Monthly Archives: August 2011

Is forest carbon just another commodity?

Posted by Nick Oakes on August 23, 2011
Emissions Trading, Finance, REDD+ / 1 Comment
Commodities Futures

As already discussed on Climatico, using REDD+ as a private sector offsetting mechanism runs the risk of creating perverse incentives, exposing land to market price volatility and causing supply-induced price suppression. However, for the purposes of a deeper exploration into the market-related issues of REDD+, let’s assume these problems are solved and that forest carbon [...]

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The Cautionary Tale of an Unregulated Emissions Market

Posted by Sabina Manea on August 17, 2011
Emissions Trading, EU / 1 Comment
Support without supervision? (Source: Ian Chou)

Emissions trading sceptics will feel that they have been proven right in the wake of the latest news on the emissions market; the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has recently issued an official warning on carbon scams. The warning follows an increasing number of complaints from people who have been approached with potentially fraudulent emissions [...]

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Anticipating the Changes to New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme

Posted by Matthew Gray on August 10, 2011
CDM, Emissions Trading, New Zealand / 1 Comment
New Zealand forest

New Zealand’s Conservative government has released its first annual report on its New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS), and the general assessment is that it is working well. In the report, released August 1st, climate minister Nick Smith implied that he was pleased with how smoothly the scheme is progressing in achieving its twin [...]

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Aviation and the EU ETS: Who Administers the Expansion?

Posted by Sabina Manea on August 05, 2011
Emissions Trading, EU / No Comments
Planes on the runway

The EU’s commitment to taking serious action on aviation emissions has been courting controversy of late due to its proposed inclusion of the international transport sector in the EU ETS. From 2012 all arriving and departing flights in the EU will have to be covered by corresponding emissions allowances (EUAs). Regulating flight operators will be entrusted [...]

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The Omens of Offsetting Linger on REDD

Posted by Nick Oakes on August 05, 2011
CDM, Emissions Trading, EU, Finance, REDD+ / No Comments

As the number of public sector financial mechanisms targeting REDD+ has increased, and consequently the volume of money flowing in to REDD+, observers are increasingly pointing out that the public sector alone cannot supply the huge sums of money needed to combat deforestation. The private sector is thus needed to share the cost and supply [...]

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US fuel efficiency agreement to spur innovation, emissions reductions

Posted by Shira Honig on August 01, 2011
Politics, urban areas, USA / 1 Comment
Traffic on Golden Gate Bridge

U.S. President Barack Obama late last week announced an aggressive agreement to  increase the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by model year 2025. The agreement, made with 13 major automakers, including Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda, Jaguar/Land Rover, Hyundai, BMW, Kia, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and [...]

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