide rezultate. (...) La noi in tara, economia de energie si eficienta energetica va deveni de mare actualitate odata cu uniformizarea pretului la gaze pe piata interna si a reducerii subventiei la incalzire”, a adaugat Alexandru Lupea.
Alte evolutii semnificative ale pietei au reprezentat intrarile unor companii americane si franceze din sfera energiei nucleare in sectorul energiei solare si eoliene, intrari care fac parte dintr-o miscare mai ampla a companiilor din sectorul nuclear de a patrunde in zona energiilor regenerabile pentru a-si diversifica productia de energie.
„Multe dintre aceste companii producatoare de energie nucleara cauta sa-si diversifice oferta. Reactia fata de accidentul nuclear din Japonia a fost de a-si reanaliza strategia. Desi acest lucru nu va duce la blocarea investitiilor in energia nucleara, ar putea duce pe termen scurt la o implicare si mai mare a producatorilor de energie nucleara in sectorul energiei regenerabile”, a precizat Lupea.
In ciuda volumelor de tranzactionare in crestere, „prima verde” aferenta fuziunilor si achizitiilor din sectorul energiei regenerabile, adica pretul suplimentar pe care sunt dispusi investitorii sa-l plateasca pentru o afacere din acest domeniu, s-a redus, in principal datorita diminuarii asteptarilor de pret ale vanzatorilor, precum si a intarzierii introducerii unor reglementari referitoare la reducerea emisiilor de carbon.
Achizitiile companiilor de utilitati au scazut la o treime din nivelurile anterioare, in parte ca urmare a schimbarilor cadrului de reglementare din Spania, Germania, Italia si Marea Britanie, dar si pentru ca accentul cade acum pe investitiile masive de capital necesare pentru companiile din domeniu.
Cele mai mari tranzactii au fost dominate de listarile pe bursele internationale a unor companii din sector, incluzand tranzactia de 3,4 miliarde de Euro prin care s-a desprins activitatea de energie regenerabila a Enel, precum si de listarile unor companii din China, prin care s-a obtinut capital pentru noi investitii si dezvoltarea pietei.
„Revenirea cotatiei petrolului la peste 100 de dolari americani pe baril, precum si reactia fata de tragedia nucleara din Japonia ar trebui sa duca la cresterea evaluarii companiilor active pe segmentul energiilor regenerabile si sa aduca aminte guvernelor ca trecerea la o economie care genereaza mai putine gaze cu efect de sera este importanta nu numai din punct de vedere al impactului asupra mediului, dar si al asigurarii continuitatii aprovizionarii cu energie”, a concluzionat Lupea.
Raportul "Renewable Deals" publicat de PwC, in cifre
- Numarul tranzactiilor in Europa a crescut cu 50%, dar valoarea totala a acestora s-a redus cu mai mult de jumatate, pana la 13 miliarde de dolari americani;
- Numarul tranzactiilor din America de Nord a crescut cu 71%, iar valoarea acestora a crescut cu 43% pana la 12,9 miliarde de dolari;
- Numarul tranzactiilor din America de Sud a crescut cu 111%, iar valoarea acestora s-a dublat pana la 3,3 miliarde de dolari;
- In regiunea Asia Pacific (incluzand Australasia) numarul tranzactiilor s-a dublat, dar valoarea acestora s-a redus la jumatate pana la 3,5 miliarde de dolari.
PwC este o companie multinationala care ofera servicii de audit financiar, consultanta fiscala si consultanta pentru afaceri. Compania are in prezent 161.000 de angajati in 154 de tari, inclusiv Romania.
Isra-Mart srl: România, sancţionată dur din cauza jongleriilor "băieţilor deştepţi"
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
O afacere din domeniul energetic despre care se vorbeşte destul de puţin este pe cale să transforme România din producător de energie în importator. Iar această chestiune va avea un impact devastator asupra buzunarelor cetăţenilor obişnuiţi.
Marile afaceri cu certificate CO2 poartă marca Adriean Videanu
În aprilie 2010, Guvernul României anunţa că va scoate la vânzare surplusul de certificate de CO2 alocate prin Protocolul de la Kyoto pentru a aduce bani la buget, dar şi pentru că preţul acestora pe piaţa internaţională este în scădere, iar banii obţinuţi vor fi investiţi în proiecte care duc la reducerea emisiilor de noxe. Potrivit ordonanţei, sumele obţinute din vânzarea surplusului de certificate de CO2 urmau a fi virate la Fondul de mediu şi utilizate pentru finanţarea proiectelor care duc la reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră. Guvernul Boc decisese că vânzarea surplusului de certificate de CO2 se va face prin negociere directă şi va fi luată în calcul oferta cea mai avantajoasă din punct de vedere economic. Executivul argumenta atunci adoptarea acestui act normativ "luând în considerare criza economică şi faptul că venitul obţinut din comercializarea surplusului (...) conduce la un impact pozitiv asupra deficitului bugetar şi reprezintă o sursă de finanţare pentru proiectele de mediu (...) precum şi pentru proiectele din sectorul rezidenţial, agricultură şi transporturi, în vederea aplicării pachetului legislativ energie-schimbări climatice". Actul normativ din aprilie 2010 fusese aprobat de Guvern în regim de urgenţă pentru că tendinţa pe piaţa certificatelor de CO2 era în scădere "semnificativă", se mai arată în text. Adriean Videanu declara că România vrea să vândă certificate ce corespund unei cantităţi de 150 de milioane de tone de CO2, din cele 250 de milioane de tone ce-i revin conform Protocolului de la Kyoto. Videanu estima atunci că România va încasa 1,8 miliarde de euro.
Numai că Videanu a uitat să informeze opinia publică şi despre faptul că lipsa unui statut bine definit al certificatelor de emisii de dioxid de carbon a permis desfăşurarea a sute de operaţiuni de vânzare-cumpărare care au ocolit organismele de supraveghere şi reglementare în domeniu.
În doar un an de zile de la adoptarea acelui act normativ, Bursa Română de Mărfuri a înregistrat recorduri de tranzacţionare, în urma cărora statul a încasat sume importante din Taxa pe Valoarea Adăugată la tranzacţiile cu certificatele CO2.
Criza economică şi reducerea activităţii în sectoare cu grad ridicat de poluare au dus la apariţia unui disponibil foarte mare de certificate de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră, companiile din sectorul energetic fiind primele care au scos la vânzare cota rămasă neconsumată. În ciuda faptului că România are o piaţă de energie dezvoltată, iar în Europa tranzacţiile cu certificate se fac aproape exclusiv pe burse specializate, vânzătorii şi cumpărătorii de la noi ocolesc piaţa destinată exclusiv certificatelor CO2, dorind doar să îşi sporească câştigurile cât mai rapid cu putinţă.
Legislaţia bramburită din România dă aşadar posibilitatea oricui (persoană fizică sau juridică) să cumpere şi să vândă certificate de CO2, printr-o simplă deschidere de cont la Registrul Naţional al Emisiilor. Această autoritate ţine evidenţa certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră emise, deţinute, transferate şi anulate, inclusiv a operaţiunilor cu unităţi de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră prevăzute de Protocolul de la Kyoto. Dat fiind că în legislaţia noastră nu există clarificări privind comercializarea acestor certificate, tranzacţiile sunt secrete, iar în Registru pot fi identificate doar transferurile cu certificate şi unităţi prevăzute de Protocolul de la Kyoto fără a cunoaşte detalii privind tranzacţiile realizate de operatori care se află la baza transferului de certificate. Toate transferurile se efectuează electronic şi se înregistrează în acelaşi mod.
Sutele de operaţiuni de vânzare-cumpărare care au ocolit organismele de supraveghere şi reglementare în domeniu şi legislaţia neclară în domeniul certificatelor de emisii de carbon nu sunt nici pe departe singurele probleme grave pe care România le are în acest domeniu. Cea mai apăsătoare chestiune în această privinţă este aceea legată de modul defectuos în care sunt cheltuiţi banii proveniţi din comercializarea certificatelor CO2 de către marii poluatori din energie.
Marii deţinători de certificate CO2 le-au "investit " în sponsorizări de campanii electorale şi în prime de vacanţă
Un certificat de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră conferă dreptul de a emite o tonă de dioxid de carbon echivalent într-o perioadă definită. Pentru perioada 2008-2012, plafonul european este evaluat la 2,08 miliarde tone de emisii anual. Din această valoare, plafonul României este de 75,9 milioane de tone anual, adică 3,6%. Plafonul iniţial atribuit României a fost redus la începutul acestui an de Comisia Europeană cu aproximativ 20%. 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.
De pildă, Rovinari, Turceni, Craiova-Işalniţa sunt trei dintre cele mai importante beneficiare ale schemei de sprijin cu certificate CO2, ceea ce înseamnă că primesc aceste certificate gratis, dar trebuie să le valorifice în bani care să fie investiţi în proiecte de retehnologizare în domeniul protecţiei mediului. Ce au făcut cei trei mari poluatori?! Ce fac de regulă companiile de stat conduse de manageri numiţi politic. Au investit - dacă se poate spune aşa - enormele sume provenite din comercializarea certificatelor CO2 în campaniile electorale (a se vedea cazul Mintia, din decembrie 2010), pentru sponsorizarea echipelor de fotbal, pentru prime şi bonusuri la salariile conducerii societăţilor, pentru achiziţionarea de maşini luxoase şi mobilier scump pentru birouri.
Pentru a avea dimensiunea exactă a sumelor care intră în conturile acestor mari poluatori, trebuie spus că preţul unui certificat în 2008 era de 6 euro, acum în 2011 ajungând la o valoare de 18 euro.
Românii plătesc scump jongleriile guvernamentale cu certificate CO2
Din cauza cheltuirii păguboase a banilor rezultaţi din comercializarea certificatelor CO2, dar şi din cauza lipsei de transparenţă din acest domeniu, România a fost făcută pulbere în Raportul Anual al Comitetului de Implementare a Protocolului de la Kyoto - ale cărui concluzii sunt obligatorii pentru ţările UE.
Raportul Compliance Committee privind România, dat publicităţii în data de 11 mai 2011, acuză în clar autorităţile de la Bucureşti, la punctele 148 şi 149, de a fi "lipsite de transparenţă" şi chiar de a fi raportat "date false privind stocul de certificate de emisii de carbon" şi de a nu fi demonstrat cum s-au "cheltuit banii proveniţi din comercializarea certificatelor". La punctul nr. 167, Compliance Committee spune cât se poate de clar că, urmare a deficienţelor din activitatea Registrului Naţional al Emisiilor, această autoritate naţională de reglementare trebuie închisă.
Ce se va întâmpla odată ce această măsură va fi pusă în practică?! Răspunsul este extrem de simplu! Dezastru pe toate linia! În primul rând, prin închiderea acestui Registru Naţional al Emisiilor, marii poluatori din energie (şi din industrie) nu vor mai putea primi certificate CO2, pe cale de consecinţă, nu vor mai putea polua mediul, deci nu vor mai putea funcţiona, nefiind retehnologizate din punctul de vedere al investiţiilor de mediu. Nefuncţionarea marilor termocentrale atrage după sine imposibilitatea României de a se mai alimenta cu energie de pe piaţa internă. Iar asta nu înseamnă nimic altceva decât faptul că românii vor plăti de 10 ori mai mult preţul energiei termice, pe care ţara noastră o va importa.
Iată cum încă o dată celebrul slogan al lui Traian Băsescu - "Să trăiţi bine!" - devine nu doar ridicol şi inutil, ci de-a dreptul cinic, în condiţiile în care, din cauza incompetenţei şi relei credinţe cu care este administrată România, de preşedinte şi de aliaţii săi, cetăţenii acestei ţări ajung să trăiască din ce în ce mai prost.
Isra-Mart news:
O afacere din domeniul energetic despre care se vorbeşte destul de puţin este pe cale să transforme România din producător de energie în importator. Iar această chestiune va avea un impact devastator asupra buzunarelor cetăţenilor obişnuiţi.
Marile afaceri cu certificate CO2 poartă marca Adriean Videanu
În aprilie 2010, Guvernul României anunţa că va scoate la vânzare surplusul de certificate de CO2 alocate prin Protocolul de la Kyoto pentru a aduce bani la buget, dar şi pentru că preţul acestora pe piaţa internaţională este în scădere, iar banii obţinuţi vor fi investiţi în proiecte care duc la reducerea emisiilor de noxe. Potrivit ordonanţei, sumele obţinute din vânzarea surplusului de certificate de CO2 urmau a fi virate la Fondul de mediu şi utilizate pentru finanţarea proiectelor care duc la reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră. Guvernul Boc decisese că vânzarea surplusului de certificate de CO2 se va face prin negociere directă şi va fi luată în calcul oferta cea mai avantajoasă din punct de vedere economic. Executivul argumenta atunci adoptarea acestui act normativ "luând în considerare criza economică şi faptul că venitul obţinut din comercializarea surplusului (...) conduce la un impact pozitiv asupra deficitului bugetar şi reprezintă o sursă de finanţare pentru proiectele de mediu (...) precum şi pentru proiectele din sectorul rezidenţial, agricultură şi transporturi, în vederea aplicării pachetului legislativ energie-schimbări climatice". Actul normativ din aprilie 2010 fusese aprobat de Guvern în regim de urgenţă pentru că tendinţa pe piaţa certificatelor de CO2 era în scădere "semnificativă", se mai arată în text. Adriean Videanu declara că România vrea să vândă certificate ce corespund unei cantităţi de 150 de milioane de tone de CO2, din cele 250 de milioane de tone ce-i revin conform Protocolului de la Kyoto. Videanu estima atunci că România va încasa 1,8 miliarde de euro.
Numai că Videanu a uitat să informeze opinia publică şi despre faptul că lipsa unui statut bine definit al certificatelor de emisii de dioxid de carbon a permis desfăşurarea a sute de operaţiuni de vânzare-cumpărare care au ocolit organismele de supraveghere şi reglementare în domeniu.
În doar un an de zile de la adoptarea acelui act normativ, Bursa Română de Mărfuri a înregistrat recorduri de tranzacţionare, în urma cărora statul a încasat sume importante din Taxa pe Valoarea Adăugată la tranzacţiile cu certificatele CO2.
Criza economică şi reducerea activităţii în sectoare cu grad ridicat de poluare au dus la apariţia unui disponibil foarte mare de certificate de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră, companiile din sectorul energetic fiind primele care au scos la vânzare cota rămasă neconsumată. În ciuda faptului că România are o piaţă de energie dezvoltată, iar în Europa tranzacţiile cu certificate se fac aproape exclusiv pe burse specializate, vânzătorii şi cumpărătorii de la noi ocolesc piaţa destinată exclusiv certificatelor CO2, dorind doar să îşi sporească câştigurile cât mai rapid cu putinţă.
Legislaţia bramburită din România dă aşadar posibilitatea oricui (persoană fizică sau juridică) să cumpere şi să vândă certificate de CO2, printr-o simplă deschidere de cont la Registrul Naţional al Emisiilor. Această autoritate ţine evidenţa certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră emise, deţinute, transferate şi anulate, inclusiv a operaţiunilor cu unităţi de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră prevăzute de Protocolul de la Kyoto. Dat fiind că în legislaţia noastră nu există clarificări privind comercializarea acestor certificate, tranzacţiile sunt secrete, iar în Registru pot fi identificate doar transferurile cu certificate şi unităţi prevăzute de Protocolul de la Kyoto fără a cunoaşte detalii privind tranzacţiile realizate de operatori care se află la baza transferului de certificate. Toate transferurile se efectuează electronic şi se înregistrează în acelaşi mod.
Sutele de operaţiuni de vânzare-cumpărare care au ocolit organismele de supraveghere şi reglementare în domeniu şi legislaţia neclară în domeniul certificatelor de emisii de carbon nu sunt nici pe departe singurele probleme grave pe care România le are în acest domeniu. Cea mai apăsătoare chestiune în această privinţă este aceea legată de modul defectuos în care sunt cheltuiţi banii proveniţi din comercializarea certificatelor CO2 de către marii poluatori din energie.
Marii deţinători de certificate CO2 le-au "investit " în sponsorizări de campanii electorale şi în prime de vacanţă
Un certificat de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră conferă dreptul de a emite o tonă de dioxid de carbon echivalent într-o perioadă definită. Pentru perioada 2008-2012, plafonul european este evaluat la 2,08 miliarde tone de emisii anual. Din această valoare, plafonul României este de 75,9 milioane de tone anual, adică 3,6%. Plafonul iniţial atribuit României a fost redus la începutul acestui an de Comisia Europeană cu aproximativ 20%. 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.
De pildă, Rovinari, Turceni, Craiova-Işalniţa sunt trei dintre cele mai importante beneficiare ale schemei de sprijin cu certificate CO2, ceea ce înseamnă că primesc aceste certificate gratis, dar trebuie să le valorifice în bani care să fie investiţi în proiecte de retehnologizare în domeniul protecţiei mediului. Ce au făcut cei trei mari poluatori?! Ce fac de regulă companiile de stat conduse de manageri numiţi politic. Au investit - dacă se poate spune aşa - enormele sume provenite din comercializarea certificatelor CO2 în campaniile electorale (a se vedea cazul Mintia, din decembrie 2010), pentru sponsorizarea echipelor de fotbal, pentru prime şi bonusuri la salariile conducerii societăţilor, pentru achiziţionarea de maşini luxoase şi mobilier scump pentru birouri.
Pentru a avea dimensiunea exactă a sumelor care intră în conturile acestor mari poluatori, trebuie spus că preţul unui certificat în 2008 era de 6 euro, acum în 2011 ajungând la o valoare de 18 euro.
Românii plătesc scump jongleriile guvernamentale cu certificate CO2
Din cauza cheltuirii păguboase a banilor rezultaţi din comercializarea certificatelor CO2, dar şi din cauza lipsei de transparenţă din acest domeniu, România a fost făcută pulbere în Raportul Anual al Comitetului de Implementare a Protocolului de la Kyoto - ale cărui concluzii sunt obligatorii pentru ţările UE.
Raportul Compliance Committee privind România, dat publicităţii în data de 11 mai 2011, acuză în clar autorităţile de la Bucureşti, la punctele 148 şi 149, de a fi "lipsite de transparenţă" şi chiar de a fi raportat "date false privind stocul de certificate de emisii de carbon" şi de a nu fi demonstrat cum s-au "cheltuit banii proveniţi din comercializarea certificatelor". La punctul nr. 167, Compliance Committee spune cât se poate de clar că, urmare a deficienţelor din activitatea Registrului Naţional al Emisiilor, această autoritate naţională de reglementare trebuie închisă.
Ce se va întâmpla odată ce această măsură va fi pusă în practică?! Răspunsul este extrem de simplu! Dezastru pe toate linia! În primul rând, prin închiderea acestui Registru Naţional al Emisiilor, marii poluatori din energie (şi din industrie) nu vor mai putea primi certificate CO2, pe cale de consecinţă, nu vor mai putea polua mediul, deci nu vor mai putea funcţiona, nefiind retehnologizate din punctul de vedere al investiţiilor de mediu. Nefuncţionarea marilor termocentrale atrage după sine imposibilitatea României de a se mai alimenta cu energie de pe piaţa internă. Iar asta nu înseamnă nimic altceva decât faptul că românii vor plăti de 10 ori mai mult preţul energiei termice, pe care ţara noastră o va importa.
Iată cum încă o dată celebrul slogan al lui Traian Băsescu - "Să trăiţi bine!" - devine nu doar ridicol şi inutil, ci de-a dreptul cinic, în condiţiile în care, din cauza incompetenţei şi relei credinţe cu care este administrată România, de preşedinte şi de aliaţii săi, cetăţenii acestei ţări ajung să trăiască din ce în ce mai prost.
Isra-Mart srl: California 'cap and trade' legal glitch
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
A court ruling may delay rollout of the first state-wide emissions trading programme in the US aimed at tacking global warming. On 20 May, the California Superior Court ruled that Californian regulators must first analyse other options before proceeding with a 'cap and trade' that was due to become operational in 2012. Though not exactly good news from an EU viewpoint, as Brussels eagerly backs the 'cap and trade', which could ultimately be linked up to the EU's scheme, the courts at least have not excluded the option of a 'cap and trade'. With there being no chance currently of the US Congress enacting a US-wide scheme, many Europeans are hoping California can inject some much-needed momentum in climate policy in Washington.
Isra-Mart news:
A court ruling may delay rollout of the first state-wide emissions trading programme in the US aimed at tacking global warming. On 20 May, the California Superior Court ruled that Californian regulators must first analyse other options before proceeding with a 'cap and trade' that was due to become operational in 2012. Though not exactly good news from an EU viewpoint, as Brussels eagerly backs the 'cap and trade', which could ultimately be linked up to the EU's scheme, the courts at least have not excluded the option of a 'cap and trade'. With there being no chance currently of the US Congress enacting a US-wide scheme, many Europeans are hoping California can inject some much-needed momentum in climate policy in Washington.
Isra-Mart srl: Wood chips a competing boiler fuel to lignites
www.isra=mart.com
A fledgling energy resource from southern forest harvesting waste is gaining traction in Otago and Southland with a growing number of organisations installing or converting to wood-chip fired boilers.
With proposed lignite mining in the South, and its potential conversion to briquettes for boiler fuel appearing set to remain a highly contentious option, the alternative wood chip fuel source is attracting more attention.
The concept is already a popular and proven option in Europe and North America and is lauded as clean burning, with particle emissions between a third to a fifth those of coal, being a renewable source, efficient and carbon neutral.
Southern Wood Council chairman Grant Dodson said between Otago and Southland's combined more than 215,000 hectares of forest, members could produce and supply wood to support the regions' biomass requirements.
"Otago and Southland forestry is in a great position to sustainably produce and use a lot more of its own biofuel," Dodson said.
Following harvesting, wood and residues, such as branches, log ends, and lower grade pulp logs can be chipped then airdried over 12 months for use in woodchip boilers, or manufactured into pellets, to be used in pellet burners for industrial and commercial energy.
Chief executive Grant Smith of Wellington-based Energy For Industry (EFI); a subsidiary of Meridian Energy, said the Dunedin Energy Centre (owned and operated by EFI) has just finished trialling the blending and burning of lignite with woodchips; anywhere from 30% to 100% of woodchips.
"The future is looking quite positive for wood fuel in Dunedin. We want to step it to the next level," Smith said.
The trials were proving successful and Dunedin Energy was looking at using up to 8000 tonnes per year in its boilers.
Smith believed that Dunedin had the capacity to use up to 20,000 tonnes annually, as a replacement for either coal or lignite in the running of run boilers.
"Depending on the wood chip costs and volumes, it could ultimately replace all [types of] coals," Smith said.
While the low-grade lignite had been cheaper than wood chips, there are increasing costs in clean air and carbon emissions involved with its use.
"People are now looking to wood chips because of the environmental perspective," Smith said.
Since a pilot programme at Dunstan High School in 2009 replacing traditional coal systems, numerous organisations have installed wood-chip fired boilers, including Bayfield High School, Clutha Valley Primary School, the University of Otago's department of psychology building, the Little Sisters of the Poor retirement home, the Wanaka Community Pool and Invercargill-based commercial laundry McCallum Group.
Smith said wood chip operations in Christchurch had recently been expanded to make use of trees from aborists and also untreated demolition timber being amassed in Christchurch.
Dunedin City Council-owned City Forests' spokesman Kent Chalmers said 1,500 tonnes had been dried in the past for EFI clients, using mainly "leftover" short pulp logs. The company was in talks with Dunedin clients for potential supplies.
*Simon Hartley is senior business reporter for the Otago Daily Times.
A fledgling energy resource from southern forest harvesting waste is gaining traction in Otago and Southland with a growing number of organisations installing or converting to wood-chip fired boilers.
With proposed lignite mining in the South, and its potential conversion to briquettes for boiler fuel appearing set to remain a highly contentious option, the alternative wood chip fuel source is attracting more attention.
The concept is already a popular and proven option in Europe and North America and is lauded as clean burning, with particle emissions between a third to a fifth those of coal, being a renewable source, efficient and carbon neutral.
Southern Wood Council chairman Grant Dodson said between Otago and Southland's combined more than 215,000 hectares of forest, members could produce and supply wood to support the regions' biomass requirements.
"Otago and Southland forestry is in a great position to sustainably produce and use a lot more of its own biofuel," Dodson said.
Following harvesting, wood and residues, such as branches, log ends, and lower grade pulp logs can be chipped then airdried over 12 months for use in woodchip boilers, or manufactured into pellets, to be used in pellet burners for industrial and commercial energy.
Chief executive Grant Smith of Wellington-based Energy For Industry (EFI); a subsidiary of Meridian Energy, said the Dunedin Energy Centre (owned and operated by EFI) has just finished trialling the blending and burning of lignite with woodchips; anywhere from 30% to 100% of woodchips.
"The future is looking quite positive for wood fuel in Dunedin. We want to step it to the next level," Smith said.
The trials were proving successful and Dunedin Energy was looking at using up to 8000 tonnes per year in its boilers.
Smith believed that Dunedin had the capacity to use up to 20,000 tonnes annually, as a replacement for either coal or lignite in the running of run boilers.
"Depending on the wood chip costs and volumes, it could ultimately replace all [types of] coals," Smith said.
While the low-grade lignite had been cheaper than wood chips, there are increasing costs in clean air and carbon emissions involved with its use.
"People are now looking to wood chips because of the environmental perspective," Smith said.
Since a pilot programme at Dunstan High School in 2009 replacing traditional coal systems, numerous organisations have installed wood-chip fired boilers, including Bayfield High School, Clutha Valley Primary School, the University of Otago's department of psychology building, the Little Sisters of the Poor retirement home, the Wanaka Community Pool and Invercargill-based commercial laundry McCallum Group.
Smith said wood chip operations in Christchurch had recently been expanded to make use of trees from aborists and also untreated demolition timber being amassed in Christchurch.
Dunedin City Council-owned City Forests' spokesman Kent Chalmers said 1,500 tonnes had been dried in the past for EFI clients, using mainly "leftover" short pulp logs. The company was in talks with Dunedin clients for potential supplies.
*Simon Hartley is senior business reporter for the Otago Daily Times.
Isra-Mart srl: Labour might sweeten ETS deal for farmers
www.isra-mart.com
Labour might sweeten ETS deal for farmers
Labour might sweeten the carbon deal for farmers by letting them become the point of obligation under the Emissions Trading Scheme, Carbon News (www.carbonnews.co.nz) reports this morning.
The party raised the ire of farmers earlier this week by announcing a policy to bring biological emissions from the agricultural sector into the scheme in 2013, as it originally planned.
The National Government's 2009 changes to Labour's ETS included delaying the entry of the agricultural sector until 2015 at least.
It also set the point of obligation at the processor level. This means that rather than farmers themselves calculating emissions from their farming operations, it will be processors like Fonterra which will be directly liable for biological emissions generated by the agricultural sector.
Although this makes the accounting process more simple, it effectively denies farmers the opportunity to financially benefit from any reductions they make in the level of GHG emissions from their farms, according to Carbon News, the country's specialist information service on the carbon markets.
Labour Party environment spokesman Charles Chauvel told Carbon News that he expects the party to back its earlier policy of allowing farmers to choose to be in the point of obligation if they wish.
"In the original legislation we left the question open, so the point of obligation was at the processor level, with opt-in by farmers to recognise that there might be very good industry players out there wanting to be rewarded directly for their cuts in emissions."
Chauvel says that by allowing farmers to be the point of obligation, there could be big opportunities for them to financially benefit from reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
"There are huge opportunities, particularly for the larger players, to show they are making a difference by adopting new technologies and practices to reduce their emissions," he said.
The head of the Government-appointed panel reviewing the current scheme says that the point of obligation is one of the issues it is considering.
David Caygill told Carbon News that this was raised in the submissions with the panel.
The review also considering if and when biological emissions from agriculture should enter the scheme, and Caygill says that this includes the possibility of entry earlier than 2013.
Labour might sweeten ETS deal for farmers
Labour might sweeten the carbon deal for farmers by letting them become the point of obligation under the Emissions Trading Scheme, Carbon News (www.carbonnews.co.nz) reports this morning.
The party raised the ire of farmers earlier this week by announcing a policy to bring biological emissions from the agricultural sector into the scheme in 2013, as it originally planned.
The National Government's 2009 changes to Labour's ETS included delaying the entry of the agricultural sector until 2015 at least.
It also set the point of obligation at the processor level. This means that rather than farmers themselves calculating emissions from their farming operations, it will be processors like Fonterra which will be directly liable for biological emissions generated by the agricultural sector.
Although this makes the accounting process more simple, it effectively denies farmers the opportunity to financially benefit from any reductions they make in the level of GHG emissions from their farms, according to Carbon News, the country's specialist information service on the carbon markets.
Labour Party environment spokesman Charles Chauvel told Carbon News that he expects the party to back its earlier policy of allowing farmers to choose to be in the point of obligation if they wish.
"In the original legislation we left the question open, so the point of obligation was at the processor level, with opt-in by farmers to recognise that there might be very good industry players out there wanting to be rewarded directly for their cuts in emissions."
Chauvel says that by allowing farmers to be the point of obligation, there could be big opportunities for them to financially benefit from reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
"There are huge opportunities, particularly for the larger players, to show they are making a difference by adopting new technologies and practices to reduce their emissions," he said.
The head of the Government-appointed panel reviewing the current scheme says that the point of obligation is one of the issues it is considering.
David Caygill told Carbon News that this was raised in the submissions with the panel.
The review also considering if and when biological emissions from agriculture should enter the scheme, and Caygill says that this includes the possibility of entry earlier than 2013.
Isra-Mart srl: EU ETS and the aviation industry: between a rock and a hard place
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
In this exclusive CAPA interview, AVOCET Principal Barry Moss puts the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) under the microscope to analyse its effects on airlines and lessors.
How will the EU ETS apply to aviation?
By introducing aviation within the EU ETS, it is estimated that by 2020 CO2 savings of as much as 46%,or 183 million tonnes, could be achieved each year – equivalent for example to twice Austria's annual greenhouse gas emissions from all sources – compared with business as usual.
From 1 January 2012, all qualifying aircraft operators flying in to, between or out of EU airports will have to comply with the EU ETS. The scheme will be administered by 31 Competent Authorities representing each of the EU national states as well as Iceland and Norway. For the purpose of EU ETS compliance, approximately 50% of all aircraft operators will be administered by France and the UK. In February 2011, there were 4883 aircraft operators listed under EU ETS.
To qualify for free allowances, each aircraft operator had to submit a monitoring and reporting plan by December 2009 as well as annual verified CO2 emissions report and an annual tonne/kilometre report by 31 March each year (with effect from 2011).
Aviation allowances are benchmarked against the average emissions for each airline for the period 2004 to 2006 which has been estimated to be 219,476,343 tonnes of CO2 in total for qualifying aviation activities. 82% of allowances set against the benchmark will be distributed to aircraft operators for free in 2012 reducing to 80% of the benchmark for the annual periods from 2013 to 2020.
What will be the most significant impact for the airline industry under the EU ETS?
There is no doubt that the introduction of aviation within the EU ETS will incur additional levels of compliance and complexity that will significantly increase operational risk and ultimately credit risk exposures to airlines. The EU ETS may also have an influence on an airline’s route and fleet planning activities.
However, the most significant financial impacts resulting from the EU ETS will include market distortions resulting from the ability to pass compliance costs on to fare-paying customers and a potential liquidity crunch in the air finance markets in the event of non-compliance or default by airlines under the system.We estimate that the EU ETS will add approximate 1.5% to the current cost of an airline ticket.
How will the ETS affect operational risk management?
Simply because of the amount and level of technical resources required to manage compliance and the very tight deadlines involved. There is a direct linkage between emissions data and fuel consumption as one kilogramme of jet fuel produces 3.15kg of CO2. This equation is simple enough but capturing and recording emissions data and fuel density from aircraft logs and systems is not necessarily that easy and can be extremely time consuming without specific software and IT systems to manage the process automatically.
Tier 1 airlines can allocate existing human and technical resources and in some instances have developed specific ITC systems to manage EU ETS compliance and reporting efficiently. However, smaller airlines are more likely to have difficulty obtaining data capture, consolidating information in an acceptable format and within the deadlines required under the EU ETS. The EU ETS does not allow aircraft operators to outsource their ETS reporting so specific resources will have to be dedicated to managing ETS compliance in house.
In addition, there is only a very small number of accredited verifiers available (presently under 20 worldwide) to verify annual emissions and tonne/kilometre reports. Those airlines that may have left it rather late to appoint an accredited emissions verifier may also struggle to submit their annual emission and TK reports by the 31 March the following year, which could exclude them from obtaining free allowances.
What financial issues does the ETS present?
There is an operational cost to ETS compliance as well as the cost of purchasing any additional credits required over and above the free allowance allocation. However, such costs are insignificant compared to the cost of non-compliance.
EU ETS allowances, known as EUAs, are presently trading at around EUR17. Aviation EUAs will not be fully tradable or "fungible" with general EUAs. Aircraft operators will be able to buy general EUAs from say a steel mill or power plant but will not be allowed to sell aviation allowances to non-aviation emitters. Aviation allowances will therefore only be able to be traded between aircraft operators.
Carbon market analysts predict that aviation EUAs will initially trade slightly lower than general EUAs. Needless to say that being allocated 82% of these allowances for free will provide a huge competitor trading advantage compared to those aircraft operators that may not have either applied or qualify for free allowances. Failure to provide a verified annual tonne/kilometre report by 31 March each year will disqualify an aircraft operator from obtaining free allowances.
The real financial exposure however is the cost of civil penalties imposed by the EU in the event of default under the EU ETS. A default constitutes not submitting sufficient allowances by 30 April each year (commencing 2013) for the previous year’s trading period or failure to provide a verified annual emissions report by 31 March each year (commencing 2012).
There is a statutory civil penalty in the event of a default under the EU ETS of EUR100 per tonne plus the cost of surrendering the allowances that should have been submitted for the previous year’s emissions trading period.
An aircraft operator ETS default is likely to equate to the operator’s annual fuel bill or to put it in simple terms, put them out of business. We have calculated that the cost of civil penalties and replacement EUAs would equate to approximately USD6,000,000 per aircraft for an A320/B737 class aircraft or a staggering USD25,000,000 per aircraft for an A330/B777 class aircraft. Therefore a default under the EU ETS would almost certainly lead to bankruptcy and the risk of the operator’s aircraft being impounded, sold or repossessed.
How will the ETS affect airline credit risk assessment?
The EU ETS is likely to require a paradigm shift by aircraft financiers and lessors in their airline credit risk assessment and risk management procedures. For many existing aircraft finance and leasing transactions EU ETS non-compliance will not have been included as a specific event of default. Therefore obtaining EU ETS compliance information from aircraft operators may be extremely difficult. It is possible if not probable that an aircraft lessor may only become aware of an EU ETS default after the event and may be required to lift any EU lien imposed on its aircraft in order to repossess it.
The main difference between Eurocontrol liens and EU ETS liens is that the latter will be enforced by each of the 31 national Competent Authorities and not through a single entity such as the EU or Eurocontrol. This will make risk assessment and monitoring an extremely complex process. The EU regulations controlling aviation within the EU ETS have to be incorporated within each state’s national law and therefore enforcement of the rules is likely to differ, at least initially, between each Member State.
The magnitude of potential civil penalties and remedies under the EU ETS is likely to lead to an impact on financial risk weighting and credit assessments by banks and aircraft lessors. Assessing EU ETS compliance risk may become increasingly critical in order for financial institutions to comply with proposed Basel III banking regulations and also for the future credit risk assessment of aircraft lessors by the major credit rating agencies.
The inclusion of aviation within the EU ETS could therefore within a very short period of time affect the amount of liquidity available from the aircraft finance market and thereby restrict the ability of airlines to obtain new aircraft or enter into any new sale/leaseback transactions.
China is strongly opposed to the EU’s ETS. Do you predict the EU will re-work the scheme to consider developed vs developing countries, or stand strong?
It is fair to say that many existing industries captured under the EU ETS are also strongly opposed to their inclusion within the EU ETS. Rightly or wrongly they may see it as an additional cost burden compared to their competitors outside the EU that are not subject to emissions market based measures.
As far as aviation is concerned, it does have a much wider implication as for the first time the EU ETS covers emissions that were not generated from within the EU but from the point of departure of an aircraft, including those emissions generated by an aircraft’s APU when located on the ground at say Los Angeles or Beijing airports.
Four US airlines are presently bringing an action against the UK concerning the legal enforceability of the EU ETS. This action is scheduled to be heard by the European Court of Justice in July this year, although a final ruling is unlikely to be given before the full inclusion of aviation within the EU ETS in January 2012.
China on the other hand is threatening not to comply with the EU ETS and has called for a meeting with the EU to discuss an exemption based on is target of reducing Chinese aviation emissions by 22% by the end of 2020 (compared to 2005 levels). China argues that as a non-Annex 1 country listed under the UNCCC Kyoto Protocol and because of its Combined by Differentiated Responsibilities (CBRD) exemptions under the UNCCC Conference of the Parties meetings, it should not be included within the EU ETS. Other non-Annex 1 countries and particularly the other three BRIC countries will no doubt be waiting to see with interest what may result from these negotiations.
It has also been recently reported from some sources that China has threatened to exert political pressure on Airbus in terms of future orders and deliveries from the European manufacturer if the EU does not give way on this issue.
In my view, the EU is caught between a rock and a hard place concerning enforcement under the EU ETS. Whilst the EU would undoubtedly not wish the EU ETS to result into a full scale trade war with China, regardless of the high moral ground the EU may have concerning carbon emissions, it cannot be seen to give into pressure that may result in the unravelling of the entire scheme. If China should be exempted without having a mandatory carbon emissions scheme in place which is equally stringent in its effect compared to the EU ETS, then other countries may also seek similar exemptions. If this were to happen then existing fixed installation emitters already operating within the EU ETS would be likely to call foul and would probably also look for get-outs too.
What does not help is that income from the EU ETS will almost certainly be used as a revenue source for national Treasuries rather than being ploughed back into aviation R&D or reducing carbon emissions elsewhere, as is supposed to happen. This would effectively make the EU ETS yet another aviation stealth tax that would be in addition to, rather than replacement of existing aviation environmental taxes.
Will the EU ETS lead to an increase in demand in more fuel-efficient aircraft? Should lessors be acting proactively in this case?
The demand for more fuel efficient aircraft will be determined by the price of oil and not by the cost of EU ETS compliance. In my opinion carbon allowances would need to be priced in excess of EUR65 (a four-fold increase in the current price) before having any real influence on fleet planning or the acquisition and further development of new aircraft technologies.
New aircraft are only likely to make up one percent of aircraft kilometres flown by 2020 and 11 percent by 2030. Likewise aviation biofuels (which are presently zero-rated under the EU ETS) are anticipated to have no more than a 10% penetration by 2050. We estimate that over 80 percent of RPKs that have been flown during the pre-compliance period of the EU ETS were/are produced by narrowbody aircraft. It looks to us like both Airbus and Boeing are at least 12 years away from producing all-new models to replace their comparatively emissions inefficient cash cow narrowbody models.
In all fairness to the OEMs, the technology just isn’t available yet to justify the design of all new replacements for the existing A320 and B737 aircraft families. Whilst the A320neo for example is likely to reduce fuel burn and thereby emissions by 15 percent or so, even on the most pessimistic growth curves, aviation emissions will continue to outstrip emissions reductions obtained from the introduction of such new derivative aircraft.
As far as investor appetite is concerned, the jury is still out on whether aircraft lessors will see derivatives such as the A320neo as a sound investment or whether they will just be a stop-gap before completely new narrowbody models come off the production lines. Aircraft financiers and lessors will no doubt be scratching their heads regarding what the medium to long term residual values of re-engined existing models will look like and also what impact they may have concerning residual values for legacy narrowbody models.
What aircraft lessors must do is start to manage the potential impacts of the EU ETS on their businesses. Managing the fortunes and operation of existing aircraft assets with an economic life and payback period of over 20 years is difficult enough. The EU ETS is likely to add a whole new strata of complexity to that process and will require the development of new risk management tools and procedures within the next six to eighteen months.
Isra-Mart news:
In this exclusive CAPA interview, AVOCET Principal Barry Moss puts the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) under the microscope to analyse its effects on airlines and lessors.
How will the EU ETS apply to aviation?
By introducing aviation within the EU ETS, it is estimated that by 2020 CO2 savings of as much as 46%,or 183 million tonnes, could be achieved each year – equivalent for example to twice Austria's annual greenhouse gas emissions from all sources – compared with business as usual.
From 1 January 2012, all qualifying aircraft operators flying in to, between or out of EU airports will have to comply with the EU ETS. The scheme will be administered by 31 Competent Authorities representing each of the EU national states as well as Iceland and Norway. For the purpose of EU ETS compliance, approximately 50% of all aircraft operators will be administered by France and the UK. In February 2011, there were 4883 aircraft operators listed under EU ETS.
To qualify for free allowances, each aircraft operator had to submit a monitoring and reporting plan by December 2009 as well as annual verified CO2 emissions report and an annual tonne/kilometre report by 31 March each year (with effect from 2011).
Aviation allowances are benchmarked against the average emissions for each airline for the period 2004 to 2006 which has been estimated to be 219,476,343 tonnes of CO2 in total for qualifying aviation activities. 82% of allowances set against the benchmark will be distributed to aircraft operators for free in 2012 reducing to 80% of the benchmark for the annual periods from 2013 to 2020.
What will be the most significant impact for the airline industry under the EU ETS?
There is no doubt that the introduction of aviation within the EU ETS will incur additional levels of compliance and complexity that will significantly increase operational risk and ultimately credit risk exposures to airlines. The EU ETS may also have an influence on an airline’s route and fleet planning activities.
However, the most significant financial impacts resulting from the EU ETS will include market distortions resulting from the ability to pass compliance costs on to fare-paying customers and a potential liquidity crunch in the air finance markets in the event of non-compliance or default by airlines under the system.We estimate that the EU ETS will add approximate 1.5% to the current cost of an airline ticket.
How will the ETS affect operational risk management?
Simply because of the amount and level of technical resources required to manage compliance and the very tight deadlines involved. There is a direct linkage between emissions data and fuel consumption as one kilogramme of jet fuel produces 3.15kg of CO2. This equation is simple enough but capturing and recording emissions data and fuel density from aircraft logs and systems is not necessarily that easy and can be extremely time consuming without specific software and IT systems to manage the process automatically.
Tier 1 airlines can allocate existing human and technical resources and in some instances have developed specific ITC systems to manage EU ETS compliance and reporting efficiently. However, smaller airlines are more likely to have difficulty obtaining data capture, consolidating information in an acceptable format and within the deadlines required under the EU ETS. The EU ETS does not allow aircraft operators to outsource their ETS reporting so specific resources will have to be dedicated to managing ETS compliance in house.
In addition, there is only a very small number of accredited verifiers available (presently under 20 worldwide) to verify annual emissions and tonne/kilometre reports. Those airlines that may have left it rather late to appoint an accredited emissions verifier may also struggle to submit their annual emission and TK reports by the 31 March the following year, which could exclude them from obtaining free allowances.
What financial issues does the ETS present?
There is an operational cost to ETS compliance as well as the cost of purchasing any additional credits required over and above the free allowance allocation. However, such costs are insignificant compared to the cost of non-compliance.
EU ETS allowances, known as EUAs, are presently trading at around EUR17. Aviation EUAs will not be fully tradable or "fungible" with general EUAs. Aircraft operators will be able to buy general EUAs from say a steel mill or power plant but will not be allowed to sell aviation allowances to non-aviation emitters. Aviation allowances will therefore only be able to be traded between aircraft operators.
Carbon market analysts predict that aviation EUAs will initially trade slightly lower than general EUAs. Needless to say that being allocated 82% of these allowances for free will provide a huge competitor trading advantage compared to those aircraft operators that may not have either applied or qualify for free allowances. Failure to provide a verified annual tonne/kilometre report by 31 March each year will disqualify an aircraft operator from obtaining free allowances.
The real financial exposure however is the cost of civil penalties imposed by the EU in the event of default under the EU ETS. A default constitutes not submitting sufficient allowances by 30 April each year (commencing 2013) for the previous year’s trading period or failure to provide a verified annual emissions report by 31 March each year (commencing 2012).
There is a statutory civil penalty in the event of a default under the EU ETS of EUR100 per tonne plus the cost of surrendering the allowances that should have been submitted for the previous year’s emissions trading period.
An aircraft operator ETS default is likely to equate to the operator’s annual fuel bill or to put it in simple terms, put them out of business. We have calculated that the cost of civil penalties and replacement EUAs would equate to approximately USD6,000,000 per aircraft for an A320/B737 class aircraft or a staggering USD25,000,000 per aircraft for an A330/B777 class aircraft. Therefore a default under the EU ETS would almost certainly lead to bankruptcy and the risk of the operator’s aircraft being impounded, sold or repossessed.
How will the ETS affect airline credit risk assessment?
The EU ETS is likely to require a paradigm shift by aircraft financiers and lessors in their airline credit risk assessment and risk management procedures. For many existing aircraft finance and leasing transactions EU ETS non-compliance will not have been included as a specific event of default. Therefore obtaining EU ETS compliance information from aircraft operators may be extremely difficult. It is possible if not probable that an aircraft lessor may only become aware of an EU ETS default after the event and may be required to lift any EU lien imposed on its aircraft in order to repossess it.
The main difference between Eurocontrol liens and EU ETS liens is that the latter will be enforced by each of the 31 national Competent Authorities and not through a single entity such as the EU or Eurocontrol. This will make risk assessment and monitoring an extremely complex process. The EU regulations controlling aviation within the EU ETS have to be incorporated within each state’s national law and therefore enforcement of the rules is likely to differ, at least initially, between each Member State.
The magnitude of potential civil penalties and remedies under the EU ETS is likely to lead to an impact on financial risk weighting and credit assessments by banks and aircraft lessors. Assessing EU ETS compliance risk may become increasingly critical in order for financial institutions to comply with proposed Basel III banking regulations and also for the future credit risk assessment of aircraft lessors by the major credit rating agencies.
The inclusion of aviation within the EU ETS could therefore within a very short period of time affect the amount of liquidity available from the aircraft finance market and thereby restrict the ability of airlines to obtain new aircraft or enter into any new sale/leaseback transactions.
China is strongly opposed to the EU’s ETS. Do you predict the EU will re-work the scheme to consider developed vs developing countries, or stand strong?
It is fair to say that many existing industries captured under the EU ETS are also strongly opposed to their inclusion within the EU ETS. Rightly or wrongly they may see it as an additional cost burden compared to their competitors outside the EU that are not subject to emissions market based measures.
As far as aviation is concerned, it does have a much wider implication as for the first time the EU ETS covers emissions that were not generated from within the EU but from the point of departure of an aircraft, including those emissions generated by an aircraft’s APU when located on the ground at say Los Angeles or Beijing airports.
Four US airlines are presently bringing an action against the UK concerning the legal enforceability of the EU ETS. This action is scheduled to be heard by the European Court of Justice in July this year, although a final ruling is unlikely to be given before the full inclusion of aviation within the EU ETS in January 2012.
China on the other hand is threatening not to comply with the EU ETS and has called for a meeting with the EU to discuss an exemption based on is target of reducing Chinese aviation emissions by 22% by the end of 2020 (compared to 2005 levels). China argues that as a non-Annex 1 country listed under the UNCCC Kyoto Protocol and because of its Combined by Differentiated Responsibilities (CBRD) exemptions under the UNCCC Conference of the Parties meetings, it should not be included within the EU ETS. Other non-Annex 1 countries and particularly the other three BRIC countries will no doubt be waiting to see with interest what may result from these negotiations.
It has also been recently reported from some sources that China has threatened to exert political pressure on Airbus in terms of future orders and deliveries from the European manufacturer if the EU does not give way on this issue.
In my view, the EU is caught between a rock and a hard place concerning enforcement under the EU ETS. Whilst the EU would undoubtedly not wish the EU ETS to result into a full scale trade war with China, regardless of the high moral ground the EU may have concerning carbon emissions, it cannot be seen to give into pressure that may result in the unravelling of the entire scheme. If China should be exempted without having a mandatory carbon emissions scheme in place which is equally stringent in its effect compared to the EU ETS, then other countries may also seek similar exemptions. If this were to happen then existing fixed installation emitters already operating within the EU ETS would be likely to call foul and would probably also look for get-outs too.
What does not help is that income from the EU ETS will almost certainly be used as a revenue source for national Treasuries rather than being ploughed back into aviation R&D or reducing carbon emissions elsewhere, as is supposed to happen. This would effectively make the EU ETS yet another aviation stealth tax that would be in addition to, rather than replacement of existing aviation environmental taxes.
Will the EU ETS lead to an increase in demand in more fuel-efficient aircraft? Should lessors be acting proactively in this case?
The demand for more fuel efficient aircraft will be determined by the price of oil and not by the cost of EU ETS compliance. In my opinion carbon allowances would need to be priced in excess of EUR65 (a four-fold increase in the current price) before having any real influence on fleet planning or the acquisition and further development of new aircraft technologies.
New aircraft are only likely to make up one percent of aircraft kilometres flown by 2020 and 11 percent by 2030. Likewise aviation biofuels (which are presently zero-rated under the EU ETS) are anticipated to have no more than a 10% penetration by 2050. We estimate that over 80 percent of RPKs that have been flown during the pre-compliance period of the EU ETS were/are produced by narrowbody aircraft. It looks to us like both Airbus and Boeing are at least 12 years away from producing all-new models to replace their comparatively emissions inefficient cash cow narrowbody models.
In all fairness to the OEMs, the technology just isn’t available yet to justify the design of all new replacements for the existing A320 and B737 aircraft families. Whilst the A320neo for example is likely to reduce fuel burn and thereby emissions by 15 percent or so, even on the most pessimistic growth curves, aviation emissions will continue to outstrip emissions reductions obtained from the introduction of such new derivative aircraft.
As far as investor appetite is concerned, the jury is still out on whether aircraft lessors will see derivatives such as the A320neo as a sound investment or whether they will just be a stop-gap before completely new narrowbody models come off the production lines. Aircraft financiers and lessors will no doubt be scratching their heads regarding what the medium to long term residual values of re-engined existing models will look like and also what impact they may have concerning residual values for legacy narrowbody models.
What aircraft lessors must do is start to manage the potential impacts of the EU ETS on their businesses. Managing the fortunes and operation of existing aircraft assets with an economic life and payback period of over 20 years is difficult enough. The EU ETS is likely to add a whole new strata of complexity to that process and will require the development of new risk management tools and procedures within the next six to eighteen months.
Isra-Mart srl : Smoke gets in coalition's eyes
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
When coalition MPs gathered for their regular party room meeting on Tuesday, Tony Abbott and Warren Truss delivered a warning.
The Liberals and Nationals might hold an election-winning lead now, but it could all easily become unstuck with the first signs of disunity.
Abbott described voter support as "fleeting and ephemeral" and urged his MPs to stick to his simple litany: axe the carbon tax, stop the boats, end the waste.
The Nationals leader was more blunt, saying supporters were telling him the greatest thing they feared about the coalition were "self-inflicted wounds" and the possibility they could "stuff things up".
The next day coalition whips - the senior MPs charged with rounding up their colleagues for votes in parliament - witnessed some ill-discipline in the ranks.
But rather than phoning the five wayward MPs - who embarrassed the opposition by failing to turn up for a vote and thus missing an opportunity to beat the government - the whips sent out an email to all coalition MPs.
In it, they said former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull, Queensland frontbencher Ian Macfarlane and three others had shown behaviour which was "totally unacceptable and shows great disrespect to their colleagues and the coalition as a whole".
The whips underlined the fact that the five MPs in question all held safe seats.
While Abbott had no role in writing the email, he was shown it just as it was being sent out - as a "courtesy", according to chief opposition whip Warren Entsch - and presumably could have stopped it if he felt it was inappropriate, but instead said "let the cards fall where they fall". .
The email leaked and Truss's fears of "self-inflicted wounds" were realised.
Turnbull, already causing angst within his own party by pouring cold water on their climate change policy and last week flagging his interest in heading the party again in the future, was furious.
He likened the email to a "press release", saying its leaking to the media was inevitable and the whips would have known this.
But Turnbull, who was dumped in 2009 over his support for an emissions trading scheme, declined to say whether he thought it was payback for his recent outspokenness and reiterated his support for the current Liberal leader.
But relations between the pair appeared tense at a Cancer Council fundraiser in Parliament House on Thursday.
They exchanged less than a dozen words and quickly shook hands in front of the media before Abbott made a speedy departure.
Abbott on Friday said he had no problem with the email, nor did he think it was targeted at any individual, saying it was about "the principle that every one of the coalition MPs has got to be there for every division".
But the damage had been done.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, whose personal standing and party stocks have been poor since the election, seized on it in parliament.
She also accused Abbott of lacking leadership by allowing his party to accept tobacco lobby donations - something the Greens are pushing to make illegal.
With half a dozen coalition MPs querying the science behind climate change and signalling they'll cross the floor to back plain packaging for cigarettes, Gillard told parliament: "Maybe the smoke they care about is the smoke that shows there's a fire of division over there in the opposition."
While Liberal insiders say there is no support for a leadership change, Turnbull - who lost the leadership by one vote in late 2009 - has maintained a consistent lead over Abbott in opinion polls when voters are given the option.
He also keeps a high profile through the media, his website, his personal iPad application and Twitter account, which has almost 54,000 followers - 20,000 more than Abbott.
And much to the ire of colleagues he frequently speaks across portfolios, while the coalition's attack on the national broadband network is waning.
Turnbull's strongest critics lie in the Nationals - who reject the need for an emissions trading scheme and will always have suspicions of someone who believes in an Australian republic.
With parliament returning for another sitting next week, Abbott's message about fleeting support could have greater weight.
Isra-Mart news:
When coalition MPs gathered for their regular party room meeting on Tuesday, Tony Abbott and Warren Truss delivered a warning.
The Liberals and Nationals might hold an election-winning lead now, but it could all easily become unstuck with the first signs of disunity.
Abbott described voter support as "fleeting and ephemeral" and urged his MPs to stick to his simple litany: axe the carbon tax, stop the boats, end the waste.
The Nationals leader was more blunt, saying supporters were telling him the greatest thing they feared about the coalition were "self-inflicted wounds" and the possibility they could "stuff things up".
The next day coalition whips - the senior MPs charged with rounding up their colleagues for votes in parliament - witnessed some ill-discipline in the ranks.
But rather than phoning the five wayward MPs - who embarrassed the opposition by failing to turn up for a vote and thus missing an opportunity to beat the government - the whips sent out an email to all coalition MPs.
In it, they said former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull, Queensland frontbencher Ian Macfarlane and three others had shown behaviour which was "totally unacceptable and shows great disrespect to their colleagues and the coalition as a whole".
The whips underlined the fact that the five MPs in question all held safe seats.
While Abbott had no role in writing the email, he was shown it just as it was being sent out - as a "courtesy", according to chief opposition whip Warren Entsch - and presumably could have stopped it if he felt it was inappropriate, but instead said "let the cards fall where they fall". .
The email leaked and Truss's fears of "self-inflicted wounds" were realised.
Turnbull, already causing angst within his own party by pouring cold water on their climate change policy and last week flagging his interest in heading the party again in the future, was furious.
He likened the email to a "press release", saying its leaking to the media was inevitable and the whips would have known this.
But Turnbull, who was dumped in 2009 over his support for an emissions trading scheme, declined to say whether he thought it was payback for his recent outspokenness and reiterated his support for the current Liberal leader.
But relations between the pair appeared tense at a Cancer Council fundraiser in Parliament House on Thursday.
They exchanged less than a dozen words and quickly shook hands in front of the media before Abbott made a speedy departure.
Abbott on Friday said he had no problem with the email, nor did he think it was targeted at any individual, saying it was about "the principle that every one of the coalition MPs has got to be there for every division".
But the damage had been done.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, whose personal standing and party stocks have been poor since the election, seized on it in parliament.
She also accused Abbott of lacking leadership by allowing his party to accept tobacco lobby donations - something the Greens are pushing to make illegal.
With half a dozen coalition MPs querying the science behind climate change and signalling they'll cross the floor to back plain packaging for cigarettes, Gillard told parliament: "Maybe the smoke they care about is the smoke that shows there's a fire of division over there in the opposition."
While Liberal insiders say there is no support for a leadership change, Turnbull - who lost the leadership by one vote in late 2009 - has maintained a consistent lead over Abbott in opinion polls when voters are given the option.
He also keeps a high profile through the media, his website, his personal iPad application and Twitter account, which has almost 54,000 followers - 20,000 more than Abbott.
And much to the ire of colleagues he frequently speaks across portfolios, while the coalition's attack on the national broadband network is waning.
Turnbull's strongest critics lie in the Nationals - who reject the need for an emissions trading scheme and will always have suspicions of someone who believes in an Australian republic.
With parliament returning for another sitting next week, Abbott's message about fleeting support could have greater weight.
Isra-Mart srl : New Zealand spot carbon price slumps to three-month low
www.isra-mart.com
New Zealand carbon prices fell to their lowest in three months this week, as the market stalled ahead of the deadline for the surrender of pollution permits under the scheme and weaker international carbon prices.
Spot permits under New Zealand's emissions trading scheme eased about 20 cents over the week to trade between NZ$19.70 and NZ$20 ($16.12 to $16.37), Westpac Bank said in a note to clients.
About 250,000 NZUs were traded over the week, according to brokers, the lowest volume in five weeks.
Each permit represents a tonne of greenhouse gas emissions. The scheme is designed to help curb output of emissions blamed for causing global warming.
"The softening price appear to have been driven by buyers backing off their demand for credits," analysts at Westpac said.
Emitters are required to surrender permits for the period to March 31 by the end of May, and the market is waiting for the deadline to pass so the focus can switch to 2012 requirements.
This is the first surrender deadline since the scheme was expanded from July 1 last year to include the transport and energy sector, which account for about half of all the country's greenhouse gas emissions.
Further flow of credits to forest owners, and the reluctance of sellers to enter the market also suppressed the price, Westpac said.
New Zealand's carbon price was also pressured by a bearish commodity market in Europe, with a rising New Zealand dollar and falling euro narrowing the spread between New Zealand and European prices for carbon.
The price for U.N carbon offsets closed at 12.23 euros (NZ$21.29) on Thursday, a flat performance for the week so far.
"The most interesting development in the last few weeks is the capitulation of the euro on fears of both a default and break-up of the EU," said broker Nigel Brunel of brokerage OMFinancial.
The New Zealand dollar has gained about 15 percent against the euro since mid-March. "The effect of this is to cheapen the value of CERs, now trading below NZ$21.50," he said in a note to clients, referring to U.N. carbon offsets, or certified emissions reductions.
The offsets can be imported by polluters in New Zealand to meet emissions obligations under the trading scheme, and are favoured by many emitters as they are far more liquid than the NZU.
Under transition measures for the scheme, the first national scheme outside the European Union, emitters such as power generators and refiners have the option of paying a fixed NZ$25 per tonne of carbon pollution until January 2013 or buying from the market.
New Zealand carbon prices fell to their lowest in three months this week, as the market stalled ahead of the deadline for the surrender of pollution permits under the scheme and weaker international carbon prices.
Spot permits under New Zealand's emissions trading scheme eased about 20 cents over the week to trade between NZ$19.70 and NZ$20 ($16.12 to $16.37), Westpac Bank said in a note to clients.
About 250,000 NZUs were traded over the week, according to brokers, the lowest volume in five weeks.
Each permit represents a tonne of greenhouse gas emissions. The scheme is designed to help curb output of emissions blamed for causing global warming.
"The softening price appear to have been driven by buyers backing off their demand for credits," analysts at Westpac said.
Emitters are required to surrender permits for the period to March 31 by the end of May, and the market is waiting for the deadline to pass so the focus can switch to 2012 requirements.
This is the first surrender deadline since the scheme was expanded from July 1 last year to include the transport and energy sector, which account for about half of all the country's greenhouse gas emissions.
Further flow of credits to forest owners, and the reluctance of sellers to enter the market also suppressed the price, Westpac said.
New Zealand's carbon price was also pressured by a bearish commodity market in Europe, with a rising New Zealand dollar and falling euro narrowing the spread between New Zealand and European prices for carbon.
The price for U.N carbon offsets closed at 12.23 euros (NZ$21.29) on Thursday, a flat performance for the week so far.
"The most interesting development in the last few weeks is the capitulation of the euro on fears of both a default and break-up of the EU," said broker Nigel Brunel of brokerage OMFinancial.
The New Zealand dollar has gained about 15 percent against the euro since mid-March. "The effect of this is to cheapen the value of CERs, now trading below NZ$21.50," he said in a note to clients, referring to U.N. carbon offsets, or certified emissions reductions.
The offsets can be imported by polluters in New Zealand to meet emissions obligations under the trading scheme, and are favoured by many emitters as they are far more liquid than the NZU.
Under transition measures for the scheme, the first national scheme outside the European Union, emitters such as power generators and refiners have the option of paying a fixed NZ$25 per tonne of carbon pollution until January 2013 or buying from the market.
Isra-Mart srl : ETS proposal a 'non starter'
www.isra-mart.com
Federated Farmers Marlborough president Gary Barnett is in no doubt it's an election year in New Zealand.
Last week, Labour revenue spokesman Stuart Nash released figures showing the average dairy farmer paid less tax in 2009 than a couple on the pension and questioned whether the sector was paying its way.
That was rejected by farmers who said the figures were taken out of context and reflected a bad year for profits.
This week, Labour leader Phil Goff announced that, if elected, the party would bring agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2013 – two years earlier than planned under the National Government.
The move would fund Labour's proposed $800 million research and development tax credit, Mr Goff said.
Mr Barnett said he wasn't surprised by the announcement.
"We all know this political stuff is going to get rolled out up to the election."
The proposal was a "non starter", he said.
"Personally, I believe in the carbon cycle. The grass takes in the carbon dioxide via photosynthesis and the animals eat the grass. It's in balance. I can't see why livestock are included as emitters in the ETS."
Waihopai Valley farmer and district councillor Geoff Evans said the proposal was "absolutely appalling".
"This business last week [saying] farmers aren't paying their share of tax, and now they've decided they want to shorten the ETS time.
"My view is [Labour] have done this in the 80s, they attacked farming and won an election out of it. It seems they're adopting similar tactics.
"There's a great deal of anger [about it] in the farming community."
Federated Farmers Marlborough president Gary Barnett is in no doubt it's an election year in New Zealand.
Last week, Labour revenue spokesman Stuart Nash released figures showing the average dairy farmer paid less tax in 2009 than a couple on the pension and questioned whether the sector was paying its way.
That was rejected by farmers who said the figures were taken out of context and reflected a bad year for profits.
This week, Labour leader Phil Goff announced that, if elected, the party would bring agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2013 – two years earlier than planned under the National Government.
The move would fund Labour's proposed $800 million research and development tax credit, Mr Goff said.
Mr Barnett said he wasn't surprised by the announcement.
"We all know this political stuff is going to get rolled out up to the election."
The proposal was a "non starter", he said.
"Personally, I believe in the carbon cycle. The grass takes in the carbon dioxide via photosynthesis and the animals eat the grass. It's in balance. I can't see why livestock are included as emitters in the ETS."
Waihopai Valley farmer and district councillor Geoff Evans said the proposal was "absolutely appalling".
"This business last week [saying] farmers aren't paying their share of tax, and now they've decided they want to shorten the ETS time.
"My view is [Labour] have done this in the 80s, they attacked farming and won an election out of it. It seems they're adopting similar tactics.
"There's a great deal of anger [about it] in the farming community."
Isra-Mart srl : Taranaki council wants forests redefined
www.isra-mart.com
Taranaki Regional Council wants the Government to change its definition of a forest so farmers can claim carbon credits for planting trees along streams.
Narrow streamside plantings typically don't match the Kyoto Protocol's requirement for a forest.
The council wants to be able to make an aggregate of the riparian strips and it would act as a regional carbon-credit broker, paying profits to landowners.
However, David Caygill, the head of the Emissions Trading Scheme review, says redefining forests would need a law change, which would be contrary to the Kyoto Protocol.
He says the resulting carbon credits would be worthless internationally and the farmers' profit would create a hole in the country's carbon account that taxpayers would have to fill.
Taranaki Regional Council wants the Government to change its definition of a forest so farmers can claim carbon credits for planting trees along streams.
Narrow streamside plantings typically don't match the Kyoto Protocol's requirement for a forest.
The council wants to be able to make an aggregate of the riparian strips and it would act as a regional carbon-credit broker, paying profits to landowners.
However, David Caygill, the head of the Emissions Trading Scheme review, says redefining forests would need a law change, which would be contrary to the Kyoto Protocol.
He says the resulting carbon credits would be worthless internationally and the farmers' profit would create a hole in the country's carbon account that taxpayers would have to fill.
Isra-Mart srl : Trading fallacies for facts in debate
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
The Gillard Government has not covered itself in glory in its efforts to sell its carbon tax proposal to the electorate. Notwithstanding the difficulty of selling such a proposal, it has allowed the debate to be dominated by the shrill denunciations of the Opposition and by dire warnings that emissions-intensive industries will be decimated by the introduction of a carbon tax.
However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been handed three free kicks this week, beginning on Monday with the first report of the Climate Commission. This bluntly warned that global warming was occurring faster than expected, and that Australia ''no longer had the luxury any more of climate denialism''. While some might question the independence of such findings (the commission is a government-appointed body) they accord with those of most other respected climate scientists. On the same day, a spokesman for Beyond Zero Emissions, an independent advocacy group, said the Government needed to act quickly to put a price on emissions or face the possibility of having its exports penalised under a proposed European Union carbon tax.
But perhaps the most encouraging news for the Government's carbon tax cause came yesterday via an unexpected source: the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In its latest Economic Outlook, the OECD noted that the Australian economy was set to rebound after the disruptions caused by the major natural disasters of earlier this year, and that growth would accelerate from 3.1 per cent this year to 4.5 per cent in 2012, while the jobless rate continued to fall. It concluded, ''The authorities must take advantage of the favourable economic situation to pursue long-term structural reforms, including those that favour output involving less CO2 emissions.''
If not an outright endorsement of a carbon tax, the caveat underlines the economic importance of remedial action in the short term, a fact often overlooked by people employing political spin, pseudo science and naked self-interest to undermine or delay the necessity for reform. The European Union is showing admirable leadership in planning for a carbon-constrained world, and those measures will have an impact on all those nations which export goods and services to the continent. Indeed, this has already occurred. Qantas has announced it would have to raise fares to Europe from next January after being penalised by the EU for being headquartered in a country which does not have a price on carbon.
As one of the higher per-capita polluters in the world, Australia is uniquely exposed to the threat of economic sanctions or penalties imposed by the EU, reason enough for a certain level of urgency in the introduction of a meaningful carbon pricing scheme, and ample ammunition to use against the misguided opponents of an emissions trading scheme.
Woman tops list
If rich lists are largely an exercise in accounting hypotheticals, they are nonetheless widely reported and discussed, such is our fascination with wealth. This year's BRW rich list has provided a further talking point: Gina Rinehart is, for the first time, Australia's wealthiest individual. She might only be the second mining entrepreneur to hold that title, but she is the first woman. What's more, she is the first individual whose personal wealth has topped the $10 billion mark a reflection of the enormous wealth that has been generated in Australia and elsewhere by the global mineral commodities boom. Of the 10 people on the list, five are there by virtue of their very profitable involvement in the extraction of iron ore, coal and other minerals, including Andrew Forrest, Clive Palmer and Ivan Glasenberg.
Rich list regulars such as shopping mall mogul Frank Lowy, packaging heir Anthony Pratt and developer Harry Triguboff are again in this year's top 10. With the exception of Mr Lowy, all added to their fortunes over the year, but not in the super-charged manner of the resource moguls. James Packer, whose media mogul father Kerry was for years Australia's wealthiest man, and who has since branched out into gambling and entertainment, only made No8 on the list, after a relatively unproductive year.
The paper wealth of the resource moguls may prove transitory if the commodities boom stalls, but their ascendancy confirms the reality that Australia is riding on the back of a haul truck, and sitting handsomely.
Isra-Mart news:
The Gillard Government has not covered itself in glory in its efforts to sell its carbon tax proposal to the electorate. Notwithstanding the difficulty of selling such a proposal, it has allowed the debate to be dominated by the shrill denunciations of the Opposition and by dire warnings that emissions-intensive industries will be decimated by the introduction of a carbon tax.
However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been handed three free kicks this week, beginning on Monday with the first report of the Climate Commission. This bluntly warned that global warming was occurring faster than expected, and that Australia ''no longer had the luxury any more of climate denialism''. While some might question the independence of such findings (the commission is a government-appointed body) they accord with those of most other respected climate scientists. On the same day, a spokesman for Beyond Zero Emissions, an independent advocacy group, said the Government needed to act quickly to put a price on emissions or face the possibility of having its exports penalised under a proposed European Union carbon tax.
But perhaps the most encouraging news for the Government's carbon tax cause came yesterday via an unexpected source: the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In its latest Economic Outlook, the OECD noted that the Australian economy was set to rebound after the disruptions caused by the major natural disasters of earlier this year, and that growth would accelerate from 3.1 per cent this year to 4.5 per cent in 2012, while the jobless rate continued to fall. It concluded, ''The authorities must take advantage of the favourable economic situation to pursue long-term structural reforms, including those that favour output involving less CO2 emissions.''
If not an outright endorsement of a carbon tax, the caveat underlines the economic importance of remedial action in the short term, a fact often overlooked by people employing political spin, pseudo science and naked self-interest to undermine or delay the necessity for reform. The European Union is showing admirable leadership in planning for a carbon-constrained world, and those measures will have an impact on all those nations which export goods and services to the continent. Indeed, this has already occurred. Qantas has announced it would have to raise fares to Europe from next January after being penalised by the EU for being headquartered in a country which does not have a price on carbon.
As one of the higher per-capita polluters in the world, Australia is uniquely exposed to the threat of economic sanctions or penalties imposed by the EU, reason enough for a certain level of urgency in the introduction of a meaningful carbon pricing scheme, and ample ammunition to use against the misguided opponents of an emissions trading scheme.
Woman tops list
If rich lists are largely an exercise in accounting hypotheticals, they are nonetheless widely reported and discussed, such is our fascination with wealth. This year's BRW rich list has provided a further talking point: Gina Rinehart is, for the first time, Australia's wealthiest individual. She might only be the second mining entrepreneur to hold that title, but she is the first woman. What's more, she is the first individual whose personal wealth has topped the $10 billion mark a reflection of the enormous wealth that has been generated in Australia and elsewhere by the global mineral commodities boom. Of the 10 people on the list, five are there by virtue of their very profitable involvement in the extraction of iron ore, coal and other minerals, including Andrew Forrest, Clive Palmer and Ivan Glasenberg.
Rich list regulars such as shopping mall mogul Frank Lowy, packaging heir Anthony Pratt and developer Harry Triguboff are again in this year's top 10. With the exception of Mr Lowy, all added to their fortunes over the year, but not in the super-charged manner of the resource moguls. James Packer, whose media mogul father Kerry was for years Australia's wealthiest man, and who has since branched out into gambling and entertainment, only made No8 on the list, after a relatively unproductive year.
The paper wealth of the resource moguls may prove transitory if the commodities boom stalls, but their ascendancy confirms the reality that Australia is riding on the back of a haul truck, and sitting handsomely.
Isra-Mart srl : Shell supports ETS not carbon tax
www.isra-mart.com
Shell Australia chair Ann Pickard says an emissions trading scheme would be a more effective way to reduce carbon emissions than the government's proposed carbon tax.
Speaking at a business forum, Ms Pickard said the oil and gas company recognised the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions and was looking for a mechanism which had the biggest environment impact at the lowest economic cost.
"Good policy is to move in the direction of a carbon price and we are very supportive of the government trying to do that," she told The Australian and Deutsche Bank business leaders forum.
Shell Australia chair Ann Pickard says an emissions trading scheme would be a more effective way to reduce carbon emissions than the government's proposed carbon tax.
Speaking at a business forum, Ms Pickard said the oil and gas company recognised the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions and was looking for a mechanism which had the biggest environment impact at the lowest economic cost.
"Good policy is to move in the direction of a carbon price and we are very supportive of the government trying to do that," she told The Australian and Deutsche Bank business leaders forum.
Advertisement: Story continues below
"With that said and done, a carbon tax in the short term doesn't accomplish the environment outcome that we're looking forward."
Ms Pickard said with more countries moving towards an emissions trading scheme as a way to reduce carbon emissions, it was the most equitable and longer term solution.
Outgoing Woodside Petroleum chief executive Don Voelte said "until the rest of the world are leading by the nose" he did not understand why there was such a rush to introduce a carbon tax.
"If I felt this thing was going to reduce emissions and make a difference in the world, I would put Woodside so strongly behind this thing," said Mr Voelte.
"I just don't get that feeling yet."
Mr Voelte said the liquefied natural gas industry should be exempt from an carbon tax as it was "part of the solution, not part of the problem".
Shell Australia chair Ann Pickard says an emissions trading scheme would be a more effective way to reduce carbon emissions than the government's proposed carbon tax.
Speaking at a business forum, Ms Pickard said the oil and gas company recognised the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions and was looking for a mechanism which had the biggest environment impact at the lowest economic cost.
"Good policy is to move in the direction of a carbon price and we are very supportive of the government trying to do that," she told The Australian and Deutsche Bank business leaders forum.
Shell Australia chair Ann Pickard says an emissions trading scheme would be a more effective way to reduce carbon emissions than the government's proposed carbon tax.
Speaking at a business forum, Ms Pickard said the oil and gas company recognised the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions and was looking for a mechanism which had the biggest environment impact at the lowest economic cost.
"Good policy is to move in the direction of a carbon price and we are very supportive of the government trying to do that," she told The Australian and Deutsche Bank business leaders forum.
Advertisement: Story continues below
"With that said and done, a carbon tax in the short term doesn't accomplish the environment outcome that we're looking forward."
Ms Pickard said with more countries moving towards an emissions trading scheme as a way to reduce carbon emissions, it was the most equitable and longer term solution.
Outgoing Woodside Petroleum chief executive Don Voelte said "until the rest of the world are leading by the nose" he did not understand why there was such a rush to introduce a carbon tax.
"If I felt this thing was going to reduce emissions and make a difference in the world, I would put Woodside so strongly behind this thing," said Mr Voelte.
"I just don't get that feeling yet."
Mr Voelte said the liquefied natural gas industry should be exempt from an carbon tax as it was "part of the solution, not part of the problem".
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Isra-Mart srl: Gel-suspended mushrooms to tackle peak fertiliser challenge
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
Mushrooms could be the answer to our fertiliser problem, if research presented earlier this week is to be believed.
Swiss researchers believe that fungi living symbiotically with plant roots could help to naturally generate the phosphates that are currently proving so expensive for the agricultural industry.
Research presented at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans on Monday linked mycorrhizal fungi to the production of phosphate fertilisers.
New techniques enabled researchers at the University of Lausanne to grow these mushrooms in large quantities, and suspend them in a gel solution so that they could be easily transported.
The fungi normally only grows directly among plant roots, drawing phosphates from the soil that are then used to help fertilise the plants, but the new technique could enable their production at a commercial scale.
Prof Ian Sanders explained in his presentation "How Microbes Can Help Feed the World" that his research team was able to produce potato crops with under 50 per cent of the normal phosphate fertilisers, when supplanting them with the gel solution.
Dwindling phosphate supplies are helping to fuel escalating food prices, research suggests. Phosphate rock prices and the food price index tracked each other closely during the food crisis of 2008.
The Soil Association reported in December that supplies of phosphate rock are running out faster than previously anticipated, presenting a major threat to food security.
Its report, A rock and a hard place: Peak phosphorus and the threat to our food security, advised agriculture to become less reliant on phosphate-based fertilisers as a matter of urgency.
Isra-Mart news:
Mushrooms could be the answer to our fertiliser problem, if research presented earlier this week is to be believed.
Swiss researchers believe that fungi living symbiotically with plant roots could help to naturally generate the phosphates that are currently proving so expensive for the agricultural industry.
Research presented at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans on Monday linked mycorrhizal fungi to the production of phosphate fertilisers.
New techniques enabled researchers at the University of Lausanne to grow these mushrooms in large quantities, and suspend them in a gel solution so that they could be easily transported.
The fungi normally only grows directly among plant roots, drawing phosphates from the soil that are then used to help fertilise the plants, but the new technique could enable their production at a commercial scale.
Prof Ian Sanders explained in his presentation "How Microbes Can Help Feed the World" that his research team was able to produce potato crops with under 50 per cent of the normal phosphate fertilisers, when supplanting them with the gel solution.
Dwindling phosphate supplies are helping to fuel escalating food prices, research suggests. Phosphate rock prices and the food price index tracked each other closely during the food crisis of 2008.
The Soil Association reported in December that supplies of phosphate rock are running out faster than previously anticipated, presenting a major threat to food security.
Its report, A rock and a hard place: Peak phosphorus and the threat to our food security, advised agriculture to become less reliant on phosphate-based fertilisers as a matter of urgency.
Isra-Mart srl: Transport minister backs solar powered EV chargers
www.isra-mart.com
Plans to enable electric cars to run directly from renewable energy are set to take a step forward in the coming weeks when a family-run solar panel business launches what is being hailed as the first solar assisted charge point.
Transport minister Norman Baker is expected to cut the ribbon on the solar powered canopy, dubbed eTap, at the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME) in east London at the start of July.
Short for 'electricity on tap', eTap is the brainchild of solar panel installation company Use the Sun, which claims that car park owners will be able to make a return on investment by charging drivers by the hour for electricity and from the feed in tariff.etap
The structure consists of a steel canopy covered with 45 photovoltaic panels with a peak power of 9.9kW. Supporting legs are fitted with APT Technology's 3kw evolt electric chargers, which allow the canopy to power six chargers at any one moment from solar and mains electricity.
Use the Sun director Charles Montlake said that owners of the eTap could expect to receive a return on investment of around seven per cent.
"Our aim is to install lots of eTaps around the country," he said. "At the moment, the focus for charging is in urban areas, but I think people will want to charge outside urban areas too."
Montlake predicted that the technology will particularly suit areas where people often spend a few hours out and about in pubs, hotels or shopping centres. Customers can top up and have enough charge to get home.
Despite the fact that the technology is still in the early stages, government and industry have backed solar powered chargers as an innovative way of boosting green transport industries.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport told BusinessGreen that the government is interested in the progression of solar canopies, but refused to say whether it is planning to invest in the technology for its own car parks.
"Infrastructure has a key part to play in putting the UK at the forefront of the green car revolution," she said.
"The emerging plug-in vehicle infrastructure market offers commercial opportunities for companies with innovative technologies and business models, such as the eTap solar powered plug in points. We will watch the development of this technology with interest."
Similarly, Jonathan Visscher, spokesman for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said that the solar powered canopies could boost the green credentials of the transport sector in the long run, although he admitted that none of its members is investing in this kind of technology at present.
"Alongside ongoing enhancement of traditional technologies the automotive industry is undergoing a time of significant change, and the introduction of new refuelling methods is an important part of that change," he said.
"The concept certainly sounds interesting and would help to push the case for greater use of renewable energy, thus making electric vehicle driving even greener."
While some skeptics argue that solar power is too intermittent to reliably recharge an electric vehicle, Montlake said the eTap avoids this problem because the canopy also connects to an onsite building from which it can take electricity when the sun dies down.
"The sun will shine when there are no cars being charged and vice versa. The e-Tap is connected to the host so that when production exceeds demand the extra electricity can be used by the host free of charge. When demand exceeds production the e-Tap will take the extra from the grid."
Under this first deal with CEME, Use the Sun is installing the eTap free of charge and will take 60 per cent of any charging income and the feed in tariff, and then reimburse CEME for the cost of the electricity used by the chargers.
The company is offering landowners the same deal or the option to buy the eTap fully installed and keep all the income.
However, Use the Sun is not the only company breaking into this fledgling market. Surrey-based Infinite Energy has also developed a similar system called Electroport, which can incorporate advertising panels, CCTV and rainwater harvesting.
Infinite Energy managing director Sam Tilley said that no Electroports have been installed, but the canopy has had a lot of interest in the UK and globally.
Plans to enable electric cars to run directly from renewable energy are set to take a step forward in the coming weeks when a family-run solar panel business launches what is being hailed as the first solar assisted charge point.
Transport minister Norman Baker is expected to cut the ribbon on the solar powered canopy, dubbed eTap, at the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME) in east London at the start of July.
Short for 'electricity on tap', eTap is the brainchild of solar panel installation company Use the Sun, which claims that car park owners will be able to make a return on investment by charging drivers by the hour for electricity and from the feed in tariff.etap
The structure consists of a steel canopy covered with 45 photovoltaic panels with a peak power of 9.9kW. Supporting legs are fitted with APT Technology's 3kw evolt electric chargers, which allow the canopy to power six chargers at any one moment from solar and mains electricity.
Use the Sun director Charles Montlake said that owners of the eTap could expect to receive a return on investment of around seven per cent.
"Our aim is to install lots of eTaps around the country," he said. "At the moment, the focus for charging is in urban areas, but I think people will want to charge outside urban areas too."
Montlake predicted that the technology will particularly suit areas where people often spend a few hours out and about in pubs, hotels or shopping centres. Customers can top up and have enough charge to get home.
Despite the fact that the technology is still in the early stages, government and industry have backed solar powered chargers as an innovative way of boosting green transport industries.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport told BusinessGreen that the government is interested in the progression of solar canopies, but refused to say whether it is planning to invest in the technology for its own car parks.
"Infrastructure has a key part to play in putting the UK at the forefront of the green car revolution," she said.
"The emerging plug-in vehicle infrastructure market offers commercial opportunities for companies with innovative technologies and business models, such as the eTap solar powered plug in points. We will watch the development of this technology with interest."
Similarly, Jonathan Visscher, spokesman for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said that the solar powered canopies could boost the green credentials of the transport sector in the long run, although he admitted that none of its members is investing in this kind of technology at present.
"Alongside ongoing enhancement of traditional technologies the automotive industry is undergoing a time of significant change, and the introduction of new refuelling methods is an important part of that change," he said.
"The concept certainly sounds interesting and would help to push the case for greater use of renewable energy, thus making electric vehicle driving even greener."
While some skeptics argue that solar power is too intermittent to reliably recharge an electric vehicle, Montlake said the eTap avoids this problem because the canopy also connects to an onsite building from which it can take electricity when the sun dies down.
"The sun will shine when there are no cars being charged and vice versa. The e-Tap is connected to the host so that when production exceeds demand the extra electricity can be used by the host free of charge. When demand exceeds production the e-Tap will take the extra from the grid."
Under this first deal with CEME, Use the Sun is installing the eTap free of charge and will take 60 per cent of any charging income and the feed in tariff, and then reimburse CEME for the cost of the electricity used by the chargers.
The company is offering landowners the same deal or the option to buy the eTap fully installed and keep all the income.
However, Use the Sun is not the only company breaking into this fledgling market. Surrey-based Infinite Energy has also developed a similar system called Electroport, which can incorporate advertising panels, CCTV and rainwater harvesting.
Infinite Energy managing director Sam Tilley said that no Electroports have been installed, but the canopy has had a lot of interest in the UK and globally.
Isra-Mart srl: OECD says green policies can drive economic growth
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
The green economy can provide new sources of growth and jobs worth trillions of dollars by 2050. But achieving this will require governments worldwide to adopt policies encouraging innovation, investment and entrepreneurship.
That is the view of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Its Towards Green Growth series of reports, published yesterday, aims to provide a framework to guide governments towards boost economic growth without compromising environmental protection.
The OECD warns that governments' pledges to date to cut greenhouse gas emissions are too little to keep global average temperatures from rising less than two degrees Celsius, as agreed at the Cancun climate summit. It cites reports that it could cost as much as $46 trillion to adapt to and combat climate change in the four decades to 2050.
The organisation calls for increased technological innovation, which would need to be supported by new financial products, such as green bonds. With ambitious government targets and transparent policies, this market could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year, the report says. Currently, green bonds amount to about $11bn, just 0.012 per cent of the $91 trillion of capital held in global bond markets.
It also calls for the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, which the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates are worth $312bn worldwide.
Higher carbon floor prices are needed to provide the necessary incentives for low-carbon development, it says, while issues around jobs and skills, investment, taxation, and trade also need to be addressed.
A balance must be struck between government support and allowing green markets to flourish, it concludes.
"This report shows that green and growth can go together," said OECD secretary-general José Ángel Gurría. "With the right policies in place, we can create jobs, increase prosperity, preserve our environment, and improve the quality of life. All at the same time."
The report goes on to say that progress has been made in greening the world's economy, noting a 24 per cent rise in patents for renewable energy technologies registered between 1999 and 2008. Low-carbon vehicle patents grew 20 per cent during this time, while patents for energy efficiency in buildings and lighting increased 11 per cent.
However, the OECD says more needs to be done to prevent a serious climate change and a deterioration of natural capital, such as water shortages, resource depletion and biodiversity loss, which it said could undermine future growth.
Energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne welcomed the report and said the UK government would continue to encourage sustainable economic growth through the green investment bank, the green deal and reforming the UK's electricity markets.
"This is a landmark report by the OECD which makes a strong case for greening growth, and it's one that governments and businesses can't afford to ignore," he said. "We'll all have to work together to encourage the massive investment that's needed to benefit our planet and growth, and the OECD's work on this agenda can make a real difference."
Environment secretary Caroline Spelman added: "Growth today must not compromise economic growth in the future, so we must seek to grow our economies in a sustainable way that manages our natural assets for the years ahead. The OECD's report recognises the many links between the economic and environmental challenges we face, so now we must all get on and make the green economy a reality."
Isra-Mart news:
The green economy can provide new sources of growth and jobs worth trillions of dollars by 2050. But achieving this will require governments worldwide to adopt policies encouraging innovation, investment and entrepreneurship.
That is the view of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Its Towards Green Growth series of reports, published yesterday, aims to provide a framework to guide governments towards boost economic growth without compromising environmental protection.
The OECD warns that governments' pledges to date to cut greenhouse gas emissions are too little to keep global average temperatures from rising less than two degrees Celsius, as agreed at the Cancun climate summit. It cites reports that it could cost as much as $46 trillion to adapt to and combat climate change in the four decades to 2050.
The organisation calls for increased technological innovation, which would need to be supported by new financial products, such as green bonds. With ambitious government targets and transparent policies, this market could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year, the report says. Currently, green bonds amount to about $11bn, just 0.012 per cent of the $91 trillion of capital held in global bond markets.
It also calls for the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, which the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates are worth $312bn worldwide.
Higher carbon floor prices are needed to provide the necessary incentives for low-carbon development, it says, while issues around jobs and skills, investment, taxation, and trade also need to be addressed.
A balance must be struck between government support and allowing green markets to flourish, it concludes.
"This report shows that green and growth can go together," said OECD secretary-general José Ángel Gurría. "With the right policies in place, we can create jobs, increase prosperity, preserve our environment, and improve the quality of life. All at the same time."
The report goes on to say that progress has been made in greening the world's economy, noting a 24 per cent rise in patents for renewable energy technologies registered between 1999 and 2008. Low-carbon vehicle patents grew 20 per cent during this time, while patents for energy efficiency in buildings and lighting increased 11 per cent.
However, the OECD says more needs to be done to prevent a serious climate change and a deterioration of natural capital, such as water shortages, resource depletion and biodiversity loss, which it said could undermine future growth.
Energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne welcomed the report and said the UK government would continue to encourage sustainable economic growth through the green investment bank, the green deal and reforming the UK's electricity markets.
"This is a landmark report by the OECD which makes a strong case for greening growth, and it's one that governments and businesses can't afford to ignore," he said. "We'll all have to work together to encourage the massive investment that's needed to benefit our planet and growth, and the OECD's work on this agenda can make a real difference."
Environment secretary Caroline Spelman added: "Growth today must not compromise economic growth in the future, so we must seek to grow our economies in a sustainable way that manages our natural assets for the years ahead. The OECD's report recognises the many links between the economic and environmental challenges we face, so now we must all get on and make the green economy a reality."
Isra-Mart srl: Green groups take EU to court over biofuels - again
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
Green groups are suing the European Commission over what they see as a failure to meet its legal commitment to transparency regarding information in decisions relating to the sustainability of Europe's biofuels policy.
A lawsuit filed late last night by law organisation ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth Europe, FERN and Corporate Europe Observatory alleges that the Commission has refused the groups access to information about voluntary certification schemes used to ensure compliance with EU criteria on biofuel sustainability set out in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
The groups are concerned that the EU may meet its target of sourcing 10 per cent of transport energy from renewable sources using biofuels that, without proper oversight, could be competing with food crops or grown in bio-diverse areas cleared for agriculture.
The Commission is looking to accredit at least one certification scheme to ensure that the RED criteria are met, and a committee will meet on Friday to discuss a series of seven programmes.
However, the groups behind the lawsuit say that the process has lacked transparency, and that neither assessment criteria nor information on other schemes being considered have been made publicly available.
They say the Commission rejected a request made last year to obtain information on the organisations that had applied to operate the schemes and how they were chosen.
This decision was challenged in December, but the groups claim that the Commission has yet to respond despite having a deadline of 4 February to do so.
ClientEarth has previously taken action against the EU over biofuels policy, accusing it of withholding evidence which allegedly showed that biofuel policies harm the environment and pushed up food prices in 2010.
James Thornton, ClientEarth's chief executive, said that the policies were too important to decide in secrecy.
"The amount of money at stake over Europe's biofuels policy is colossal, and so is the potential for environmental devastation," he said.
"We need to know which organisations have applied to run voluntary certification schemes, and how they've been chosen, so that we can be certain that they will provide robust and reliable information."
Robbie Blake, Friends of the Earth Europe's campaigner on agrofuels, accused the EU of acting contrary to its own requirements.
"The European Commission has continually evaded its legal responsibility to disclose even the most basic information about voluntary certification schemes for Europe's biofuels," he said.
"The stakes are high - ineffective certification schemes will give the green light to environmental abuse. We need transparency and participation in EU policy making - not secrecy and suspicion."
A European Commission spokesman told BusinessGreen today the Commission had not yet received notification of the lawsuit but was aware it had missed a deadline.
He stressed that the complainants had been kept informed throughout the process of the reasons why the Commission's reponse was delayed and promised it would issue this response "within one to two weeks."
"While deadlines are a high priority, putting out a high quality response is an even higher priority," he said. "[Missing the deadline] is unfortunate, but the people involved were in constant contact with the complainants. We will issue the response imminently - within one or two weeks."
Isra-Mart news:
Green groups are suing the European Commission over what they see as a failure to meet its legal commitment to transparency regarding information in decisions relating to the sustainability of Europe's biofuels policy.
A lawsuit filed late last night by law organisation ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth Europe, FERN and Corporate Europe Observatory alleges that the Commission has refused the groups access to information about voluntary certification schemes used to ensure compliance with EU criteria on biofuel sustainability set out in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
The groups are concerned that the EU may meet its target of sourcing 10 per cent of transport energy from renewable sources using biofuels that, without proper oversight, could be competing with food crops or grown in bio-diverse areas cleared for agriculture.
The Commission is looking to accredit at least one certification scheme to ensure that the RED criteria are met, and a committee will meet on Friday to discuss a series of seven programmes.
However, the groups behind the lawsuit say that the process has lacked transparency, and that neither assessment criteria nor information on other schemes being considered have been made publicly available.
They say the Commission rejected a request made last year to obtain information on the organisations that had applied to operate the schemes and how they were chosen.
This decision was challenged in December, but the groups claim that the Commission has yet to respond despite having a deadline of 4 February to do so.
ClientEarth has previously taken action against the EU over biofuels policy, accusing it of withholding evidence which allegedly showed that biofuel policies harm the environment and pushed up food prices in 2010.
James Thornton, ClientEarth's chief executive, said that the policies were too important to decide in secrecy.
"The amount of money at stake over Europe's biofuels policy is colossal, and so is the potential for environmental devastation," he said.
"We need to know which organisations have applied to run voluntary certification schemes, and how they've been chosen, so that we can be certain that they will provide robust and reliable information."
Robbie Blake, Friends of the Earth Europe's campaigner on agrofuels, accused the EU of acting contrary to its own requirements.
"The European Commission has continually evaded its legal responsibility to disclose even the most basic information about voluntary certification schemes for Europe's biofuels," he said.
"The stakes are high - ineffective certification schemes will give the green light to environmental abuse. We need transparency and participation in EU policy making - not secrecy and suspicion."
A European Commission spokesman told BusinessGreen today the Commission had not yet received notification of the lawsuit but was aware it had missed a deadline.
He stressed that the complainants had been kept informed throughout the process of the reasons why the Commission's reponse was delayed and promised it would issue this response "within one to two weeks."
"While deadlines are a high priority, putting out a high quality response is an even higher priority," he said. "[Missing the deadline] is unfortunate, but the people involved were in constant contact with the complainants. We will issue the response imminently - within one or two weeks."
Isra-Mart srl: Mayor launches Source London EV charging network
www.isra-mart.com
The mayor of London has cut the ribbon on a network of electric vehicle charge points, dubbed Source London, which is hoped to spur similar schemes across the country.
London mayor Boris Johnson today launched Source London as part of plans to install 1,300 electric charging points by the end of 2013. The scheme includes 150 new charge points, which drivers can access with a single swipe card.
Source London, a consortium led by Transport for London that also includes Siemens and Scottish and Southern Energy, said it was hoping to link up to a similar scheme in the east of England, allowing EV drivers to use both schemes with one card.
Johnson said he hoped the scheme would rapidly boost the uptake of electric vehicles and make London the centre of EV in Europe.
"'Through Source London we want to give drivers the confidence that they can plug into this fantastic new motoring technology," he said. "We are working with a mighty coalition of motor manufacturers and private sector partners as well as London's boroughs to ensure we create world-class support for electric motoring."
However, London Assembly member Darren Johnson of the Green Party reiterated his concerns that the mayor has scaled back his original plans for 7,500 electric car charging points on London's roads by 2013.
"The mayor's commitment to electric vehicles is half-hearted, and I'm concerned that he is about to scale back on his target of having a thousand vehicles in the GLA group fleet," he said. "He failed to secure the Nissan/Leaf sponsorship deal for the Olympics, which media reports claim would have seen at least half of the fleet being made up of electric vehicles. He has also failed to guarantee that the charging points will run on renewable energy, so the environmental gains are far less than they should be."
The mayor of London has cut the ribbon on a network of electric vehicle charge points, dubbed Source London, which is hoped to spur similar schemes across the country.
London mayor Boris Johnson today launched Source London as part of plans to install 1,300 electric charging points by the end of 2013. The scheme includes 150 new charge points, which drivers can access with a single swipe card.
Source London, a consortium led by Transport for London that also includes Siemens and Scottish and Southern Energy, said it was hoping to link up to a similar scheme in the east of England, allowing EV drivers to use both schemes with one card.
Johnson said he hoped the scheme would rapidly boost the uptake of electric vehicles and make London the centre of EV in Europe.
"'Through Source London we want to give drivers the confidence that they can plug into this fantastic new motoring technology," he said. "We are working with a mighty coalition of motor manufacturers and private sector partners as well as London's boroughs to ensure we create world-class support for electric motoring."
However, London Assembly member Darren Johnson of the Green Party reiterated his concerns that the mayor has scaled back his original plans for 7,500 electric car charging points on London's roads by 2013.
"The mayor's commitment to electric vehicles is half-hearted, and I'm concerned that he is about to scale back on his target of having a thousand vehicles in the GLA group fleet," he said. "He failed to secure the Nissan/Leaf sponsorship deal for the Olympics, which media reports claim would have seen at least half of the fleet being made up of electric vehicles. He has also failed to guarantee that the charging points will run on renewable energy, so the environmental gains are far less than they should be."
Isra-Mart srl: Japan aims for 20 per cent renewable power
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-Mart news:
Japan will aim to generate at least 20 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by the 2020s, and will review plans to expand its nuclear industry in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan told a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris that three meltdowns caused by an earthquake and tsunami hitting the plant had prompted the shift in focus.
Prior to the disaster, Japan was the world's third-largest user of nuclear power and was seeking to meet half of its electricity needs by 2030 with new reactors, up from around 30 per cent currently.
Renewable generation accounts for around 10 per cent and the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects considerable grid upgrades will be needed to increase this volume.
Kan said Japan would work to cut solar power generation costs to one-third of the current level by 2020 and one-sixth a decade later, while aiming to fit solar panels on 10 million roofs by 2030.
"We will do everything we can to make renewable energy our base form of power, overcoming hurdles of technology and cost," Kan said.
However, Japan is not about to abandon nuclear generation altogether. At an earlier meeting, Kan told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that the country would continue to rely on nuclear power after improving its safety. However, he did not reveal how big a role nuclear would play.
Kan is expected to detail the work undertaken to bring the Fukushima plant under control at the G8 meeting in Deauville, France, which begins today.
Isra-Mart news:
Japan will aim to generate at least 20 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by the 2020s, and will review plans to expand its nuclear industry in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan told a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris that three meltdowns caused by an earthquake and tsunami hitting the plant had prompted the shift in focus.
Prior to the disaster, Japan was the world's third-largest user of nuclear power and was seeking to meet half of its electricity needs by 2030 with new reactors, up from around 30 per cent currently.
Renewable generation accounts for around 10 per cent and the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects considerable grid upgrades will be needed to increase this volume.
Kan said Japan would work to cut solar power generation costs to one-third of the current level by 2020 and one-sixth a decade later, while aiming to fit solar panels on 10 million roofs by 2030.
"We will do everything we can to make renewable energy our base form of power, overcoming hurdles of technology and cost," Kan said.
However, Japan is not about to abandon nuclear generation altogether. At an earlier meeting, Kan told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that the country would continue to rely on nuclear power after improving its safety. However, he did not reveal how big a role nuclear would play.
Kan is expected to detail the work undertaken to bring the Fukushima plant under control at the G8 meeting in Deauville, France, which begins today.
Isra-Mart srl: Europe divided over nuclear power after Fukushima disaster
www.isra-mart.com
Europe's nuclear power faultlines in the wake of the Fukushima disaster were exposed on Wednesday as Switzerland moved to phase out its nuclear power plants and the extent of British and French lobbying to water down nuclear safety checks was revealed.
The UK, with the backing of France and the Czech Republic, managed to have terror attacks excluded from a series of new nuclear safety tests ordered after the Japanese tsunami led to radiation leaks from Fukushima nuclear reactors in March.
The Swiss cabinet called for the decommissioning of the country's five nuclear power reactors and new energy sources to replace them. The recommendation will be debated in the country's parliament, with a decision expected in June that could see the reactors go offline between 2019 and 2034.
European regulators struck a deal on "stress tests" of how the EU's 143 nuclear power plants would withstand natural disasters, but terror attacks were reportedly excluded because of the UK argument that they lie within the purview of national security authorities and not the European commission or national nuclear regulators.
"The reason why we excluded terrorism from the tests was mainly, although not 100%, down to UK resistance," an EU official said. "The UK authorities argued that there was a difference between safety and security." The anti-nuclear green pressure group Greenpeace also accused the UK of leading the opposition to including terror attacks in the safety test simulation criteria.
Europe's divisions over nuclear power have deepened since Fukushima, with Britain and France remaining steadfast supporters, Italy shelving plans to build new plants and Germany taking steps towards a phase-out.
Plants must now prove they can withstand worse earthquakes and other natural disasters than in the past, such as a quake of magnitude eight instead of six, although the precise definition of "higher safety margin" will be left up to national regulators.
"One of the most important lessons to be drawn is that the unthinkable can happen - that two natural disasters can hit at the same time," the commission said, announcing the agreement.
But manmade disasters proved to be the sticking point. Scenarios such as aeroplane crashes and explosions near a plant such as from a gas container or oil tanker will be included in the stress test criteria, but, in a victory for London, the question of terror attacks is to be dealt with separately, by anti-terrorism experts and national security officials.
One UK source said: "We've always said that assessment of safety and risk is fine, but security questions should remain the preserve of national security experts. I don't think this counts as watering down the criteria at all."
The tests, to begin on 1 June, require plant operators to answer a questionnaire on the various scenarios, supported by engineering studies. National regulators will assess whether their reports are credible, and they will be subject to a peer review process by seven-member teams from the European Nuclear Safety Regulators' Group.
The commission does not have the legal power to shut down nuclear plants and is depending on citizen pressure once the results are published by the end of April 2012.
Europe's nuclear power faultlines in the wake of the Fukushima disaster were exposed on Wednesday as Switzerland moved to phase out its nuclear power plants and the extent of British and French lobbying to water down nuclear safety checks was revealed.
The UK, with the backing of France and the Czech Republic, managed to have terror attacks excluded from a series of new nuclear safety tests ordered after the Japanese tsunami led to radiation leaks from Fukushima nuclear reactors in March.
The Swiss cabinet called for the decommissioning of the country's five nuclear power reactors and new energy sources to replace them. The recommendation will be debated in the country's parliament, with a decision expected in June that could see the reactors go offline between 2019 and 2034.
European regulators struck a deal on "stress tests" of how the EU's 143 nuclear power plants would withstand natural disasters, but terror attacks were reportedly excluded because of the UK argument that they lie within the purview of national security authorities and not the European commission or national nuclear regulators.
"The reason why we excluded terrorism from the tests was mainly, although not 100%, down to UK resistance," an EU official said. "The UK authorities argued that there was a difference between safety and security." The anti-nuclear green pressure group Greenpeace also accused the UK of leading the opposition to including terror attacks in the safety test simulation criteria.
Europe's divisions over nuclear power have deepened since Fukushima, with Britain and France remaining steadfast supporters, Italy shelving plans to build new plants and Germany taking steps towards a phase-out.
Plants must now prove they can withstand worse earthquakes and other natural disasters than in the past, such as a quake of magnitude eight instead of six, although the precise definition of "higher safety margin" will be left up to national regulators.
"One of the most important lessons to be drawn is that the unthinkable can happen - that two natural disasters can hit at the same time," the commission said, announcing the agreement.
But manmade disasters proved to be the sticking point. Scenarios such as aeroplane crashes and explosions near a plant such as from a gas container or oil tanker will be included in the stress test criteria, but, in a victory for London, the question of terror attacks is to be dealt with separately, by anti-terrorism experts and national security officials.
One UK source said: "We've always said that assessment of safety and risk is fine, but security questions should remain the preserve of national security experts. I don't think this counts as watering down the criteria at all."
The tests, to begin on 1 June, require plant operators to answer a questionnaire on the various scenarios, supported by engineering studies. National regulators will assess whether their reports are credible, and they will be subject to a peer review process by seven-member teams from the European Nuclear Safety Regulators' Group.
The commission does not have the legal power to shut down nuclear plants and is depending on citizen pressure once the results are published by the end of April 2012.
Isra-Mart srl: Balfour Beatty consortium bags £317m Greater Gabbard grid link
www.isra-mart.com
Green Energy Transmission (GET) has been awarded preferred bidder status to own and operate the £316.6m high-voltage transmission link for the 500MW Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm off the Suffolk coast, bolstering Ofgem's first £1.1bn tender round for companies to run grid links.
The energy regulator today confirmed GET, a consortium comprising Equitix, AMP Capital Investors and Balfour Beatty Capital, as preferred bidder to become the Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTOs) for Greater Gabbard.
A spokesman from Ofgem told BusinessGreen it was hoping to reach financial close in spring next year, although the timetable depends on construction progress for both the link and turbines.
Last week, Scottish and Southern Energy, which owns Greater Gabbard in a 50:50 joint venture with RWE npower renewables, said the completion date could be delayed as a result of ongoing contractual issues with its principal contractor Flour.
Following the initial OFTO process last year, Greater Gabbard's transmission tender was re-run because the bids from the competitors were too close to select a clear winner.
If GET fails to tie up the agreement, the reserve bidder for Greater Gabbard is Transmission Capital Partners, a consortium of Transmission Capital, Amber Infrastructure and International Public Partnerships.
Ofgem E-Serve's managing director of the commercial division, Robert Hull, said the deal will mark an important milestone for the offshore transmission regime, especially as Equitix and AMP Capital Investors are new to the OFTO regime.
"The introduction of two new investors provides further evidence that the OFTO regime can deliver the billions of pounds of investment required to deliver the UK's renewable targets and cost savings for customers and developers," he said.
"We now look forward to working with the developer and preferred bidder to ensure the OFTO is in place as soon as possible."
Green Energy Transmission (GET) has been awarded preferred bidder status to own and operate the £316.6m high-voltage transmission link for the 500MW Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm off the Suffolk coast, bolstering Ofgem's first £1.1bn tender round for companies to run grid links.
The energy regulator today confirmed GET, a consortium comprising Equitix, AMP Capital Investors and Balfour Beatty Capital, as preferred bidder to become the Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTOs) for Greater Gabbard.
A spokesman from Ofgem told BusinessGreen it was hoping to reach financial close in spring next year, although the timetable depends on construction progress for both the link and turbines.
Last week, Scottish and Southern Energy, which owns Greater Gabbard in a 50:50 joint venture with RWE npower renewables, said the completion date could be delayed as a result of ongoing contractual issues with its principal contractor Flour.
Following the initial OFTO process last year, Greater Gabbard's transmission tender was re-run because the bids from the competitors were too close to select a clear winner.
If GET fails to tie up the agreement, the reserve bidder for Greater Gabbard is Transmission Capital Partners, a consortium of Transmission Capital, Amber Infrastructure and International Public Partnerships.
Ofgem E-Serve's managing director of the commercial division, Robert Hull, said the deal will mark an important milestone for the offshore transmission regime, especially as Equitix and AMP Capital Investors are new to the OFTO regime.
"The introduction of two new investors provides further evidence that the OFTO regime can deliver the billions of pounds of investment required to deliver the UK's renewable targets and cost savings for customers and developers," he said.
"We now look forward to working with the developer and preferred bidder to ensure the OFTO is in place as soon as possible."
Isra-Mart srl : Cable unveils plan for offshore renewables innovation centre
www.isra-mart.com
Offshore renewable energy firms have been invited to take part in a new competition to develop an innovation centre focusing on technologies for offshore wind, wave and tidal power.
Business secretary Vince Cable today launched the competition, which is being run by the government-backed Technology Strategy Board (TSB). Companies already involved, or wishing to become involved, in offshore renewables are being urged to deliver proposals to the TSB detailing how a potential centre would operate.
The offshore renewables Technology Innovation Centre (TIC) is part of a £200m government programme to build at least six new TICs focusing on a range of emerging technologies. Other centres will focus on areas such as smart grids and "future cities".
A spokesman from TSB told BusinessGreen that expressions of interest will be sought this summer, after which a decision on the remit and structure of the new centre will be made towards the end of the year. The goal is for the centre to be established in the summer of 2012. He added that the centre could either be in one location, or spread across several areas around the UK.
Cable also announced today that the government is investing £20m in two clean technology funds as part of the £325m UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF).
The money will be invested in the Zouk Cleantech 2 and HG Capital Renewable Power Partners 2 funds, which will then provide backing to companies working on alternative energy generation, renewable energy infrastructure including wind farms, energy efficiency, and water treatment and conservation.
Cable said today's announcements underscored the coalition's commitment to the green economy.
"There is a clear opportunity for the government to support the UK's offshore industry, and this centre will be of great benefit to the sector and the economy," he said.
"[The] funding provides the support to allow private sector industries to grow and become more energy-efficient. Transforming the UK into a low-carbon economy is a great challenge, but one that we are taking seriously with investments such as this."
According to the Carbon Trust, the global offshore wind market will grow by 10 per cent a year over the next 40 years and be worth up to £170bn per year by 2050. The UK is predicted to capture a 12 per cent share of the global market, equating to about a £215bn turnover to the UK economy from 2010 to 2050.
Offshore renewable energy firms have been invited to take part in a new competition to develop an innovation centre focusing on technologies for offshore wind, wave and tidal power.
Business secretary Vince Cable today launched the competition, which is being run by the government-backed Technology Strategy Board (TSB). Companies already involved, or wishing to become involved, in offshore renewables are being urged to deliver proposals to the TSB detailing how a potential centre would operate.
The offshore renewables Technology Innovation Centre (TIC) is part of a £200m government programme to build at least six new TICs focusing on a range of emerging technologies. Other centres will focus on areas such as smart grids and "future cities".
A spokesman from TSB told BusinessGreen that expressions of interest will be sought this summer, after which a decision on the remit and structure of the new centre will be made towards the end of the year. The goal is for the centre to be established in the summer of 2012. He added that the centre could either be in one location, or spread across several areas around the UK.
Cable also announced today that the government is investing £20m in two clean technology funds as part of the £325m UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF).
The money will be invested in the Zouk Cleantech 2 and HG Capital Renewable Power Partners 2 funds, which will then provide backing to companies working on alternative energy generation, renewable energy infrastructure including wind farms, energy efficiency, and water treatment and conservation.
Cable said today's announcements underscored the coalition's commitment to the green economy.
"There is a clear opportunity for the government to support the UK's offshore industry, and this centre will be of great benefit to the sector and the economy," he said.
"[The] funding provides the support to allow private sector industries to grow and become more energy-efficient. Transforming the UK into a low-carbon economy is a great challenge, but one that we are taking seriously with investments such as this."
According to the Carbon Trust, the global offshore wind market will grow by 10 per cent a year over the next 40 years and be worth up to £170bn per year by 2050. The UK is predicted to capture a 12 per cent share of the global market, equating to about a £215bn turnover to the UK economy from 2010 to 2050.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Isra-Mart srl : EU urges governments to let city soils breathe
www.isra-mart.com
European governments are being urged to tackle the damage caused to so-called ecosystem services, when massive areas of soil are lost to urban sprawl that degrades the soil and increases the risk of flooding.
The European Commission has today published a report highlighting the problem of "soil sealing", when land is covered with impermeable material such as asphalt or concrete, causing an irreversible loss of the soil's biological functions.
The report offers ways in which governments can address the issue, including improved spatial planning, reassessing subsidies that indirectly encourage soil sealing, and measures to reduce damage when soil sealing cannot be avoided, such as building more green roofs and permeable car parks.
It also recommends compensation measures to partially offset soil losses in one area by introducing measures to improve soil quality in other areas.
Running down the worst offenders, the report finds that between 2000 and 2006 Malta had the highest sealing rates, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.
The UK is identified as having a moderate problem, where annual landtake is decreasing despite a growing population. The UK is also hailed for its broad use of permeable materials to cover car parks, even in big cities, and its continuous research and guidelines to help drive greener car parks.
The commission has identified soil degradation, including soil sealing, as a serious problem at EU level. On average 275 hectares of soil were lost per day in the EU between 1990 and 2000, half of which is permanently sealed by impermeable layers such as buildings, roads and car parks.
To protect European soils the commission presented a proposal for a Soil Framework Directive in 2006, with the support of the European Parliament.
However, due to opposition from some member states the proposal is currently stalled in the council.
The results of today's report will feed into a technical document on soil sealing offering best practice advice for governments, due to be published in early 2012.
Environment commissioner Janez Potočnik urged governments to use the report to find a sustainable way of limiting the loss of biodiversity caused by economic development.
"We rely on soils for some fundamental ecosystem services: without them life on our planet would grind to a halt," he said. "We cannot afford to continue paving them over. This does not mean halting economic development or the upgrading of our infrastructures, but it does require a more sustainable approach."
European governments are being urged to tackle the damage caused to so-called ecosystem services, when massive areas of soil are lost to urban sprawl that degrades the soil and increases the risk of flooding.
The European Commission has today published a report highlighting the problem of "soil sealing", when land is covered with impermeable material such as asphalt or concrete, causing an irreversible loss of the soil's biological functions.
The report offers ways in which governments can address the issue, including improved spatial planning, reassessing subsidies that indirectly encourage soil sealing, and measures to reduce damage when soil sealing cannot be avoided, such as building more green roofs and permeable car parks.
It also recommends compensation measures to partially offset soil losses in one area by introducing measures to improve soil quality in other areas.
Running down the worst offenders, the report finds that between 2000 and 2006 Malta had the highest sealing rates, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.
The UK is identified as having a moderate problem, where annual landtake is decreasing despite a growing population. The UK is also hailed for its broad use of permeable materials to cover car parks, even in big cities, and its continuous research and guidelines to help drive greener car parks.
The commission has identified soil degradation, including soil sealing, as a serious problem at EU level. On average 275 hectares of soil were lost per day in the EU between 1990 and 2000, half of which is permanently sealed by impermeable layers such as buildings, roads and car parks.
To protect European soils the commission presented a proposal for a Soil Framework Directive in 2006, with the support of the European Parliament.
However, due to opposition from some member states the proposal is currently stalled in the council.
The results of today's report will feed into a technical document on soil sealing offering best practice advice for governments, due to be published in early 2012.
Environment commissioner Janez Potočnik urged governments to use the report to find a sustainable way of limiting the loss of biodiversity caused by economic development.
"We rely on soils for some fundamental ecosystem services: without them life on our planet would grind to a halt," he said. "We cannot afford to continue paving them over. This does not mean halting economic development or the upgrading of our infrastructures, but it does require a more sustainable approach."
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Isra-Mart srl : Emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră ale companiilor româneşti analizate de UE au scăzut în 2010
www.isra-mart.com
Emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră ale companiilor din România care participă la schema Uniunii Europene (UE) de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii au scăzut cu 2,6% anul trecut, de la 48,6 milioane de tone echivalent dioxid de carbon la 47,3 milioane de tone.
Totodată, numărul certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră acordate companiilor din România a urcat de la 73,7 milioane în 2009 la 74,94 milioane anul trecut, potrivit unui comunicat al Comisiei Europene.
Executivul european monitorizează în România 271 de instalaţii.
În UE, Liechtenstein şi Norvegia emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră au urcat cu 3%, de la 1,87 miliarde de tone în 2009 la 1,93 miliarde de tone anul trecut, în timp ce numărul de certificate de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră acordate celor 12.815 instalaţii analizate a urcat de la 1,97 miliarde la 1,99 miliarde.
Creşterea se poate datora redresării economice, notează CE, după ce recesiunea a cauzat în 2009 un declin al emisiilor de 11,6%.
Emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră ale companiilor din România care participă la schema Uniunii Europene (UE) de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii au scăzut cu 2,6% anul trecut, de la 48,6 milioane de tone echivalent dioxid de carbon la 47,3 milioane de tone.
Totodată, numărul certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră acordate companiilor din România a urcat de la 73,7 milioane în 2009 la 74,94 milioane anul trecut, potrivit unui comunicat al Comisiei Europene.
Executivul european monitorizează în România 271 de instalaţii.
În UE, Liechtenstein şi Norvegia emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră au urcat cu 3%, de la 1,87 miliarde de tone în 2009 la 1,93 miliarde de tone anul trecut, în timp ce numărul de certificate de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră acordate celor 12.815 instalaţii analizate a urcat de la 1,97 miliarde la 1,99 miliarde.
Creşterea se poate datora redresării economice, notează CE, după ce recesiunea a cauzat în 2009 un declin al emisiilor de 11,6%.
Isra-Mart srl : Inventar comunitar la CO2
www.isra-mart.com
Emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră ale întreprinderilor care participă la schema UE de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii (EU ETS) au crescut cu peste 3 % anul trecut, potrivit informaţiilor furnizate de registrele statelor membre. La o primă vedere, producţia industrială a crescut în Uniunea Europeană, dar este doar un mic pas înainte faţă de anul 2009, când se poate spune că s-a înregistrat o adevărată prăbuşire a economiilor comunitare. România a fost în trend.
“Creşterea din 2010 a emisiilor reflectă redresarea economică, dar chiar şi după ce economia revine la normal, emisiile din cadrul EU ETS rămân cu mult sub plafonul pentru perioada de comercializare 2008-2012″, a declarat Connie Hedegaard, comisarul pentru Combaterea Schimbărilor climatice, se arată într-un comunicat de presă al Reprezentanţei Comisie Europene la Bucureşti. “Cifrele indică, de asemenea, faptul că unele sectoare industriale continuă să acumuleze un surplus de certificate care urmează a fi comercializate în cursul celei de-a treia perioade de comercializare, care începe în 2013. Această situaţie evidenţiază flexibilitatea pe care comercializarea certificatelor de emisii o oferă întreprinderilor şi confirmă faptul că se poate face mai mult pentru reducerea emisiilor în etapa următoare, la un cost economic rezonabil”, a precizat comisarul.
Creştere de 3%
Statistica UE a fost făcută pentru toate instalaţiile ce cad sub incidenţa sistemului de comercializate a certificatelor de emisie, adică peste 12.000 de centrale electrice şi instalaţii de producţie în cele 27 de state membre, Norvegia şi Liechtenstein. Anul trecut, emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră verificate generate de aceste instalaţii au totalizat 1.932 miliarde de tone de echivalent CO2, cu aproximativ 3 % mai mult faţă de nivelul din 2009. Creşterea, prognozată de analişti, vine după o scădere semnificativă a emisiilor în 2009, de 11,6% faţă de anul precedent.
“Totuşi, este probabil ca această creştere să fie cu mult mai redusă faţă de revenirea la normal a cantităţilor de emisii generate de instalaţiile în cauză, având în vedere că indexul mediu al producţiei industriale în UE 27 a crescut cu 6,7 % în 2010 în comparaţie cu anul 2009″, precizează comunicatul.
România a avut la dispoziţie, în 2010, 74,9 milioane de certificate CO2 şi a consumat 47,3 milioane de certificate, faţă de 48,6 milioane de certificate în 2010. Ţara noastră are 271 instalaţii care cad sub incidenţa acestui sistem.
Raportare onorabilă
Sistemul de comercializare a certificatelor de emise a impus şi un sistem de monitorizare şi raportare, astfel încât să se poată atinge obiectivul de reducere a acestor emisii. Potrivit sistemului, fiecare instalaţie are alocat, pentru fiecare an, un anumit număr de certificate. La sfârşitul fiecărui an se face un calcul, cât a emis fiecare instalaţie, deci de câte certificate ar fi avut nevoie pentru funcţionare, câte a comercializat şi câte au mai rămas. Lipsa unui certificate se penalizează cu 100 de euro.
Pentru 2010, nivelul de conformitate al companiilor cu normele EU ETS a fost ridicat, susţine Comisia Europeană. Doar 2 % dintre instalaţiile participante nu au restituit, până la termenul limită de 30 aprilie 2011, certificatele care acoperă toate emisiile lor din 2010. De obicei, aceste instalaţii sunt mici, iar emisiile lor, cumulate, constituie mai puţin de 2 % din emisiile din cadrul EU ETS. “3% dintre instalaţii nu au transmis emisiile verificate pentru 2010 până la termenul limită menţionat”, precizează comunicatul.
Investiţii cu prioritate
Prin Protocolul de la Kyoto, actul de la care a pornit Comisia Europeană pentru elaborarea sistemului de comercializare a certificatelor CO2, a permis aplicarea unor mecanisme prin care statele părţi să poată atinge ţintele de reducere a emsiilor. Unul se referă la investiţii verzi în statele părţi ale Protocolului, iar reducerea de emisii este contabilizată în contul statului investitor, parte la Protocol (n.r. – de aici rezultă certificatele numite ERU). Sunt şi investiţii făcute în state care nu au angajamente de reducere a emisiilor, iar reducerea intră în contul statului investitor (n.r. – se obţin CER). Instalaţiile pot utiliza şi aceste două tipuri de certificate pentru conformare.
CER au constituit 4,7 % din totalul restituirilor din perioada 2008-2010. Aproximativ 51 % dintre aceste CER au fost generate în China, 20 % în India, 16 % în Coreea de Sud şi 7 % în Brazilia, 20 de ţări aflându-se la originea celorlalte 6 %.
ERU au constituit doar 0,4 % din toate restituirile începând din 2008. Împreună, restituirile de CER şi ERU începând din 2008 au consumat aproximativ 21 % din cele aproximativ 1,4 miliarde de credite acordate pentru perioada de comercializare 2008-2012.
Emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră ale întreprinderilor care participă la schema UE de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii (EU ETS) au crescut cu peste 3 % anul trecut, potrivit informaţiilor furnizate de registrele statelor membre. La o primă vedere, producţia industrială a crescut în Uniunea Europeană, dar este doar un mic pas înainte faţă de anul 2009, când se poate spune că s-a înregistrat o adevărată prăbuşire a economiilor comunitare. România a fost în trend.
“Creşterea din 2010 a emisiilor reflectă redresarea economică, dar chiar şi după ce economia revine la normal, emisiile din cadrul EU ETS rămân cu mult sub plafonul pentru perioada de comercializare 2008-2012″, a declarat Connie Hedegaard, comisarul pentru Combaterea Schimbărilor climatice, se arată într-un comunicat de presă al Reprezentanţei Comisie Europene la Bucureşti. “Cifrele indică, de asemenea, faptul că unele sectoare industriale continuă să acumuleze un surplus de certificate care urmează a fi comercializate în cursul celei de-a treia perioade de comercializare, care începe în 2013. Această situaţie evidenţiază flexibilitatea pe care comercializarea certificatelor de emisii o oferă întreprinderilor şi confirmă faptul că se poate face mai mult pentru reducerea emisiilor în etapa următoare, la un cost economic rezonabil”, a precizat comisarul.
Creştere de 3%
Statistica UE a fost făcută pentru toate instalaţiile ce cad sub incidenţa sistemului de comercializate a certificatelor de emisie, adică peste 12.000 de centrale electrice şi instalaţii de producţie în cele 27 de state membre, Norvegia şi Liechtenstein. Anul trecut, emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră verificate generate de aceste instalaţii au totalizat 1.932 miliarde de tone de echivalent CO2, cu aproximativ 3 % mai mult faţă de nivelul din 2009. Creşterea, prognozată de analişti, vine după o scădere semnificativă a emisiilor în 2009, de 11,6% faţă de anul precedent.
“Totuşi, este probabil ca această creştere să fie cu mult mai redusă faţă de revenirea la normal a cantităţilor de emisii generate de instalaţiile în cauză, având în vedere că indexul mediu al producţiei industriale în UE 27 a crescut cu 6,7 % în 2010 în comparaţie cu anul 2009″, precizează comunicatul.
România a avut la dispoziţie, în 2010, 74,9 milioane de certificate CO2 şi a consumat 47,3 milioane de certificate, faţă de 48,6 milioane de certificate în 2010. Ţara noastră are 271 instalaţii care cad sub incidenţa acestui sistem.
Raportare onorabilă
Sistemul de comercializare a certificatelor de emise a impus şi un sistem de monitorizare şi raportare, astfel încât să se poată atinge obiectivul de reducere a acestor emisii. Potrivit sistemului, fiecare instalaţie are alocat, pentru fiecare an, un anumit număr de certificate. La sfârşitul fiecărui an se face un calcul, cât a emis fiecare instalaţie, deci de câte certificate ar fi avut nevoie pentru funcţionare, câte a comercializat şi câte au mai rămas. Lipsa unui certificate se penalizează cu 100 de euro.
Pentru 2010, nivelul de conformitate al companiilor cu normele EU ETS a fost ridicat, susţine Comisia Europeană. Doar 2 % dintre instalaţiile participante nu au restituit, până la termenul limită de 30 aprilie 2011, certificatele care acoperă toate emisiile lor din 2010. De obicei, aceste instalaţii sunt mici, iar emisiile lor, cumulate, constituie mai puţin de 2 % din emisiile din cadrul EU ETS. “3% dintre instalaţii nu au transmis emisiile verificate pentru 2010 până la termenul limită menţionat”, precizează comunicatul.
Investiţii cu prioritate
Prin Protocolul de la Kyoto, actul de la care a pornit Comisia Europeană pentru elaborarea sistemului de comercializare a certificatelor CO2, a permis aplicarea unor mecanisme prin care statele părţi să poată atinge ţintele de reducere a emsiilor. Unul se referă la investiţii verzi în statele părţi ale Protocolului, iar reducerea de emisii este contabilizată în contul statului investitor, parte la Protocol (n.r. – de aici rezultă certificatele numite ERU). Sunt şi investiţii făcute în state care nu au angajamente de reducere a emisiilor, iar reducerea intră în contul statului investitor (n.r. – se obţin CER). Instalaţiile pot utiliza şi aceste două tipuri de certificate pentru conformare.
CER au constituit 4,7 % din totalul restituirilor din perioada 2008-2010. Aproximativ 51 % dintre aceste CER au fost generate în China, 20 % în India, 16 % în Coreea de Sud şi 7 % în Brazilia, 20 de ţări aflându-se la originea celorlalte 6 %.
ERU au constituit doar 0,4 % din toate restituirile începând din 2008. Împreună, restituirile de CER şi ERU începând din 2008 au consumat aproximativ 21 % din cele aproximativ 1,4 miliarde de credite acordate pentru perioada de comercializare 2008-2012.
Isra-Mart srl : Primul workshop privind alocarea certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră post 2013
www.isra-mart.com
Agenţia Naţională pentru Protecţia Mediului (ANPM) în parteneriat cu Asociaţia Română a Carbonului va organiza în perioada 23 – 27 mai 2011, primul workshop care are ca obiectiv discutarea modificărilor care au apărut la nivel european cu privire la aplicarea schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră, precum şi prezentarea metodologiei de alocare „cu titlu gratuit” a certificatelor de emisii în perioada 2013-2020. Acesta este primul eveniment organizat de autorităţile pentru protecţia mediului având ca scop creşterea gradului de conştientizare şi informare la nivelul operatorilor care deţin instalaţii industriale din diferite sectoare ale economiei: energie, rafinare produse petroliere, ceramică, producerea cimentului, fabricarea aluminiului, producerea fontei şi oţelului, producerea varului şi a sticlei, etc.
Parlamentul European a adoptat în anul 2008 pachetul legislativ "Energie - Schimbări Climatice " aşa numitul pachet „20-20-20”, prin care Uniunea Europeană şi Statele Membre s-au angajat să acţioneze pentru a lupta împotriva schimbărilor climatice, pregătind tranziţia către o economie cu emisii scăzute de dioxid de carbon şi atingerea obiectivului de reducere a emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră cu 20 % până în anul 2020 sau cu 30 % în situaţia în care se ajunge la un acord la nivel internaţional.
Pe termen scurt şi mediu, principala provocare a autorităţilor pentru protecţia mediului din Statele Membre ale Uniunii Europene şi a operatorilor care deţin instalaţii industriale este participarea la procesul de stabilire a numărului de certificate de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră care se vor aloca „cu titlu gratuit” acestora, pentru perioada 2013-2020. Aceasta este cea de-a 3-a perioadă a schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii - mecanism stabilit la nivel comunitar, pentru a sprijini Statele Membre în atingerea obiectvelor de reducere a emisiilor asumate sub Protocolul de la Kyoto. (1 certificat =dreptul de a emite 1 tonă de dioxid de cabon sub Directiva 2003/87/CE)
Directiva 2009/29/CE privind extinderea şi îmbunătăţirea schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră face parte din pachetul legislativ şi modifică Directiva 2003/87/CE (aşa numita “Emissions Trading Scheme – EU ETS”) şi stabileşte cadrul de reglementare pentru alocarea certificatelor în perioada post-Kyoto respectiv: 2013 – 2020. Conform acestui act normativ, Statele Membre UE au obligaţia de a transmite Comisiei Europene, până la 30 septembrie 2011, lista instalaţiilor de pe teritoriul care intră sub incidenţa schemei în perioada 2013-2020 precum şi numărul de certificate de emisii alocate fiecărei instalaţii, calculate conform Regulilor adoptate de Comisia Europeană.
În luna decembrie 2010, Comisia Europeană a adoptat Regulile privind alocarea „cu titlu gratuit” a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră pentru perioada 2013-2020, urmând a fi publicată în Monitroul Oficial al Uniunii Europene.
Agenţia Naţională pentru Protecţia Mediului (ANPM) în parteneriat cu Asociaţia Română a Carbonului organizeaza acest eveniment tocmai pentru a veni in intampinarea obligatiilor pe care operatorii romani, care deţin instalaţii industriale din diferite sectoare ale economiei aflate sub schema de tranzactionare a emisiilor EU-ETS, trebuie sa le indeplineasca conform acestor noi reglementari europene.
Agenţia Naţională pentru Protecţia Mediului (ANPM) în parteneriat cu Asociaţia Română a Carbonului va organiza în perioada 23 – 27 mai 2011, primul workshop care are ca obiectiv discutarea modificărilor care au apărut la nivel european cu privire la aplicarea schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră, precum şi prezentarea metodologiei de alocare „cu titlu gratuit” a certificatelor de emisii în perioada 2013-2020. Acesta este primul eveniment organizat de autorităţile pentru protecţia mediului având ca scop creşterea gradului de conştientizare şi informare la nivelul operatorilor care deţin instalaţii industriale din diferite sectoare ale economiei: energie, rafinare produse petroliere, ceramică, producerea cimentului, fabricarea aluminiului, producerea fontei şi oţelului, producerea varului şi a sticlei, etc.
Parlamentul European a adoptat în anul 2008 pachetul legislativ "Energie - Schimbări Climatice " aşa numitul pachet „20-20-20”, prin care Uniunea Europeană şi Statele Membre s-au angajat să acţioneze pentru a lupta împotriva schimbărilor climatice, pregătind tranziţia către o economie cu emisii scăzute de dioxid de carbon şi atingerea obiectivului de reducere a emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră cu 20 % până în anul 2020 sau cu 30 % în situaţia în care se ajunge la un acord la nivel internaţional.
Pe termen scurt şi mediu, principala provocare a autorităţilor pentru protecţia mediului din Statele Membre ale Uniunii Europene şi a operatorilor care deţin instalaţii industriale este participarea la procesul de stabilire a numărului de certificate de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră care se vor aloca „cu titlu gratuit” acestora, pentru perioada 2013-2020. Aceasta este cea de-a 3-a perioadă a schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii - mecanism stabilit la nivel comunitar, pentru a sprijini Statele Membre în atingerea obiectvelor de reducere a emisiilor asumate sub Protocolul de la Kyoto. (1 certificat =dreptul de a emite 1 tonă de dioxid de cabon sub Directiva 2003/87/CE)
Directiva 2009/29/CE privind extinderea şi îmbunătăţirea schemei de comercializare a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră face parte din pachetul legislativ şi modifică Directiva 2003/87/CE (aşa numita “Emissions Trading Scheme – EU ETS”) şi stabileşte cadrul de reglementare pentru alocarea certificatelor în perioada post-Kyoto respectiv: 2013 – 2020. Conform acestui act normativ, Statele Membre UE au obligaţia de a transmite Comisiei Europene, până la 30 septembrie 2011, lista instalaţiilor de pe teritoriul care intră sub incidenţa schemei în perioada 2013-2020 precum şi numărul de certificate de emisii alocate fiecărei instalaţii, calculate conform Regulilor adoptate de Comisia Europeană.
În luna decembrie 2010, Comisia Europeană a adoptat Regulile privind alocarea „cu titlu gratuit” a certificatelor de emisii de gaze cu efect de seră pentru perioada 2013-2020, urmând a fi publicată în Monitroul Oficial al Uniunii Europene.
Agenţia Naţională pentru Protecţia Mediului (ANPM) în parteneriat cu Asociaţia Română a Carbonului organizeaza acest eveniment tocmai pentru a veni in intampinarea obligatiilor pe care operatorii romani, care deţin instalaţii industriale din diferite sectoare ale economiei aflate sub schema de tranzactionare a emisiilor EU-ETS, trebuie sa le indeplineasca conform acestor noi reglementari europene.
Isra-Mart srl : Cine va construi hidrocentrala de la Tarniţa
www.isra-mart.com
Isra-mart srl news:
Consultanţii de la Deloitte au contactat până în prezent peste 100 de potenţiali investitori pentru proiectul construcţiei hidrocentralei Tarniţa-Lăpuşteşti de 1.000 MW, proiect de peste un miliard euro, iar din aceştia mai mult de zece şi-au exprimat interesul participării la dezvoltarea sa, conform NewsIn.
"Sunt şi companii din China, dar cele mai multe sunt din Uniunea Europeană. Nu vă putem da numele lor, gândiţi-vă că unele din ele sunt listate la Bursă. Cel mai probabil, la mijlocul lunii iunie vor fi cunoscuţi aceşti investitori", a declarat joi, în cadrul unei conferinţe de presă, directorul de servicii consultanţă financiară la Deloitte România, Valeriu Binig.
Potrivit calendarului agreat, în ianuarie 2012 ar urma să fie semnat Acordul Investitorilor, iar semnarea contractului de execuţie lucrări este preconizată pentru semestrul II din 2012. "Acordul cu investitorii va prevedea că, dacă vreunul din ei se răzgândeşte, va plăti o sumă", a precizat Binig.
Depunerea ofertelor angajante va avea loc în perioada septembrie-octombrie 2011, selectarea investitorilor pentru etapa de negociere a acordului investitorilor fiind preconizată pentru intervalul octombrie-decembrie 2011.
"Pentru România, potenţialul hidro reprezintă o alternativă durabilă de dezvoltare a sectorului energetic, având în vedere resursele limitate de materii prime energetice", a mai spus oficialul Deloitte România.
Proiectul va necesita investiţii de 1,028 miliarde euro fără TVA, la care se adaugă şi costurile pentru racordarea la sistem, de 135 milioane euro fără TVA. Hidroelectrica va deţine 51% din acţiuni.
Construcţia hidrocentralei cu acumulare prin pompaj Tarniţa-Lăpuşteşti va dura între cinci şi opt ani. Reprezentanţii Hidroelectrica estimează că peste 4.000 de locuri de muncă vor fi create în cele două faze ale construcţiei. Capacitatea lacului superior este de 10 milioane metri cubi apă.
Hidrocentrala va avea o capacitate instalată de 1.000 de MW şi va fi echipată cu patru hidroagregate reversibile turbină-pompă de câte 250 MW fiecare. Totodată, se estimează punerea în funcţiune pentru primele două grupuri energetice pentru al doilea semestru al anului 2017, iar celelalte două în semestrul al doilea al anului 2019, potrivit calendarului proiectului.
Hidrocentrala Tarniţa Lăpuşteşti ar urma să contribuie la acoperirea curbei de sarcină estimată pentru anul 2020 prin producerea anuală a circa 1.650 GWh (1,65 TWh), pentru asigurarea funcţionării eficiente a grupurilor din Sistemul Energetic Naţional. Totodată, contribuţia la reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră este estimată la circa 628.000 de tone de dioxid de carbon pe an, potrivit datelor proiectului.
Staţia de pompare de la Tarniţa-Lăpuşteşti va produce electricitate şi va consuma surplusul de energie din golul de sarcină. Noaptea, când energia este ieftină, va funcţiona ca pompă, iar ziua va funcţiona ca producător, generator de energie electrică. Hidrocentrala va fi un consumator de energie şi va asigura peste noapte funcţionarea continuă a tipurilor de centrale la care oprirea şi pornirea se produc într-un timp îndelungat, cum sunt de exemplu cele două reactoare de la Cernavodă.
În august 2010, Comisia de negociere constituită la nivelul Ministerului Economiei, Comerţului şi Mediului de Afaceri a numit consorţiul alcătuit din Deloitte Consultanţă (ce asigură managementul echipei de proiect, managementul implementării proiectului, expertiza economico-financiară, modelare, evaluare), HydroChina ZhongNan (Expertiză Tehnică), Banca Comercială Română (expertiză în finanţări), Muşat & Asociaţii (experienţă juridică locală), Herbert Smith (experienţă juridică internaţională), Knight Piesold (expertiză tehnică, comercială şi de protecţia mediului), Tempo Advertising (expertiză relaţii publice şi comunicare).
Isra-mart srl news:
Consultanţii de la Deloitte au contactat până în prezent peste 100 de potenţiali investitori pentru proiectul construcţiei hidrocentralei Tarniţa-Lăpuşteşti de 1.000 MW, proiect de peste un miliard euro, iar din aceştia mai mult de zece şi-au exprimat interesul participării la dezvoltarea sa, conform NewsIn.
"Sunt şi companii din China, dar cele mai multe sunt din Uniunea Europeană. Nu vă putem da numele lor, gândiţi-vă că unele din ele sunt listate la Bursă. Cel mai probabil, la mijlocul lunii iunie vor fi cunoscuţi aceşti investitori", a declarat joi, în cadrul unei conferinţe de presă, directorul de servicii consultanţă financiară la Deloitte România, Valeriu Binig.
Potrivit calendarului agreat, în ianuarie 2012 ar urma să fie semnat Acordul Investitorilor, iar semnarea contractului de execuţie lucrări este preconizată pentru semestrul II din 2012. "Acordul cu investitorii va prevedea că, dacă vreunul din ei se răzgândeşte, va plăti o sumă", a precizat Binig.
Depunerea ofertelor angajante va avea loc în perioada septembrie-octombrie 2011, selectarea investitorilor pentru etapa de negociere a acordului investitorilor fiind preconizată pentru intervalul octombrie-decembrie 2011.
"Pentru România, potenţialul hidro reprezintă o alternativă durabilă de dezvoltare a sectorului energetic, având în vedere resursele limitate de materii prime energetice", a mai spus oficialul Deloitte România.
Proiectul va necesita investiţii de 1,028 miliarde euro fără TVA, la care se adaugă şi costurile pentru racordarea la sistem, de 135 milioane euro fără TVA. Hidroelectrica va deţine 51% din acţiuni.
Construcţia hidrocentralei cu acumulare prin pompaj Tarniţa-Lăpuşteşti va dura între cinci şi opt ani. Reprezentanţii Hidroelectrica estimează că peste 4.000 de locuri de muncă vor fi create în cele două faze ale construcţiei. Capacitatea lacului superior este de 10 milioane metri cubi apă.
Hidrocentrala va avea o capacitate instalată de 1.000 de MW şi va fi echipată cu patru hidroagregate reversibile turbină-pompă de câte 250 MW fiecare. Totodată, se estimează punerea în funcţiune pentru primele două grupuri energetice pentru al doilea semestru al anului 2017, iar celelalte două în semestrul al doilea al anului 2019, potrivit calendarului proiectului.
Hidrocentrala Tarniţa Lăpuşteşti ar urma să contribuie la acoperirea curbei de sarcină estimată pentru anul 2020 prin producerea anuală a circa 1.650 GWh (1,65 TWh), pentru asigurarea funcţionării eficiente a grupurilor din Sistemul Energetic Naţional. Totodată, contribuţia la reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră este estimată la circa 628.000 de tone de dioxid de carbon pe an, potrivit datelor proiectului.
Staţia de pompare de la Tarniţa-Lăpuşteşti va produce electricitate şi va consuma surplusul de energie din golul de sarcină. Noaptea, când energia este ieftină, va funcţiona ca pompă, iar ziua va funcţiona ca producător, generator de energie electrică. Hidrocentrala va fi un consumator de energie şi va asigura peste noapte funcţionarea continuă a tipurilor de centrale la care oprirea şi pornirea se produc într-un timp îndelungat, cum sunt de exemplu cele două reactoare de la Cernavodă.
În august 2010, Comisia de negociere constituită la nivelul Ministerului Economiei, Comerţului şi Mediului de Afaceri a numit consorţiul alcătuit din Deloitte Consultanţă (ce asigură managementul echipei de proiect, managementul implementării proiectului, expertiza economico-financiară, modelare, evaluare), HydroChina ZhongNan (Expertiză Tehnică), Banca Comercială Română (expertiză în finanţări), Muşat & Asociaţii (experienţă juridică locală), Herbert Smith (experienţă juridică internaţională), Knight Piesold (expertiză tehnică, comercială şi de protecţia mediului), Tempo Advertising (expertiză relaţii publice şi comunicare).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
