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. . . the Nebraska Carbon Sequestration Advisory
Committee
Thank you for visiting the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, USA. What's NewNote: Due to funding problems in maintaining this website, we have not been able to keep it as up-to-date as is desirable. It is only minimally maintained due to the possible historical interest in the earlier posts as these relate to the evolution toward carbon markets. If you have ideas on how to fund the site... i.e. you find it valuable, please contact us. As a substitute, the Chicago Climate Exchange maintains an ongoing list of breaking news events, especially as these relate to the voluntary trading of emissions as well as the emerging offsets markets in the U.S. (See CCX News and Press Releases). Point Carbon in Europe provides a world-wide news service for an annual subscription fee, although the "headlines" are available by a free e-mail subscription (See PointCarbon ). December 7, 2007. The Kyoto Protocol related Conference of the Parties (COP-13) and Meeting of the Parties (MOP-3) is ongoing in Bali, Indonesia, during the period December 3-14. For a quick summary of ongoing events (e.g. the fact Australia has now ratified Kyoto, and is now part of the MOP) can be found on the "blog." November 19, 2007. A new carbon standard has been developed for making sense of what is being offered in offsets and offset projects. The contention is that this new standard will bring more confidence in the offset markets. See World Business Council for Sustainable Development news release. November 14-15, 2007: Most members of the U.S. Midwest Governors Association signed an Accord committing to developing a cap and trade system in the U.S. Midwest. See Battle Creek Enquirer. For both the Platform and the Accord, see 2007 Energy Summit. (Note: Lots of activity during this time period between October 15 and November 15, stirred in part by the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded for putting focus on climate change. See Carbon Market Update for a quick overview of recent events). October 15, 2007. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a United Nations Panel on climate change as shared with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore for their joint contributions to bringing the climate change issue into public view and understanding. September 15, 2007: The price of EUAs (the European Union emission allowances trading unit) is currently around €20 (20 Euros, or about $28/metric ton). The price has remained lower than expected due mainly to the availability of CERs (Certified Emissions Reductions, CERs, are selling in the $12-18/metric ton range for unregistered projects, and more like $16-19 in the registered projects) coming out of the Clean Development Mechanism program of the Kyoto Protocol. Point Carbon, however, expects emission allowance prices to rise at a steady rate starting in early 2008.. September 5, 2007: Environmental Defense has proposed "value-added" CERs. A company investing in an energy project in a less developed country might only be able to count say 80 or 90% of the CER as credit against emissions (drawn out of the Point Carbon CDM and JI newsletter for September 5). There are already some limits on how much of a CER an European firm can count against emissions, i.e. swap against the EUAs. September 5, 2007: China is aiming to be the world's larger producer of energy using solar panels; it will completed a 100MW project by 2012 (from p. 6 Sept. 5 CDM and JI newsletter from Point Carbon). Other places are also moving ahead with solar panels; e.g. in Morroco, many rural households are already using panels for providing electricity for lighting, other household needs, with this private sector project promising to provide 272,000 carbon credits per year (CERs that could be used as offsets against emissions and/or replacing emission allowances). Some thought is being put in Kyoto discussions to give more than 1-ton of credit to a solar offset of this kind. September 5, 2007: Russia has been found to be much larger source of carbon dioxide than first believed, due to the large amount of flaring of natural gas in the oil fields. (from CDM and JI newsletter, Point Carbon, p. 5). August 23, 2007: CCX announces the formation of the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange (CCFE), with its planned launch on August 24. CCFE will trade futures contracts in CERs, It is noted that CERs are "widely-accepted as the global currency in carbon trading." This will help facilitate the various cap and trade systems being proposed in some states in North America through linking them with such systems world-wide. Initial futures price expectations for delivery in December, 2008, were around $22/metric ton. August 22, 2007: The proposed cap and trade system in California, which is to start in 2012, will likely affect CER prices on the world market. (from the Point Carbon CDM and JI newsletter). This is to say, California based businesses will at that time be seeking carbon credits in other countries (why not, also, in the U.S., e.g. in helping the midwestern ethanol industry move toward sustainability?). June 22, 2007: The U.S. House of Representatives has committed to buying U.S. origin offsets against annual emissions of greenhouse gases released annually from House operations (See House Passes Kirk Amendment). April 20, 2007: Maryland joined the RGGI, bringing the total to 10-northeastern states moving to a cap and trade system, i.e. cap greenhouse gas emissions and trade in emissions allowances. March, 2007: A commentary in Environmental Finance points out that New York plans to acution all the emissions allowances when the cap and trade system is started under the RGGI. (Regional Greenhouse Gases Initiative, a cap and trade system evolving in several northeastern U.S. states). One possible advantage, in contrast to allocating intitial allowances for free, is the active participation by all entities facing caps in the new market from the outset. November 30, 2006: European Union (EU) trading countries
are working to set tighter caps, which will also raise the price
of the carbon equivalent emissions allowances, albeit believed that
the increasing supply of certified emission reductions (i.e. offsets)
coming out of the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol
will dampen the expected price increases. See the article
from The Economist ). November 28, 2006: Norway will also be joining the EU Emissions Trading market, the first non-EU country to do so. With Bulgaria and Romania also joining, this brings the number to 28-countries represented in the EU greenhouse gas emissions trading market. (See Planet Ark). November 25, 2006: The World Bank has released a report pointing to emissions allowance trading in carbon equivalents during the first 9-months in 2006 (worth $22 Billion) were double that traded in all of 2005. (See International Emissions Trading Association). November 18, 2006: New Zealand businesses will soon be able to participate in the worldwide emissions trading market. This will also give Australian business an opportunity to enter the market as well, through New Zealand. (See Radio New Zealand). November 17, 2006: A New York Times article claims the recent MOP2/COP12 climate conference made only modest gains, especially in light of the Kyoto Protocol only being in effect until 2012. The main issue is the U.S., China and India (and a few others, Brazil, Australia) all operating without emissions caps. The Times article points to the real possibility that emission caps in the U.S. will again be considered when the Congress reconvenes in early 2007. Also, it argues that the main achievement was the agreement to review the Kyoto Protocoal again at next years conference in Bonn, with the goal of a decision by 2009 on continuing the caps beyond 2012, with the goal of speeding the pace in the switch to renewable fuels. November 6-17, 2006: The most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 12 and MOP 2, was held November 6-17, in Nairobi, Africa. The final news release points to the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 50% of the levels in the year 2000. See the decisions of the conference for details. The next Conference is scheduled for May, 2007, in Bonn, Germany. October, 2006: Legislation has been introduced into the U.S. Senate to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions by 2010, and introduce a nationwide cap and trade system, setting caps at 65% below emissions in the year 2000 (Chicago Climate Exchange Newsletter, October, 2006) August 23, 2006: CERs (Certified Emissions Reductions, a kind of offset) are trading at a price of about 85-90% of the EUA (European Union Allowances, an emission allowance) (from Point Carbon, CDM and JI August 23 newsletter). CERs are coming out of the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) program, i.e. if an entity can demonstrate the development is additional, would not be something normally done through some other vehicle than the CDM, then CERs (essentially offsets) can be sold. August 20, 2006: British Petroleum (BP) has launched "Climate Neutral" for UK drivers. Purchases to offset carbon dioxide emissions from driving one's own car go to projects aimed at reducing emissions or otherwise offsetting emissions, e.g. a project to capture methane from a feedlot. August 4, 2006: Many businesses are moving down the "eco-business" path (see World Business Council for Sustainable Development), with ever more working at waste management processes modeled on Ecological Economic principles (for a new Distance Education course offered through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, that teaches these principles, see Ecol Econ 883). For a case in Nebraska, USA, see the project by E3 Biofuels to capture biogas (methane, etc.) from a feedlot which is used to help power an ethanol plant. Using ethanol fuel allows for "recycling" of carbon dioxide, i.e. burning ethanol releases carbon dioxide which is then recaptured by the corn (and other growing plants) from which it was manufactured. Also, the biogass collection essentially eliminates the odor (and the release of greenhouse gases in the form of methane) in the vicinity of large concentrated animal feeding operations. June 7, 2006: Reports coming out of Europe suggest the emissions allowance markets have become quite unstable, with prices for allowances also dropping considerably. The strong interest in investing in emissions reduction and offset projects in developing countries, through the Clean Development Mechanism and the Joint Implementation programs has also waned, as attention has turned inward to technology solutions within countries. One can only speculate that this change in heart has been driven in part by the U.S. decision to continue the non-participation in Kyoto, seeking instead to find technological solutions on a voluntary path (e.g. companies and governments setting their own caps). February-May, 2006: We lapsed in our keeping up with the developments due to a funding problem for this website. We will try to bring the main developments into this site, for historical interest, yet this year. Also, developments have slowed considerably, and their is a lot of uncertainty about what is going to happen next, especially with the near collapse of the carbon emissions market in Europe in April. January 18, 2006: A new article to be publised in the scientific journal Nature has shown that planting trees in order to comply with rules of the Kyoto Protocol may actual increase the speed at which global warming occurs. The study state that, although plants do soak up carbon, they also release large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Methane is another greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. The study showed that ten to thirty percent of all methane in the atmosphere comes from plants (See link from the U.S. Newswire). January 17, 2006: GreenBiz.com has provided a "nuts and bolts" guide to carbon trading in their "Ask the Experts" column. The article provides steps that businesses should use in order to establish an effective and efficient carbon trading scheme. Janurary 11, 2005: A rocket scientist from MIT is looking at whether algae can transform the world's energy needs and slow global warming. Dr. Isaac Berzin believes that if he finds the right strain of algae, the single-celled organisms can be used to help powerplants reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Dr. Berzin has been experimenting with placing large, clear tubes filled with algae into powerplant smokestacks. Once inside the smokestack, the algae absorb carbon dioxide and grow rapidly. The contents of the smokestack are then released, but with forty percent less carbon dioxide. Tests are showing that the algae reduce nitrous oxide emissions by a whopping eighty-six percent as well. After the carbon dioxide is soaked up, the algae is harvested daily. From there, a combustible vegetable oil is squeezed out of the algae. This, in turn, can be easily made into biodiesel. After this, the dried remains of the algae can be processed into ethanol. It is expected that commercial production of the "algae scrubber" could be ready by 2009.
(See the "old news of 2005" for the significant news events of 2005)
Also see the following for breaking news...Linkages for all manner of International Meetings on Environment and Development Policy Earth Negotiations Bulletin provides daily news highlights about meetings Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative leads to standardized accounting and reporting practices for greenhouse gases (See World Resources Institute for other breaking news on resource issues). Planet Ark providing the latest environmental news (a Reuters news service). Point Carbon (which also has subscription service; providing e-mail service to subscribers on breaking news)
Last update: September, 2007 |