Tag Archives: emissions
Carbon Market Data Grows Emissions Database
Author: Faye Kilburn Source: Inside Market Data | 13 Jun 2013 European carbon market research and data vendor Carbon Market Data has added new data covering carbon emissions reduction projects to its European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) database, to provide carbon traders, brokers and research functions within financial institutions with more granular information on the carbon emissions of countries in Europe. The EU ETS scheme , which is designed to tackle climate change, requires organizations that consume commodities , such as factories, power stations and energy providers, and other carbon-emitting industries such as pharmaceuticals, airlines, food and drinks manufacturers and hospitals — all of which are allocated carbon allowances each year — to monitor and report their CO2 emissions and return leftover emission allowances to their governments. Carbon Market Data aggregates all information generated by the scheme and published by the EU — including CO2 verified emissions and distributed allowances for each company — into a single database. In recent weeks, the vendor has updated the information it holds on emission-reduction projects developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which operates in tandem with the EU ETS to reflective the most recent data issued by the UN. This information includes details of the type of projects being operated-for example, whether the project is a Joint Implementation (JI) between industrialized countries or a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, which focuses on sustainable development in emerging economies; the country of origin of the project; the greenhouse gas reductions the project delivers, as well as data on the number of carbon credits or offsets issued to the countries involved by the UN in return for a reduction of atmospheric carbon emissions through the project. “The United Nations initiative collects data on new emission projects being developed by companies around the globe and publishes information, which we have added to the database,” says Cédric Bleuez, managing director at Carbon Market Data. Core users of this information are carbon traders and brokers who want more information about the sustainability profile of a company they are looking to invest in. Earlier this month, Carbon Market Data published emissions rankings of companies involved in the EU ETS scheme, and an accompanying report, following the release of verified emissions reports by the EU at the beginning of April. German electric utilities company RWE, Swedish power company Vattenfall and electric utility service provider E.ON were the three biggest CO2 emitters of the EU ETS scheme during 2012. “We found that the companies with the biggest capitalization are usually biggest emitters… and usually those having the biggest surplus of carbon allowances are steel makers and producers, while those with the biggest shortage of allowances are power producers,” Bleuez says. This data allows fund managers, carbon traders and brokers, analysts and M&A advisors to assess the business risks and opportunities associated with investing in a particular company, and to manage their exposure to carbon risk. The rankings and analysis are free to download in PDF format from Carbon Market Data’s website , and may be of interest to research professionals and analysts trying to understand the how companies’ shortage and surplus of carbon credits impact the price of carbon and stocks in the market, he adds. Continue reading
Airlines Push for Global Measures to Control Carbon Emissions
By CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Geneva International Airport. Airline travel is thought to cause 2 percent to 3 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. Last week, airlines called on the aviation authorities to find a way to curb emissions after 2020.Despite the unpopularity of a European aviation carbon emission tax, the world’s airlines are ready to discuss global measures. The announcement , which calls on the International Civil Aviation Organization, the civilian sky’s U.N. regulating body, to adopt an across-the-board, market-based mechanism to offset emissions, was made during the International Air Transport Association’s 69 th annual meeting, in Cape Town. “We can give them a direction we want them to go,” said Tony Tyler, the head of the association, about the recommendations to the governing body in a video statement . The International Civil Aviation Organization hopes to steer governments away from a patchwork of national rules and toward a single, global, market-based mechanism. “Such a patchwork would be an administrative nightmare,” said Paul Steele, the association’s environmental director at a news conference . The industry group represents 240 of the world’s airlines, which operate 84 percent of all civilian flights. The association has called for environmental standards before, but this is the first time it has called for comprehensive binding regulations. Since 2010, the association has been in favor of a 1.5 percent annual increase in fuel efficiency from 2010 to 2020, with carbon neutral growth by 2020. By 2050, the association wants net emissions cut by 50 percent from 2005 levels. As Rendezvous reported last year , Europe and the rest of the world have been in disagreement over whether foreign carriers should take part in the European Emission Trading System when landing at European destinations. A European Union rule, in place since last year, would have taxed carbon emissions on flights terminating or originating in Europe, even for non-European airlines. Last summer, a group of non-European nations met in Washington to condemn such taxation. Then President Barack Obama disappointed environmentalists when he signed a bill into law that actually prohibits United States airlines from paying the tax when landing in Europe, in contravention of international law. Earlier this year, the European Union announced a “stopping of the clock” in its demand for non-European carriers to participate in its emission trading program. At the time, Connie Hedegaard, the E.U. commissioner for climate action, described the move as allowing the rest of world to catch up. The air association’s most recent announcement was welcomed in Brussels. “It is a very strong message that the airline industry seems ready to support a single global market-based measure to keep their emissions in check,” Ms. Hedegaard said in a statement sent to reporters last week. “The E.U. is ready,” she said. Airline travel is thought to cause 2 percent to 3 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. According to a National Geographic report , an average passenger airplane burns four liters, or a little more than a gallon, of jet fuel for each kilometer each a passenger flies. This number is already a 40 percent improvement over jet fuel efficiency in 2000. Though the number of flights may still be climbing (Rendezvous reported last year on the one billionth international arrival in 2012), new planes are becoming increasingly fuel-efficient. “This is a responsible industry. We are the only industry in the world that has set itself clear targets in terms of emission standards,” said Mr. Tyler, according to the video statement. Continue reading
Silver Linings In The IEA Report On 2012 Fossil Fuel Carbon Emissions
Carbon emissions from fossil fuels reached record levels, but the 2012 rise was relatively small, and there are positive signs China’s energy mix is becoming less carbon intensive. Photograph: Bei Feng/EPA As Fiona Harvey reported for The Guardian, the International Energy Agency (IEA) 2012 World Energy Outlook Report found that annual carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels rose 1.4 percent in 2012 to 31.6 billion tonnes (gigatonnes [Gt]). The bad news is that this is a new record high level of emissions. The good news is that it represents the second-smallest annual increase since 2003, behind only 2009 when global fossil fuel carbon emissions fell due to the global recession. Emissions estimates from 2009–2010 have also been revised downward, so the reported 31.6 Gt 2012 emissions match the reported value from 2011 . American emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels fell by 200 million tonnes (Mt) to levels last seen in the mid-1990s due to a transition from coal power to natural gas and renewable energy . European emissions fell 50 Mt due to economic contraction and renewable energy growth, despite an increase in coal energy use. Perhaps most encouraging, although Chinese emissions grew by 300 Mt in 2012, this was among the country’s smallest annual emissions growth over the past decade. This is a result of China diversifying its energy sources and installing more renewable energy. Chinese CO2 emissions per unit of electricity generation since 2000 The IEA report comes on the heels of an agreement between the presidents of USA and China to reduce emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are potent greenhouse gases. This could potentially lead to the reduction the equivalent of 90 Gt of carbon dioxide by 2050, or nearly three years of current global emissions from fossil fuel use. China is also considering putting a price on its carbon emissions, and their goal is to end the rapid growth of Chinese coal power use . So there are signs that the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters, USA and China are beginning to take serious steps to address the climate problem. The question is whether those steps will be large enough and fast enough to avoid triggering dangerous climate change . At the moment, we our emissions are closest to Scenario A2 from the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. IEA emissions vs. IPCC scenarios Scenario A2 represents 3 to 4°C global surface warming by 2100 as compared to pre-industrial levels. This far exceeds the internationally accepted 2°C “danger limit” , and would put us at serious risk of catastrophic climate change . However, the relatively small emissions increase in 2012 has pushed us in the direction of IPCC scenario A1T, which represents 2 to 3°C warming by 2100. That still exceeds the danger limit, but at least it’s movement in the right direction. More still needs to be done to reduce our fossil fuel consumption. To have a realistic chance of avoiding 2°C warming, emissions need to peak by the year 2020. The earlier they peak, the better chance we have of limiting the impacts of climate change to an adaptable level. This will be challenging, because power plants have lifetimes of many decades, so we’re already “locked in” to a substantial chunk of emissions from those that have already been constructed or are in construction. The IEA report presented four recommendations for limiting global warming to 2°C: 1) Increase energy efficiency in buildings, transportation, and industry. 2) Limit the construction and use of inefficient coal power plants. 3) Minimize methane emissions from oil and gas production. 4) Accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies . The positive movement from China and the USA in particular is encouraging, but we still have a lot of work ahead to turn the annual carbon emissions growth into an annual decline in order to limit the climate damage to adaptable levels. Continue reading
