What share of EU ETS revenues will be invested in the following low-carbon technologies?

The revision of the EU ETS was negotiated by the Union's heads of state and government in Brussels on 11 December 2008, and the European Parliament approved the new regime at first reading on 17 December. One of the main elements of the new system, which will enter into force in 2013 and run until 2020, are the enlargement of the scheme to new sectors, such as the petrochemical, ammonia and aluminium sectors, to two new gases (nitrous oxide and perfluorocarbons), and to aviation as of 2012, so that around 50% of all EU emissions would be covered.

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What would you expect the CO2 credit price to be on Jan 1st, 2012?

Growing concern about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change are profoundly altering the way utilities, businesses and governments plan for the future. Beside direct policy and stimulation, one of the mechanisms to enable change towards a lower climate impact is by trading carbon credits in a capped emissions trading scheme. Because of a (planned) shortage of credits, the credits become scarce in an economic sense, and a price for the credits is created. In this way, the idea is that the emission reductions will be made there where the cost is lowest.

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Carbon Expo 2009 in the critical moment of countdown to Copenhagen

Climate Change talks in Bonn but also informal negotiations in other places signal that the all major parties of the Convention are seriously committed to reaching a strong international legally binding agreement.

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White Certificates for energy efficiency improvement with energy taxes: A theoretical economic model

Oikonomou V., SOM, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Becchis F., Prof., Environmental Economics, University of East Piedmont, Italy
Russolillo D., Fondazione per l’Ambiente “T. Fenoglio”, Torino, Italy

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Carbon governance from a systems perspective: an investigation of food production and consumption in the UK

Rebecca White , Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, United Kingdom

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Part 01: Lightbulb Tax Funds Carbon Credit Purchase

Year: 2006
Policy Status: Planned

As planned in Portugal's State Budget 2007, a tax on inefficient incandescent lightbulbs will fund the purchase of carbon emission credits for use in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme and in compliance with Portugal's emissions target under the Kyoto Protocol. 

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Carbon-free electricity in the U.S. in ten years – Al Gore’s Kennedyian challenge requires a different perspective on economics.

Al Gore has challenged his fellow Americans, or rather their future leaders (see footnote), to take on the task of producing 100% of their electricity from renewable and truly clean, carbon-free sources within 10 years. The challenge is deliberately formatted similarly to the one John Kennedy made to put a man on the moon within a decade, but it is also a very political text in the sense that Mr. Gore provides a backdrop describing the failure of the American economy as it looks today.

Tomas Friedman spells out this failure even more clearly in his column in The NY Times, quoting a Texan proverb that he claims is summing up the energy policy of the Bush era: “If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you ever got.”

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A break-through with China?

President Barroso announced an interesting shift in the Chinese attitude to the post-Kyoto agreement when visiting Beijing last week. The Chinese premier Wen Jiabao is said to have indicated that China could participate fully in an international agreement provided that the old industrialised nations promised to reduce their emission until 2020 and a financial mechanism for technology transfer is established.

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"There is enough for everybody's need, but not enough for anybody's greed"

The quote is from none other than Mahatma Gandhi, who was in turn quoted by the IPCC-chair, Rajendra Pachauri, when he received the Nobel Peace Prize last year. In the past, the statement might have been overlooked as being a somewhat idealistic point of view, but in the light of climate change, the truth becomes very evident. The question, however, is what sort of conclusion we have to draw and what the lessons to be learned are.

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Europeans are prepared to rise to their responsibility

A new survey issued in the Eurobarometer investigates the attitudes of the Europeans to the environment. The survey is interesting and encouraging reading. The Europeans are distinctly prepared to rise to their responsibility towards environment and climate, and for a sustainable future. Not less than two thirds say that they consider that environmental protection to be prior to competitiveness in the industry. There is of course differences between the nations, but not as much as one could expect.

The conclusion drawn from this (and other) questions by the Eurobarometer is that the global nature of the environmental problems have permeated the Europeans. A fair conclusion since there is a consistency with the responses this time and a similar study made 4 years ago.

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Where to find country specific carbon emission factors?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) publishes regularly one of the most complete compilations of these values available for a fee here.

A publicly available source (synthesis of the IEA data) is made available by the GreenHouse Gas Protocol Initiative here.

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What emissions cause global warming?

On Earth, the major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70% of the greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26%; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9%; and ozone, which causes 3–7% and also Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6)

Source: IPCC

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What is the Global Warming Potential (GWP)?

The Global Warming potential of a determinate gas is a relative value which compares the gas in question to that of the same mass of carbon dioxide (whose GWP is by definition 1), relating to its contribution to global warming. The value is expressed in CO2 equivalents.

A substance's GWP depends on the time span over which the potential is calculated.

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What are carbon emissions?

Carbon emissions are not the same as CO₂ emissions.

The big percentage (in mass) of carbon emissions corresponds in fact to CO₂ emissions, but other compounds are also included: Methane (CH₄), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Perfluoromethane (CF₄), and all the Halocarbon series.

Even though these compounds are emitted in very small amounts (compared to CO₂), they all have a higher Global Warming Potential.

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Towards a global carbon market – Europe and the US converges?- But what about the rest of the world?

It will certainly be some time before we see a global carbon market, but there are a few interesting proposals which show that thinking might be converging.

Firstly, the European Trading System will tighten. It has already been previously flagged up that the quotas will be distributed and decided centrally by the EU in Brussels, a view that is further emphasised in a new study for the European Parliament. This report also advocates that targets should be narrowed between countries and that the trading could (or should?) also be extended to other industries such as the aviation business. However, the most important issue may be that they say the allocation of emission rights should be done largely by auctioning.

The Hillary-type of US energy policy

And this view of allocation is also embraced by Hillary Clinton, who recently revealed her plans for an energy policy in the US if she takes the office in the White House.

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The Carbon Sheriff is coming to town

The voluntary markets for carbon offsets have been criticised and warnings issued about carbon cowboys raiding the markets. But rescue is close at hand - the Carbon Sheriff is coming!

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A new failure for carbon trading - healthy or professional scepticism?

A British think-tank, which is known for being Eurosceptic, predicts that the trading scheme ETS is heading for a new collapse and failure during the second phase, 2008-2012. The argument is that the seemingly tighter rules, with fewer permits, are severely softened by the possibility of trading Carbon Emission Allowances, CERs, by use of the flexible mechanisms.

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A Carbon Strategy for Copper

There is a strong relationship between the use of copper, as the best electrical conductor, and the reduction of carbon emissions from the electricity system. Therefore, CDM offers a great opportunity for the copper sector. As part of its carbon strategy, International Copper Association aims to develop methodologies and facilitate projects for generating CERs for sustainable electricity generation or reducing energy intensity of use through the use of copper in motor systems, power distribution, building energy management and industrial processes.

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Germany energy policy - from the left pocket to the right?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has just published its 2007 energy review on Germany. Through its size, strategic position and progressive stance, Germany has a strong impact on European energy policy.

Using language that is unusually strong for an intergovernmental organisation, IEA makes the following recommendations regarding nuclear energy, renewables and climate policy:

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Consumer choices to reduce carbon emissions

A vision for 2050

To limit global CO₂ emissions while population and GDP keep growing, a mega-shift in our consumption choices will be necessary. At which temperature do we set our thermostat? Do we go by car or by public transport? And do we prefer a long-haul holiday destination or one closer to home? All these decisions have a direct link with energy use and its carbon emissions. So small consumer decisions can add up to make a big contribution to a carbon-constrained world.

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