Tag Archives: alternative
China In Carbon Trading Experiment
18 June 2013 China in carbon trading experiment China will pilot its scheme in seven places; Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing and the provinces of Hubei and Guangdong China, the world’s biggest carbon emitter, is to launch its first carbon trading scheme as a pilot project in Shenzhen. The test scheme, which will be rolled out to seven areas by 2014, could be spread across the country after 2015. Beijing is aiming to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of gross domestic product by 40-45% from 2005 levels by 2020. The government has previously faced pressure to reduce pollution in cities. Expensive habit? Carbon emissions trading schemes are meant to encourage companies to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by setting a limit, called a cap, on the level of carbon dioxide that can be emitted in a region. Companies are given credits, each equal to one tonne of carbon, which they can then buy and sell according to individual needs. Watch: China is launching a new carbon trading scheme in the country’s southern city of Shenzhen. The bigger polluters have to bear the added cost of buying more carbon credits, while the less polluting companies can make money by selling their credits. The Shenzhen Carbon Exchange is set to launch on Tuesday. It will cover 635 industrial and construction companies. A previous statement from the exchange said it expected to add transport firms as well as all major companies that consume oil, gas, coal and power. Shenzhen is the smallest of the test regions in terms of overall carbon emissions. China will pilot its scheme in six other places; Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing and the provinces of Hubei and Guangdong. Price swings Carbon trading schemes have encountered problems elsewhere in the world. Recently the biggest carbon-trading scheme in the world, run by the European Union, nearly collapsed. Launched in 2008, the system began successfully with the price for carbon emission credits rising to $40 (£25.50) a tonne, encouraging some companies to switch to using cleaner fuels. However, as Europe entered its prolonged economic crisis, industrial activity fell dramatically, reducing the need for companies to buy emissions credits. Along with other factors, this caused a gradual fall in the price of carbon credits and in recent weeks the price has fallen below $4 a tonne. “In Europe there was definitely a lot of speculation around the credits – it was one of the most volatile commodities,” said Winnie Tang, a director at Kind Resources an investment and deal advisory firm. “A lot of traders were speculating that the price will keep going up and up, but then all of a sudden the financial crisis hit and the prices dropped.” Continue reading
Obama’s Climate Change Policy ‘Coming Soon’
June 17, 2013 President Obama has reportedly told Democratic Party donors at closed-door fundraisers that he will unveil a new climate change plan in July, with separate actions that could potentially address the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline project and the EPA’s emissions guidelines for new and existing power plants. The White House is still working out the policy proposal, The Hill reports. The EPA in April postponed rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants — proposed more than a year ago — after the power industry objected. The EPA has also been working on guidelines to curb emissions at existing power plants, which will be proposed in the next 18 months, and may be part of the new climate change policy, Bloomberg reports. Green groups and some Democrats have been pushing the Obama administration to set clear limits on coal-fired plants, but the White House and the EPA have not given a timeline for launching such action, The Hill says. Pipeline proponents have warned against combining approval for the pipeline with new climate change guidelines, while environmental activists oppose a climate change policy that allows the pipeline to go ahead while proposing separate emissions curbing guidelines. President Obama has warned he will take executive action if Congress does not pass the climate change law, but the prospects of a Congressional consensus appear remote, The Hill says. In March, manufacturers said they were “very freaked out” by reports of new climate change standards . Earlier this month, some 22 US investment firms with about $240 billion in assets under management signed the Climate Declaration , calling upon federal policymakers to address climate change as an economic opportunity. These financial firms join more than 150 other US businesses, including General Motors , Intel and Nike , and more than 100 ski areas in backing the Ceres-led initiative that asks lawmakers to draft legislation and regulatory initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and incentivize renewable energy development. Continue reading
Government Lacks 2020 Vision On Biomass
15 June 2013 Today’s policy measures for renewable energy are just the start and there could be bigger challenges for timber in future, says Alastair Kerr, director-general of the Wood Panel Industries Federation With the Energy Bill going through its last parliamentary stages and proposals for the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive tariff currently out for consultation, the UK’s package of measures aimed at meeting the EU’s 2020 renewable energy targets is virtually in place. Much of our concern and recent media attention has focused on large-scale power generation for reasons which still remain, ie. there are no assurances that these subsidised energy companies won’t substantially target the UK’s commercial coniferous stands for fuel. However, if pressure on the domestic resource is going to increase to the point where it jeopardises established wood processors, it will come from the cumulative impact of demand from both renewable electricity and renewable heat. Renewable heat, in particular, provides an opportunity for domestic growers and indeed wood processors, but placing a reliance on market pull to bring more wood to market, particularly from private growers, may not be enough on its own to prevent a disproportionate demand being placed on the coniferous resource. Something we shouldn’t lose sight of is that policy measures in place today are only just the start. Governments are in discussion with the European Commission regarding the 2030 renewables targets. The energy companies are already lobbying to make an even larger contribution from biomass (wood). If the flow of wood from material uses towards energy is to be controlled, then collectively the woodprocessing industries must continue with efforts to speak up for the carbon benefits that using more wood products brings. The recently confirmed EU carbon accounting rules open a door for the development of policies that actively promote the use of harvested wood products, but it is not a given that such policies will emerge, not least because competitors are fighting to oppose such benefits being bestowed on wood. These challenges may seem to be remote and some way off but they are very real, and a robust industry defence has to be put up if wood products are not to be sidelined in the future. Continue reading
