Dec

8

White paper available from technology provider Trayport outlines pros and cons of carbon trading in the U.S.

Filed Under Cap and Trade, Carbon Markets, Carbon Trading | Comments Off

With cap-and-trade legislation making the rounds in Senate committees, and with President Obama set to visit the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen this month, now might be a good time for advisers to begin reading up on the potential for carbon trading in the United States if they haven’t already.

If passed, such legislation would set the stage for a national carbon-trading system — known as cap and trade — that would allow companies to buy or sell allowances or credits. Read more

Dec

1

Tradition Markets Largest Agriculture Methane Carbon Offset Basket in California

Filed Under Carbon Offsets, Carbon Trading | Comments Off

Tradition, a leading interdealer broker and a subsidiary of Compagnie Financiere Tradition, announced today it has been awarded the exclusive mandate to market the largest agricultural methane carbon offset basket in California to date. The project was originated by L2i Financial Solutions Consultant (L2i), a non-traditional corporate financing firm. The basket consists of 28 Dairy Methane projects in the San Joaquin Valley that were successfully validated through the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), of which a portion has already been allocated to buyers. Read more

Jul

14

RGGI Participating States Open Fifth Auction Cycle with Release of Application Materials

Filed Under Cap and Trade, Carbon Auctions, RGGI, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, US Carbon Markets | Comments Off

July 14, 2009 (New York, NY)– The ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) today released the Auction Notice and application materials for their fifth regional carbon dioxide (CO2) allowance auction, scheduled for September 9, 2009.

The materials released today provide potential auction participants the information needed to submit a qualification application and publicize key auction details, including the number of allowances offered for sale and the reserve price.  Read more

Jul

8

Pelosi Statement on G-8 Summit Agreement on Global Warming

Filed Under Carbon Emissions, Obama Cap and Trade, Pelosi Cap and Trade | Comments Off

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on news that the Obama Administration, joined by other G-8 leaders in Italy today, agreed in principle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries by 80 percent by 2050:

“The agreement reached by the G-8 today demonstrates that President Obama and the international community are committed to addressing climate change, and doing so with great urgency. This underscores the importance of the American Clean Energy and Security legislation passed by the House last month because the United States will be negotiating in Copenhagen with the weight of strong congressional action. Read more

Jun

30

Chicago Climate Exchange® Issues Statement on Passage of American Clean Energy and Security Act

Filed Under ACES Act, American Clean Energy and Security Act, Carbon Cap and Trade, Carbon Trading, Chicago Climate Exchange, US Carbon Market | Comments Off

Chairman and Founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange Inc.® Dr. Richard L. Sandor issued the following statement today on House passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009:

“The Chicago Climate Exchange appreciates the hard work put in by Chairmen Waxman, Markey, Peterson and others to pass this important legislation. This bill is a great first step for creating green jobs, reducing carbon emissions and securing America’s energy independence. It recognizes the valuable role a market mechanism can play in achieving emissions reduction goals at least cost to consumers. Read more

Jun

29

American Iron and Steel Institute Says Climate Bill as Passed by House Puts Steel Industry at Competitive Disadvantage; Bill Must Have Important Modif

Filed Under ACES Act, American Clean Energy and Security Act, US Carbon Cap and Trade, US Carbon Market, US Carbon Trading | Comments Off

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) expressed its disappointment today over the House passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

“We believe this bill has moved at a rushed pace that has not allowed for full debate of provisions that are critical to the steel industry, which was clearly underscored by the fact that the bill passed in the House by only seven votes,” said Thomas J. Gibson, AISI president and CEO. “The bill, as passed, will need important modifications as it moves through the Senate.

“We appreciate the hard work of Congressmen Doyle and Inslee and we look forward to continuing our work with them as this legislation moves through the process,” said Gibson. “However, we can say - with certainty - that if this bill is enacted as it presently stands, U.S. steelmakers and our workers will be at a significant competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace. Several modifications must be made to achieve the bill’s stated purpose of avoiding job loss and emission migration to overseas markets.”

One area of the bill that needs to be modified, Gibson said, relates to recognizing the challenges of energy intensive industries.

“With this bill, all forms of energy - coal, natural gas, biomass and electricity - have the potential to suffer a dramatic cost increase due to fuel switching, deployment of waste gas capture/regeneration technology, carbon capture and sequestration technology, and wind, solar and other clean energy technologies. Energy intensive industries should be rebated allowances to recover consequential cost increases resulting from this legislation, and not just emissions costs,” he said.

“Currently, the bill does not contain a meaningful border adjustment mechanism and has a significant lag before any assessment of comparable action by our trading partners is made,” Gibson said. “The legislation would clearly be inadequate to ensure that the new costs placed on steel and other trade-sensitive manufacturers would also be borne by imports,” he said. “As currently written, the border mechanism would be wholly ineffective and would simply lead to the substitution of imported products (from countries with no or far lesser environmental standards) for domestic production - undermining both the environmental objective of the bill and the competitiveness of U.S. products.”

Another area of concern in the House bill, Gibson said, is the arbitrary formula used to lower the emissions allowance schedule to energy-intensive manufacturers below 15 percent after beginning in 2015. This deprives energy-intensive manufacturers of nearly one billion allowances over the life of the program, he said. Energy-intensive manufacturers should receive the same emissions allowance schedule that is applied to every other recipient of emission allowances, he noted.

AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the material of choice. AISI plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 138 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. AISI’s member companies represent over 75 percent of both U.S. and North American steel capacity. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI’s Web site at www.steel.org.

SOURCE American Iron and Steel Institute

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