Tag Archives: british
EU Ministers Urge July Decision On Carbon Market – Draft
BRUSSELS | Mon May 6, 2013 11:05pm BST (Reuters) – Governments and members of the European Parliament must decide on a plan to prop up the EU carbon market by July at the latest, a joint statement from nine energy and environment ministers, said. The statement, seen by Reuters, is expected to be published officially on Tuesday to coincide with discussions among members of the European Parliament on the European Commission plan. No-one from Britain’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, which is expected to release the statement, was immediately available for comment. A proposal, known as backloading, to strengthen the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) by removing some of a glut of carbon allowances generated by recession was rejected by the European Parliament last month in an initial vote. The rejection followed lobbying by energy intensive industry concerned about the positive impact on energy prices, while at member state level, coal-intensive Poland has sought to block the plan. Dominant EU member state Germany has failed to agree a common position. The issue has become a political flashpoint ahead of elections later this year as the economy ministry opposes intervention and Germany’s environment minister supports it. Last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel also said backloading was necessary, but that it could not be agreed until after the German election in September. Tuesday’s statement said that was not soon enough. It called on the EU member states and parliament to “take the urgent steps necessary” to come to “a swift resolution of the backloading proposal by July of this year at the latest”. Interference in markets had to be kept to a minimum, but “a one-off and targeted intervention now would minimise market uncertainty” and promote investment in low-carbon technology, it said. Backloading was only ever meant to be an emergency fix for a market that has collapsed to a series of record lows, with carbon allowances still priced at less than four euros per tonne. The Commission has also opened debate on more sweeping reform of the market and the statement calls on the EU executive to deliver by the end of the year at the latest proposals on “a proper structural reform”. The nine signatories included British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey, as well as German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier and ministers from Denmark, Finland, France , the Netherlands, Portugal , Slovenia and Sweden. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis, editing by William Hardy) Continue reading
UK property in high demand
For more stories visit http://www.enca.com/ May 5 – Despite the economic downturn high-end property in London continues to boom, with much of the demand comi… Continue reading
Wood Pellets Exports From North America To Europe Reached A New Record
SEATTLE, WA, Apr. 27, 2013/ Troy Media/ – The wood pellet export industry in North America has grown exponentially in a relatively short period of time. The export value has increased from an estimated $40 million in 2004 to almost $400 million in 2012. This fairly new trade development is the result of Europe’s quest to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and to reduce CO2 emissions. Energy generation from renewable resources has, with varying pace, gone up in all countries in the EU the past decade. Woody biomass, including wood pellets, is one energy source that has attracted both much attention and investments in a number of countries on the European continent. With limited domestic wood raw-material sources, countries such as the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands have increasingly relied on the importation of industrial wood pellets to reduce the usage of coal at some of their power utilities. The relatively high costs for wood pellets in Europe have resulted in increased interest in importing pellets from British Columbia and the southern states of the U.S., where wood raw-material costs are lower than in Europe. A record volume of 3.2 million tons of pellets was exported from North America to Europe in 2012. From the U.S. South, shipments were up over 100 per cent compared to 2011, while Canadian exports increased 25 per cent year-over-year. The expansion of pellet production has been particularly noteworthy in the U.S. South where there have been 14 new pellet plants that are either new or planning to expand production in the coming year. Global timber market reporting is included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The report, established in 1988 and with subscribers in over 25 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices and market developments in most key regions around the world. To subscribe to the WRQ, please go to www.woodprices.com . Read more Hakan Ekstrom Continue reading
