news20100401gdn1

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[News > World news > US politics]

Barack Obama reverses campaign promise and approves offshore drilling
｛オバマ大統領、選挙公約を翻し、沖合の掘削を容認｝

President allows oil and gas exploration off several coastal areas to horsetrade with Republicans over climate change bills
｛大統領、気候変動法案で共和党と取り引き、数か所の沿岸部沖のオイル、ガス開発を容認｝
Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 31 March 2010 19.04 BST
Article history

{{Barack Obama announces offshore drilling plans at a naval base in, Maryland.}
{Photograph}: Alex Wong/Getty Images}

Barack Obama took the Republican slogan "drill, baby, drill" as his own today, opening up over 500,000 square miles of US coastal waters to oil and gas exploitation for the first time in over 20 years.

The move, a reversal of Obama's early campaign promise to retain a ban on offshore exploration, appeared aimed at winning support from Republicans in Congress for new laws to tackle global warming. Sarah Palin's "Drill, baby, drill" slogan was a prominent battle cry in the 2008 elections.

The areas opened up are off the Atlantic coast, the northern coast of Alaska and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. However, in a concession to his environmentalist base, Obama did retain protection for Alaska's Bristol Bay, the single largest source of seafood in America and home to endangered species of whale. The Pacific Coast from Mexico to Canada is also off-limits.

Obama said the decision to allow oil rigs off the Atlantic coast was a painful one, but that it would help reduce US dependence on imported oil.

"This is not a decision that I've made lightly," the president said. "But the bottom line is this: given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth, produce jobs, and keep our businesses competitive, we're going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy."

He said the administration would take steps to protect the environment and areas important to tourism off the Atlantic, as well as sensitive areas in the Arctic, and added: "Drilling alone cannot come close to meeting our long-term energy needs, and for the sake of the planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now."

Interior department officials said the areas opened up today are thought to contain the equivalent of three years' annual US useage of recoverable oil and two years' worth of natural gas.

Under the proposals, a vast swath of Atlantic coast from northern Delaware to central Florida, including about 167m acres of ocean, would be open to drilling. An additional 130m acres of ocean in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska could also open up for drilling following environmental assessment studies. About two-thirds of the eastern Gulf of Mexico would be open for exploration though the plan would bar rigs within 125 miles of the Florida coast.

The state of Virginia could see drilling within 50 miles of the coast, and could issue its first licences as early as next year. However, actual drilling would probably not get underway for years. Drilling would be off-limits throughout the US Pacific coast. Bristol Bay in south-western Alaska would also be off the table until 2017.

Today's speech was widely seen as an attempt by Obama to use last week's epic victory on health reform as a springboard for other items on his agenda. He combined the announcement with a renewed appeal to Democrats and Republicans in Congress to pass climate change legislation. The laws would be a huge step forward towards a global deal but has encountered fierce domestic opposition.

A small group of Democrats and Republicans are expected to produce proposals to cut the US's mammoth greenhouse gas emissions, in the coming weeks. But the proposals are unlikely to go as far as environmentalists would like.

The interior secretary, Ken Salazar, made a significant declaration today, saying the administration had renounced the concept of carbon cap and trade. This system, seen by many as efficient and effective, sets a gradually reducing limit to emissions and then allows polluters to buy and sell permits to emit greenhouse gases, but opponents argue it would damage the economy. "The term cap and trade is not in the lexicon anymore," Salazar told CNBC television.

The go-ahead for drilling is also a bitter disappointment for environmentalists and Democrats. That could make it even more difficult to stitch together a compromise proposal on climate change in the Senate. Last week, 10 Senators from coastal states, including those now opened up for drilling, issued a letter expressing concern that offshore exploration would hurt fishing and tourism industries.

Maryland's Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, a supporter of Obama's climate agenda, said: "We know spills happen with offshore drilling. It happens even with the most responsible drilling." Greenpeace saw the announcement as a betrayal of Obama's campaign promise, with director Phil Radford saying: "This act furthers America's addiction to oil." Oceana called it a "wholesale assault" on the seas.

Brendan Cummings, senior counsel at the Centre for Biological Diversity, said: "Today's announcement is unfortunately all too typical of what we have seen so far from President Obama – promises of change, a year of 'deliberation,' and ultimately, adoption of flawed and outdated Bush policies as his own."

The disappointment could lift on Thursday, as Obama said his administration would then finalise more rigorous fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. The White House will also buy 5,000 new hybrid vehicles for the federal fleet.

Today's drilling decision further consolidates Obama's position in the middle ground between industry and environmentalists. Environmentalists have been disappointed with the president's decisions to restrict – but not ban outright – the highly destructive practice of blowing up mountaintops to mine thin seams of coal.

Obama indicated in his state of the union address that he was ready to offer two key concessions to Republicans – lifting the ban on offshore drilling and supporting new nuclear power plants – to try to gain support for climate change and energy legislation in Congress.

He took the first step last month, spurring the first construction of new nuclear plants since the Three Mile Island leak 30 years ago, by announcing $18bn in loan guarantees for two new nuclear reactors.

As a presidential candidate, Obama had repeatedly attacked his opponent, John McCain, for suggesting drilling would lower gas prices, arguing that it would take several years and billions in investment before those areas became productive. But as the summer of 2008 wore on with prices spiking at the pump, Obama along with other Democrats began moderating their opposition to offshore drilling.

Democrats in Congress did not renew an annual ban on offshore drilling, and Obama began reversing his opposition.

news20100401gdn2

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[Environment > Climate change]
Britain brandishes olive branch to restart global climate change talks
｛英国、和解提案を誇示、地球温暖化会談を再開｝

Ed Miliband concedes ground and offers to sign new Kyoto treaty in unilateral attempt to heal rift between rich and poor countries
｛エドミリバン、問題を容認、片務的案の新京都協定に署名、先進国と途上国間の溝を修復｝
John Vidal, environment editor
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 31 March 2010 17.59 BST
Article history

{{Climate secretary Ed Miliband at the Copenhagen climate change conference.}
{Photograph}: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP}

Britain brandished a diplomatic olive branch today as it tried to restart global climate change negotiations with an initiative to heal the rift between rich and poor countries following the failure of the Copenhagen summit.

Climate secretary Ed Miliband conceded considerable ground, offering to sign a new Kyoto treaty as developing countries' demand, but while also requiring that those nations enshrine their commitments to tackling global warming in international law.

Britain's unilateral move addresses the key issue that doomed Copenhagen – that the rich accept the legally binding commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions enshrined in Kyoto.

The initiative could lead to two separate global treaties on climate change. It also offers a challenge to China, India and other major developing countries, who have been unwilling to commit legally to acting on climate change because the Kyoto agreement specifically exempts them.

"We are asking that developing countries internationalise in a legally binding agreement the actions they take domestically," said the government action plan, published today in advance of formal UN negotiations that reopen next week in Bonn.

"We would not envisage developing countries being subject to any punitive compliance measures," it added.

The move is the strongest signal yet that rich countries' attempts to sideline or even abandon the Kyoto treaty have failed and that the negotiations will continue within the 192-nation UN climate body and not in smaller groups of countries as the US and other nations had wanted.

"We hope by doing this we can take away the myth that developed countries were trying to destroy Kyoto," said Miliband.

"We are determined to unblock the negotiations. We are willing to offer a second agreement under Kyoto, provided there is a separate legal treaty covering all other countries."

The move was immediately welcomed by Bharrat Jagdeo, president of Guyana. But he warned that developing countries would not accept an agreement if rich countries – who have emitted by far the most carbon pollution – did not commit to further deep cuts in emissions.

Referring to the US, he said: "There are countries who stick out and clearly need to do more work. If the largest [developed] country emitter falls so far below the minimum, it makes it far harder for other countries, and you lose the element of justice and fairness."

The diplomatic moves came as Gordon Brown met billionaire financier George Soros; Obama's economic adviser Larry Summers; economist Lord Nicholas Stern and other finance ministers to find ways to raise $30bn (£20bn) a year immediately and $100bn a year by 2020 to enable developing countries to adapt to climate change.

The high-level advisory group on climate change financing, convened by UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon and chaired by Brown and Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi, will consider at least six ways of raising up to $1tn dollars for climate change adaptation. These include:

> a small levy on all international aviation and shipping

> enlarging existing carbon cap-and-trade markets

> imposing a small "Robin Hood"-type tax on all financial transactions

> using the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights.

The group of 19 financial leaders have been asked by Ban to report back by November, when UN climate talks take place in Cancun, Mexico.

Environment and development groups welcomed the British initiative. Andy Atkins, Friends of the Earth's executive director, said: "It's positive that the government has restated its commitment to the Kyoto protocol, which enshrines the responsibility of rich countries, as the biggest historical polluters, to slash their emissions first and fastest."

Joanne Green, head of policy at development agency Cafod, said: "This shows that Gordon Brown is listening to the concerns of developing countries. This is a first stride in rebuilding the trust desperately needed between developing and developed countries."

And Melanie Ward, Christian Aid's UK political adviser, said: "The positive language needs to be matched by the necessary political choices.

"These include using international finance to support clean development in poor countries, rather than more dirty coal power stations, and demanding much deeper cuts in EU emissions levels."


[Environment > Climate change]
China spends big to counter severe weather caused by climate change
｛中国、巨費を投じ、温暖化による深刻な気候に対処｝

Country invests heavily in warning systems and infrastructure to tackle effects of extreme temperatures, typhoons, fog and storms
｛警報システムやインフラに巨額を投じ、気温変動、台風、濃霧、嵐等の影響に対処｝
Jonathan Watts, Asia environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 31 March 2010 15.13 BST
Article history

{{Two women wearing facemasks walk along a street in Beijing this month. China warned residents across much of the country's north, including the capital, to avoid going outside as a sandstorm blanketed the area in fine yellow dust.}
{Photograph}: Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images}

China will tomorrow start ramping up preparations for typhoons, dust storms and other extreme weather disasters as part of a 10-year plan to predict and prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

Improved warning systems, new emergency drills and bolstered infrastructure will form the backbone of the new regulations, which are the country's most advanced measures yet to deal with natural disaster.

China has a long history of devastating floods and droughts, but officials said the problems were intensifying.

"It is necessary to respond to the new situation under climate change to avoid and mitigate the losses caused by meteorological disasters," said Gao Fengtao, deputy director of the state council's legislative affairs office, as he unveiled the new policy.

In recent years, he said, disasters were characterised by "sudden occurrence, wider variety, greater intensity and higher frequency in the context of global warming".

Officials warned this posed a threat to human life and a huge challenge to China's sustainable development.

Zheng Guoguang, head of China's meteorological administration, said natural disasters caused economic losses each year of up to 300bn yuan (£29bn), equivalent to about 2% of the country's gross domestic product.

He cited the unusually severe snow storms that engulfed southern China in 2008 and the worst drought in a century that is now afflicting Yunnan, Guangxi and Sichuan provinces.

The new regulations for the prevention of and preparedness for meteorological disasters will establish a legal framework for disaster response, risk assessment, evacuation measures and public education.

They will cover terrestrial phenomena – such as extreme temperatures, dust and sand storms, lightning strikes, fog, typhoons – and "space weather", such as solar storms.

Officials said the move was part of a 10-year national plan that clarified the government's response to climate change and stipulated what measures regional and local governments should take in terms of infrastructure investment, reporting mechanisms and disaster drills.

But it was unclear how much the central government would spend on the programme and the proportion of the costs it would bear. Local authorities in poor areas often neglect Beijing directives that they cannot afford to implement.

Despite its developing nation status, China has an advanced meteorological monitoring system, using weather satellites and a global network of 158 radar stations.

Zheng said the government has invested 10bn yuan in the system in recent years, with the budget rising 15% annually.

"The large sums that China invests in its meteorological infrastructure are rarely seen in the world," he said.

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[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[Environment > Travel and transport]
UK to invest £30m in Nigerian public transport system
｛英国、ナイジェリアの公共輸送システムに３千万ポンド出資｝

Britain to pay for buses and trains to replace molues and danfoes - Lagos's legendarily hectic buses and minibuses

John Vidal
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 31 March 2010 17.06 BST
Article history

{{Lagos is set for a major transport overhaul.}
{Photograph}: Pius Utomi Ekpei /AFP/Getty Images}

Anyone who has experienced the "molues" and "danfoes" - the notorious buses and minibuses of Lagos - will understand the word anarchy. They carry huge numbers of people round the African mega-city but they respect no traffic lanes, bus-stops or policemen, many are falling apart and they belch some of the the dirtiest smoke in Africa.

But Britain is hoping to bring some order to the city of legendary traffic jams and road rage by trying to rationalise its public transport system. Over the next few years it will invest more than £30m increasing the number of bus routes, bringing in bigger buses and helping to build two new train lines to go through some of the most densely populated areas of Lagos.

Lagos has a population of 16 million but the Nigerian government expects this to grow to over 25m in the next 20 years, leaving the city authorities unable to provide clean water and electricity, or to keep pace with the growth of slums. Unless investments are urgently made in the infrastructure, says the UK's Department for International Development, the situation will become critical. It now plans to invest in improving slum areas in other African cities.

The switch to investing in the urban environment rather than rural areas marks a significant shift in approach to combating poverty. Until very recently most aid has been directed at rural areas to try and stem the flow of people to cities and boost agriculture. But there is a new understanding that hunger in large cities and poverty is now as bad in cities as in rural areas.

"Investing in urban areas is a different set of challenges," said international development minister Gareth Thomas. "We have watched the rise of the mega-city, especially in Africa. Places like like Addis Ababa, Cairo and Johannesburg will all see massive expansion over the next 20-30 years. Unless we act now people will only live in slums.

"People find it difficult to access work outside their own impoverished areas due to lack of transport and potential industry around the slums is hampered by unreliable electricity sources," he said.

UN predictions show that, by 2030, 700 million people will live in towns or cities in Africa and of them, 70% will live in slums.


[Environment > Climate change]
Q&A: the CRC energy efficiency scheme
｛質疑応答：ＣＲＣエネルギー効率基本構想｝

The CRC energy efficiency scheme will pit public and private sector firms against one other to make the greatest savings on power bills
Tony Grayling, Environment Agency
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 31 March 2010 18.11 BST
Article history

What is the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme?

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is a new, mandatory, energy-saving and carbon emissions-reduction scheme for the UK. It will see big companies compete against one another to cut their energy bills fastest, in a bid to rank highest in a league table where the leaders will be financially rewarded.

Why is it being introduced?

The Department of Energy and Climate Change developed the CRC (Carbon Reduction Commitment) to help deliver the UK's pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.

It should also help to ensure security of energy supply in the UK. Analysis suggests the CRC could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 11.6m tonnes per year by 2020.

Who will the CRC affect?

All public and private sector organisations that used at least one half-hourly electricity meter during 2008 qualify for CRC and will have to register for the scheme. It will involve approximately 20,000 large organisations.

About 5,000 of these organisations qualify as scheme "participants". Participants are identified by their 2008 electricity consumption: any organisation that consumed at least 6,000 MWh of electricity through all of its meters during 2008, equivalent to an electricity bill of £500,000, – around 3,333 tonnes of CO2 – will need to monitor its energy consumption and purchase allowances from the government of £12 each for every tonne of carbon dioxide it emits.

These organisations will also appear in an annual performance league table, ranked on the energy cuts they make over time.

If an organisation has a half-hourly electricity meter but consumed less than 6,000 MWh, it qualifies as an "information declarer" and will only need to register a simple information disclosure. It will not have to carry out annual reporting, purchase allowances or be involved in league tables.

How does the scheme work?

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme will be phased in over three years. Once fully operational, participants will be required to monitor their emissions and purchase allowances for each tonne of CO2 they emit at the beginning of each reporting year. The first main sale of allowances happens in April 2011, covering projected CO2 emissions for April 2011 to March 2012.

The scheme is revenue-neutral overall, meaning all money raised from the main sale is re-distributed back to participants, with the highest-ranking organisations in the league table receiving the greatest financial reward.

What are the benefits of the scheme for those who take part?

Participants successful in reducing energy consumption will not only save money on energy bills but will need to purchase fewer allowances and will receive greater financial rewards through revenue recycling. These savings should be well in excess of the costs of participation.

In addition, participants that perform well will also be placed higher in the performance league table, which will be published annually by the Environment Agency, boosting their reputation as an energy-conscious organisation.

How much will the scheme cost participants?

During the second and third year of the CRC's introductory phase (2011/2012 and 2012/2013), one allowance, which equals one tonne of CO2, will cost £12. However, after the three-year introductory phase, from 2013/14 the total number of allowances will be capped and these allowances will be auctioned, rather than sold at a fixed price.

As a result, the cost of buying allowances is likely to become higher, making it financially more attractive for CRC participants to reduce their CO2 emissions by introducing energy-saving measures.

Who will run the scheme?

The Environment Agency is the lead UK administrator for the scheme and will run the CRC registry. The agency is also the scheme regulator for England and Wales and is working with organisations to help them understand their obligations and will provide as much guidance and information as is possible.

The scheme will be audited and enforced by the agency in England and Wales. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency will fill this role in Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency will do the same in its area.

When is it happening?

Registration for the scheme opens tomorrow. If a company qualifies it will have to register via an online registry before 30 September 2010.

news20100401reut1

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Environment News]
[Green Business]
DHAKA
Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:21am EDT
Solar power lights up Bangladesh central bank
｛太陽エネルギーで点灯、バングラデシュ中央銀行｝

(Reuters) - Bangladesh's central bank has switched over to solar-powered lighting, in a move to encourage green energy in a country drastically short of electricity, bank officials said.

The bank has spent around 13.5 million taka ($195,000) on a solar power plant that will generate 8 KW of electricity a day.

"It is not possible to meet the country's fast-growing power demand only using gas and coal. So we have to go for alternative energy resources," central bank governor Atiur Rahman told reporters late on Tuesday.

"From now on, we will light up our offices with solar energy and spread the message across so more people follow suit."

Bangladesh has recent taken a number of measures, including rush-hour rationing of power, to deal with a shortage the World Bank estimates costs it up to 2 percent in GDP growth each year.

Currently renewable energy contributes less than 1 percent to overall power generation in this south Asian country of more than 150 million people, barely 45 percent of whom have access to electricity.

The central bank last year launched a 2 billion taka ($29 million) refinance scheme for renewable energy in an effort to help ease a power and gas supply crisis and reduce pollution.

About 80 percent of electricity is produced from natural gas, with state-owned and private sector power plants only able to generate up to 4,000 megawatts of electricity a day against a demand of 5,500 megawatts.

The government says it is exploring various means, including nuclear power generation, to overcome the problem, which is one of the key constraints to growth.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Anis Ahmed and Alex Richardson)


[Environment News]
[Film | Green Business | Lifestyle | COP15]
Erik Kirschbaum
BERLIN
Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:45am EDT
German film offers answers to Gore climate concerns
｛ドイツ映画、ゴア氏の気候変動問題に答えを示唆｝

(Reuters) - Al Gore raised some alarming questions about climate change in his Oscar-winning 2006 film "An Inconvenient Truth" that a German filmmaker has now tried to provide some answers for in a new documentary.

Carl Fechner's "The Fourth Revolution - Energy Autonomy" is an attempt to show how the world could be getting all its energy from renewable sources in 30 years -- and help slow the climate change that Gore warned about in his blockbuster film.

An unabashedly provocative look at renewable energy in countries from the United States, Germany, Denmark, China, Mali and Bangladesh, Fechner's new film has attracted rave reviews and fierce criticism in Germany since it opened last week.

It has been lauded by some newspapers for spelling out a fossil fuel-free route the world could follow but denounced by others as political propaganda for suggesting powerful special interests are blocking wider use of renewable energy.

"The film takes a clear-cut position that it would be possible for the world to rely on renewable energy for 100 percent of its energy needs," Fechner told Reuters. "But it is still nevertheless a piece of solid journalism."

Fechner added: "It's a documentary. Every film takes a position. You can't achieve 100 percent objectivity in any film. Ours is especially noticeable because we offer solutions. Can a film offer solutions like this? In my mind, yes it can."

Fechner, who has been making documentary films for 20 years, said he was inspired by Gore's film that thrust the issue of global warming into the spotlight. Fechner said he wanted to show one path that could be taken to help fight climate change.

"Who isn't inspired by Al Gore?" said Fechner, 56. "He's a star of our times because he so effectively showed the problem."

Fechner's film tries to offer solutions by showing a concentrated solar power plant in Spain that produces enough electricity for 100,000 people, a wind energy network in Denmark and solar power projects in Mali and Bangladesh.

The film points out that two billion people have no access to electricity, a problem that could be alleviated in the years ahead with a greater use of de-central renewable energy that would have the added advantage of combating poverty.

"Poverty and a lack of energy go hand in hand," Fechner said. In one segment a small solar power system is installed on a roof of a village hospital in Mali -- its first electricity.

Fechner spent four years on the film, which also shows how Germans in a 60-year-old apartment building saw heating bills slashed to almost zero through an energy efficient makeover.

It includes interviews with Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus describing how micro loans can help rural regions get access to energy as well as Elon Musk, co-founder of California's Tesla Motors car company that builds electric cars.

Also featured is Fatih Birol, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency in Paris, who casts doubt on the future of renewables by saying there will never be enough wind and solar energy to meet the worlds' needs.

Fechner argues it is possible from a technical standpoint. It is, he said, only an open political and economic question.

(editing by Paul Casciato)


[Environment News]
[Green Business]
PARIS
Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:07pm EDT
Luxembourg urged to stop "gas pump tourism"
｛ルクセンブルグ、ガソリン目的の観光旅行の停止を強く要請｝

(Reuters) - Luxembourg should raise car fuel prices to discourage "gas pump tourism" by motorists from nearby countries and combat a rapid rise in carbon dioxide emissions, the OECD said Wednesday.

In an unusually frank statement on its environmental record, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said Luxembourg produced as much greenhouse gases in 2007 as in 1990 despite a goal of reducing that output by 28 percent.

Luxembourg was one of the world's wealthiest countries but churned out more municipal waste and carbon dioxide than most, said the Paris-based OECD, identifying road transport policy as the chief culprit.

The tiny landlocked state is known for a Swiss-style banking industry that attracts many foreign savers and investors but is also a magnet for motorists who cross the borders from Germany, Belgium and France to refill their fuel tanks cheaply.

"Luxembourg's low gasoline and diesel prices encourage 'gas price tourism'," the OECD said. "The (OECD's environment policy) review recommends that Luxembourg increase fuel taxes" closer to par with its neighbors, the OECD said.

It produced figures showing Luxembourg produced 22.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita in 2007, more than twice as much as Germany and three times more than average of European countries among the OECD's 31-country membership.

As Luxembourg struggles to recover from the global economic downturn, OECD chief Angel Gurria added in the same statement, "it would be a mistake to sideline the environment."

(reporting by Brian Love)

news20100401reut2

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Environment News]
[Science | Green Business | COP15]
David Fogarty, Climate Change Correspondent, Asia
SINGAPORE
Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:04pm EDT
Mega-flood triggered cooling 13,000 years ago: scientists
｛巨大洪水、１万３千年前、冷却現象が誘因：科学者｝

(Reuters) - Scientists say they have found the trigger of a sharp cooling 13,000 years ago that plunged Europe into a mini ice age.

Mark Bateman from the University of Sheffield in England said a catastrophic flood unleashed from a giant North American lake dumped large amounts of freshwater into the Arctic Ocean.

This led to the shutting down of the Gulf Stream ocean circulation pattern that brings warmth to Europe.

"We're talking about a lake the size of the UK emptying very quickly," Bateman told Reuters by telephone. "We don't know the exact period of time but we're talking about a catastrophic flood."

The finding has confirmed past theories about the likely cause of a sudden cooling period called the Younger Dryas when temperatures in Europe, similar to today's, quickly returned to ice age conditions. The cooling lasted for about 1,400 years.

"Our research shows that if you put a large volume of fresh water into the North Atlantic in a very short space of time, this is what happens," Bateman said. His team's work is published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.

The Gulf Stream acts like a conveyer belt by bringing warm water from the tropics to Europe while cold salty water sinks to the depths in the far north. This "overturning" circulation draws in yet more warm water from the south.

Climate scientists fear rapid global warming could trigger a sharp increase in the amount of meltwater from Greenland. This surge in freshwater could trigger a tipping point that overwhelms the Gulf Stream, shutting it down and likely plunging Europe into another deep freeze.

PATH FINDER

Bateman and his team confirmed the path of the floodwaters from Lake Agassiz that covered part of what is now Canada and the northern United States. The lake had formed in front of the ice-sheet that once covered a large part of North America.

Scientists had previously guessed that a giant flood unleashed from the lake probably caused the Younger Dryas cooling but couldn't confirm the route of the floodwaters.

Bateman found that the waters flowed down the Mackenzie River, Canada's longest, rather than the Saint Lawrence Seaway that had previously seemed the most likely route.

Studying sediments from cliff sections along the river delta, he said the evidence spanned a large area at many altitudes. This could only be explained by a mega-flood from Lake Agassiz.

Dating of the sediments helped the team pin down the date of the flooding, showing that it occurred right at the start of the Younger Dryas.

Satellite observations and computer models by scientists have shown that the Greenland ice sheet is melting at an accelerating rate, dumping large amounts of ice and meltwater into the North Atlantic.

A study published in the journal Science last November said recent summers further accelerated Greenland's mass loss to the equivalent of 273 cubic kilometers of water per year in the period 2006-2008. The also represented 0.75 millimeters of global sea level rise per year.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)


[Green Business]
Gwladys Fouche
OSLO
Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:36am EDT
Oslo to probe all EU carbon permits traded in Norway

(Reuters) - Norwegian tax authorities plan to investigate all companies' transactions of European Union allowances (EUAs) in the Nordic country as part of a probe into suspected tax fraud, a senior tax official said on Tuesday.

The Norwegian investigation is part of a wider EU probe into an estimated 5 billion euro ($6.75 billion) fraud where companies bought carbon emissions permits in one country without paying value added tax, and then sold in another adding tax to the price but pocketing that difference for themselves.

"We are not going to audit all of them, but we are going to take a look at all the transactions and we will make our moves from there," said Oeyvind Bakken, deputy director of the financial services department at the tax authority for Oslo and eastern Norway.

"There aren't many companies trading in carbon allowances so we might be able to get a thorough look into more or less everything in the market," he told Reuters on Tuesday. Bakken estimated about 200 companies have traded EUAs in Norway.

Spanish police said on Tuesday they had arrested nine individuals and charged two more with avoiding 50 million euros in tax linked to trading in carbon credits.

On Monday, Norwegian police told Reuters they had charged five men with money laundering and tax fraud.

The probes were part of a wider investigation into tax fraud relating to carbon emissions trading that European police agency Europol said cost treasuries up to 5 billion euros ($6.72 billion) in lost revenues.

Bakken said the tax authorities would look into the EUAs traded in Norway once they had completed their ongoing investigation into two firms whose assets they have seized.

"It will take until maybe June or July before we can look at the other transactions, but it could be faster or slower," Bakken said. "We are trying to wrap this as fast as we can."

Tax officials are currently examining the businesses of Gct AS (www.gct.no) and Green Plus Energy AS (www.greenplusenergy.no).

They are claiming 190 million Norwegian crowns ($31.95 million) from the firms -- 127 million crowns for the alleged fraud and 63 million crowns in penalties.

"We are continuing to investigate the two companies that we have been able to seize assets from," said Bakken.

"They were trading all over Europe," he said, without specifying which countries were involved.

A lawyer representing Green Plus Energy told Reuters on March 9 the firm was not involved in VAT fraud and said the firm was cooperating with the police and working toward suspending the court ruling freezing the firm's accounts.

Gct AS was unreachable on Tuesday. It did not return phone calls previously made by Reuters.

(Editing by Amanda Cooper)


[Green Business]
FRANKFURT
Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:22am EDT
SMA Solar aims to boost market share

(Reuters) - SMA Solar, already the world's biggest maker of solar inverters, aims to boost its market share this year, its chief executive said on Wednesday, a goal seen as ambitious by industry experts. "Not only do we want to keep our market share stable in 2010, we also want to increase it," Guenther Cramer said at the company's annual news conference.

SMA Solar said it had a share of more than 40 percent of the global market for solar inverters in 2009, far ahead of Kaco new energy GmbH, the global No.2, with a share of below 10 percent.

But this is already down from SMA's outlook from November of gaining 45-50 percent of the global inverter market, raising fears that the company will lose market share to companies from the semiconductor industry this year.

Analysts have cautioned that companies such as Advanced Energy Industries, General Electric, ABB and Siemens are attacking the profitable sector, in which SMA Solar saw its 2009 EBIT margin reach 24.4 percent, one of the highest in the industry.

"Going forward it still a risky conclusion for SMA to aim for increased market share this year. All the inverter companies are adding capacities and this could potentially lead to oversupply," said Jon Sigurdsen, manager of the Renewable Energy fund at Carlson, a unit of Norwegian DnB Nor Group.

Inverters are a key component in the solar industry, converting direct current generated from solar modules into alternating current.

Cramer said he expected the German photovoltaic market to be 4-5 gigawatts this year, up from about 3 gigawatts in 2009, although official figures are still not out.

"For 2011, we see similar volumes for Germany, although it is hard to measure the impact of cuts in solar feed-in tariffs," Cramer said, pointing to planned one-off cuts in solar power subsidies in Europe's biggest economy.

Regarding recurring speculation the company could be taken over by big utilities or industrial conglomerates, Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Pascal Urbon said that the company had been approached.

"It proves that we're doing something right, but we do not have the intention to sell stakes in the company," he said.

SMA earlier on Wednesday proposed raising its dividend to 1.30 euros ($1.75) per share for 2009 from 1.00 euro a year earlier. It confirmed its 2010 outlook of sales at 1.1-1.3 billion euros and an EBIT margin of 20-23 percent.

According to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, analysts on average expect 2010 sales to come in at 1.123 billion euros.

Through unmatched flexibility in production, SMA has been able to steer through the industry's oversupply and financing crisis much more effectively than module and cell makers.

According to StarMine, which weights analyst projections based on their track record, the company trades at 17.9 times estimated 12-month forward earnings, a premium to module maker Centrosolar and cell maker Suntech.

Shares in SMA Solar were 0.3 percent lower at 1210 GMT, underperforming the FTSE cleantech index that stood 0.3 percent higher.

($1=.7448 Euro)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

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[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
LONDON
Tue Mar 30, 2010 1:23pm EDT
Factbox: How carbon trading tax fraud works

(Reuters) - Spanish police said on Tuesday they arrested nine people on charges of carbon tax evasion, while Norwegian tax authorities said they would investigate all companies' transactions in EU emissions permits.

Both investigations are part of a wider EU probe into an estimated 5 billion euro ($6.75 billion) fraud where companies bought carbon emissions permits in one country without paying value-added tax (VAT), and then sold in another adding tax to the price but pocketing that difference for themselves.

Such fraud surfaced in Britain in August last year, prompting the arrest of seven people, while French prosecutors in June launched an investigation into carbon VAT fraud and the Netherlands took measures to stamp put the practice.

For a related graphic double-click here here

See below for details on how the fraud works and for stories related to carbon tax fraud in the last year:

HOW DO FRAUDSTERS DO IT?

The fraud has high returns over a short period of time. It is difficult to prove, meaning convictions are sparse.

A simple version is 'acquisition' fraud where the goods are imported VAT-free into one European Union member state from another. Once the goods have been sold on the importer goes missing, taking the VAT, which is collected as part of the sale.

A more complicated form is called "carousel fraud." Goods are imported VAT-free but are not sold for consumption in the home market. The goods are sold through a series of companies, each liable to VAT, before being exported, possibly even back to the original seller.

The first link in the chain often goes missing without accounting for the VAT. The final link reclaims the VAT it has paid from the government before disappearing.

TIMELINE:

MARCH 30, 2010
Spanish police say they have arrested nine people on charges of avoiding 50 million euros ($67.54 million) in tax linked to trading in carbon credits.

Norwegian tax authorities said they will investigate all firms' EU carbon permit transactions in the Nordic country as part of an ongoing probe into VAT fraud.

MARCH 29, 2010
Oslo police say a police investigation into carbon tax fraud is widening its scope into money laundering, with five men charged.

MARCH 1, 2010
Norwegian police say at least three more firms are under investigation over alleged carbon tax fraud.

FEB. 26, 2010
Norway's tax authority says three people are charged and at least two companies are under investigation in Oslo over alleged carbon tax fraud.

JAN. 11, 2010
Belgian prosecutors say three Britons and a Dutch man are charged by Belgian authorities with money laundering in an investigation into fraudulent trading in carbon emissions permits.

DEC. 10, 2009
Fraudulent trading in European Union carbon emissions credits in the past 18 months has led to more than 5 billion euros in tax revenue losses for several EU nations, European police agency Europol says in a statement.

SEPT. 1, 2009
A patchwork of unilateral actions by few European Union nations to prevent suspected tax fraud in carbon permit trading could serve only to push the activity into neighboring states.

AUGUST 19, 2009
The British tax office arrests seven people in London in a suspected 38 million pound ($57.13 million) VAT fraud in the EU carbon allowances market.

JULY 15, 2009
The Dutch ministry of finance says there are "clear indications" of fraudulent activity in the Dutch carbon emissions market and put the onus of paying VAT on the carbon permit buyer, instead of the seller.

JULY 11, 2009
The Paris prosector's office says a probe is under way into a suspected multi-million euro VAT fraud in the French carbon emissions market, although no one is placed under investigation at this point.


[Green Business]
LONDON
Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:44am EDT
EU carbon edges up ahead of EU data on firm energy

(Reuters) - European carbon prices edged up on Wednesday, a day before European Union emissions data for 2009 is due to be published, on the back of slightly higher energy prices, traders said.

EU Allowances for December delivery rose as high as 12.93 euros a tonne in early trade. By 0745 GMT the contracts were up 4 cents or 0.3 percent at 12.88 euros on light volume of 849 lots traded.

The European Commission is scheduled to publish emissions levels for 2009 on Thursday, though this could be delayed until next Tuesday, April 6, if less than 80 percent of installations have reported their data.

"There is not much going on in the market, we're navigating a tight range awaiting the EU data, which is the only driver at this point," said one trader.

"If the data is bearish, I'm convinced we will not go lower than 12.20 euros due to the need for some installations to bank their permits through to Phase 3 (2013-2020)."

Benchmark EUA futures, supported at 12.80 on Wednesday, were trading well below any of their moving average trend lines.

U.S. crude oil futures, steady above $82, were headed for a fifth consecutive quarterly gain as recovering demand outweighs ample supplies and concern over monetary tightening in leading economies.

German Calendar 2011 baseload power rose by 6 cents to 45.25 euros per megawatt hour while British nearby natural gas futures added 0.25 pence or 0.8 percent to 31.9 pence per therm.

Benchmark CER futures gained 2 cents to 11.42 euros per tonne, setting the EUA-CER spread at around 1.50 euros.

Italy, one of the last states to allocate 2010 EUAs, on Tuesday said it had distributed 193.5 million tonnes to industry.


[Green Business]
KUALA LUMPUR
Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:45am EDT
Malaysia's IOI seeks green certification for estates

(Reuters) - Malaysia's IOI Corp will finish planting oil palms on 60,000 hectares of its Indonesian land holdings in five years and will then seek "green certification" for these estates, a top official said on Wednesday. IOI, Malaysia's second largest listed planter, has come under fire from green groups who say it has destroyed rainforests and engaged in open burning to clear its Indonesian estates -- an allegation the firm has strongly denied.

"We don't plan to expand further into Indonesia but we will focus on planting and developing the areas," IOI Group Executive Director Lee Yeow Chor told Reuters in an interview.

IOI currently has about 80,000 hectares of land in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan in Borneo Island after venturing into Indonesia in 2007.

Lee said the firm has allocated 200 million ringgit ($61.22 million) this year for plantations to boost plantings and other expenditure as prices of the vegetable oil steadily grow.

"There is a strong upward trend for palm oil prices and this current level of 2,550 ringgit is very supportive," Lee said. "Supply has been affected since a year ago and we only expect a moderate increase in Malaysian output this year.

Since taking its property arm private, IOI has managed to get its long-delayed SIngapore development projects off the ground and facilitate funding requirements for land acquisitions.

Lee said preview sales of its Seascape Collection Residences in Singapore's Sentosa Cove have been encouraging and expects the project to contribute positively to this year's financial earnings.

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[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
Jon Hurdle
PHILADELPHIA
Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:54am EDT
Fracking not a cleaner alternative: Cornell prof

(Reuters) - Natural gas obtained by the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing may contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and so should not be considered as a cleaner alternative to coal or oil, according to a Cornell University researcher.

Although natural gas, when burned, produces only about half of the carbon dioxide emissions of coal, that calculation omits greenhouse gas emissions from the well-drilling, water-trucking, pipeline-laying, and forest-felling that are part of the production of hydraulically fractured natural gas, Ecology Professor Robert Howarth argues in a new paper.

Combining the effects of combustion, production, distribution, and leaked methane from hydraulically fractured natural gas gives the fuel about the same greenhouse gas emissions as coal and about 30 percent more than diesel or gasoline, Howarth says in the draft paper published in mid-March.

"A complete consideration of all emissions from using natural gas seems likely to make natural gas far less attractive than other fossil fuels in terms of the consequences for global warming," Howarth writes.

Energy companies are scrambling to develop vast reserves of natural gas from deep shale beds in many U.S. states including Texas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. Experts say shale gas could meet national demand for a century while helping to reduce carbon emissions and reducing petroleum imports.

"Government and industry should not be moving ahead on the basis of what is already misleading and incomplete information," Howarth told Reuters. He urged a moratorium on further development in the multibillion-dollar industry until more is known about its greenhouse gas emissions.

The damaging nature of gas from fracturing, or "fracking", undermines claims that it is a "transition" fuel between carbon-intensive sources like coal, and renewables such as solar and wind, Howarth said in the paper.

Citing preliminary data, Howarth estimates total greenhouse gas emissions from hydraulically fractured natural gas may be equivalent to 33 carbon grams of CO2, slightly more than 31.9 grams for coal, and well above the 20.3 grams for diesel or gasoline.

The data are partly based on methane leakage of 1.5 percent of natural gas consumed, a figure assumed by the federal government.

Claims by energy companies that natural gas is a cleaner alternative to coal and oil are further undermined by leaked methane - the principal component of natural gas -- which is many times more potent as a greenhouse gas component than CO2, argued Howarth, who has served on National Academy of Sciences panels looking into climate change, and has been a Cornell professor since 1985.

Dan Whitten, a spokesman for America's Natural Gas Alliance, an industry group, dismissed Howarth's assertions as preliminary and speculative and not backed by hard data and said the professor's statement undermined its own credibility.

"We concur with the author's own assessment that this two-page draft is 'highly uncertain', that the 'numbers should be treated with caution', and that there is 'no rigorous estimate' to support its conclusions," Whitten said.

"Natural gas is twice as clean as coal and is available here in America in significant abundance today," Whitten added.

"Alongside the development of renewables, natural gas has a key role to play in transitioning our nation to a low-carbon economy."

Howarth acknowledged his statement contains many qualifiers but argued that there are sufficient concerns about the greenhouse gas emissions of hydraulically fractured natural gas to warrant early publication.

Critics also claim that fracking contaminates ground water with chemicals that are forced deep underground along with water and sand to fracture the shale and release its gas.

(Editing by Marguerita Choy)


[Green Business]
Michael Szabo
LONDON
Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:37am EDT
Trading Emissions plagued by U.N. delays

(Reuters) - Clean energy developer Trading Emissions (TREM) trimmed its Kyoto Protocol carbon offset portfolio on Wednesday, citing delays in project registrations at the United Nations, its investment adviser said.

In its half yearly report, TREM said its portfolio of risk-adjusted offsets, called Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs), stood at 49.9 million tons as of March 31, of which 38.7 million is for delivery before 2012.

This is down from 53.2 million estimated at October 1, 2009.

"The principle factors affecting our CER portfolio are delays at the CDM's executive board ... 16 pct of our project portfolio is awaiting registration," said Simon Shaw of EEA, adding that around 80 percent has been registered.

Under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), firms like Trading Emissions can invest in clean energy projects in emerging countries such as China, and in return receive CERs after the projects are approved, and emissions cuts verified, by private sector firms.

The UN last week suspended two more emissions auditors for procedural breaches, bringing the total to four firms in the past 15 months, a trend that Shaw said is affecting TREM's CER portfolio.

"It slows the process to get projects registered and verified ... We've had some delays from (previously suspended firm) SGS UK, but economically we're not too concerned about it," Shaw told Reuters, adding the firm has had no projects rejected by the CDM's board in the last 6 months.

TREM's average CER cost was 7.46 euros ($10.02) per ton, well below the Wednesday's market rate for CER futures of 11.45 euros a ton.

Trading Emissions also assigned its post-2012 CER portfolio of 10.7 million a market value of 7 euros per ton, a price which it calculated based on broker prices and buyer statements.

CHINA DRY

The company is still looking to originate CERs from projects in south-east Asia and Latin America, but Shaw said the Chinese market had dried up.

"The opportunity hasn't been there and I think a lot of Chinese project owners find the (CER) price a bit low compared to past years, so they aren't particularly keen to sell."

Shaw said Trading Emissions is also looking at projects in the Middle East, Africa and other least developed countries, but has not signed any new contracts in the past 6 months.

TREM, whose planned merger with clean energy investment company Leaf Clean Energy was blocked by a major shareholder last month, also said shareholders will get a chance to vote on the future of the company and will start a discussion on this before its AGM. [ID:nLDE61I0W2]

TREM said its net asset value was 142.7 pence per share at the end of the first half, compared with 150.6 pence on June 30.

The firm's shares traded at 87.61 pence on Wednesday, up 0.61 pence but at a sizeable discount to its NAV.

(Editing by Anthony Barker)

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[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
Pete Harrison
BRUSSELS
Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:38am EDT
EU says its Kyoto support depends on Russia, Japan

(Reuters) - The European Union can only sign up to a continued Kyoto Protocol after 2012 if all other ratifiers including Japan and Russia do the same, an EU official said on Wednesday.

Jos Delbeke, head of the European Commission's climate unit, questioned the value of continuing with the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol in its current form after its present commitment period expires in 2012, and said the 27-country EU was considering all its options.

His comments contrasted with Britain's energy and climate minister Ed Miliband, who said on Wednesday that he supported a continued Kyoto Protocol under a wider deal involving all countries, to break deadlock in U.N. climate talks.

Delbeke's comments reinforced an EU position preferring to replace Kyoto with a new treaty, to engage the United States which never ratified the pact.

Kyoto binds the carbon emissions of 37 industrialized countries including the EU, Japan, Russia, Canada, Australia, Norway and Switzerland, and developing countries want those countries to agree to a tougher, second round of Kyoto carbon cuts after 2012.

"We hear worrying signs Russia and Japan would not join an extension of Kyoto," Delbeke told Reuters in an interview. "Then there are the issues with the U.S."

"We could not accept a situation where the EU, Switzerland and Norway were the only developed countries signed up to an extension of Kyoto," he said. "That's why the EU ministers proposed one, single legal framework," he added, referring to a new treaty which bound the carbon emissions of all developed countries.

A U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen in December failed to agree binding climate action. One of the main sticking points was whether to continue with Kyoto. Countries will now try to agree a climate deal in Mexico in December.

"We are looking at all options," Delbeke said, when asked if the EU was backing away from Kyoto.

LOOPHOLE

One of the EU's main criticisms of Kyoto is the vast amount of spare carbon credits, known as assigned amount units (AAUs), which became available as industry shrank after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Those credits can be sold to countries that want to avoid the cost of cutting their own domestic emissions.

Russia, for example, is on track to undercut its Kyoto target by about 1.4 billion tons of greenhouse gases annually -- equivalent to the entire emissions of Japan, the world's fifth biggest carbon emitter -- U.N. data show.

"With such huge amounts of AAUs, we may see developed countries' emissions reductions completely nullified by the use of banked AAUs," said Delbeke. "But we have no blueprint yet of how we'll deal with this."

The EU is also looking at whether it will continue accepting offsets from the U.N.'s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) into its own Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in the future.

The CDM mechanism has been criticized for not delivering the carbon emissions reductions it was supposed to.

Delbeke said reform was insufficient on a global level.

"There should over time be some further qualitative restrictions on CDM beyond those already in place on large hydro (projects)."

Those CDM credits, known as CERs, have caused problems for the EU's carbon trading scheme in recent weeks after "used" Hungarian credits found their way back into the EU system.

Hungary used a loophole to sell the used credits, which has now been closed. "We advised Hungary strongly not to do this," said Delbeke. "It turned out to be a little disaster for them, and also for the CDM."

The EU is working on an overhaul of the ETS for its third phase from 2013, and the European Commission is pushing for a common auctioning platform, a move opposed by Britain and Germany.

"It is not manageable or rational to have too many parallel national platforms," said Delbeke.

"European companies do not want to be confronted with different procedures to be followed, different forms to be filled, different languages to be dealt with. They want a fully harmonized approach -- not more red tape."

He said a possible opt-out was likely to be discussed where "if member states want to come forward with their own platforms, they could only do so with strict conditions, similar to the conditions of the common platform, as identical as can be."

(Reporting by Pete Harrison; editing by Gerard Wynn)


[Green Business]
WASHINGTON
Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:25am EDT
Obama announces drilling expansion for climate push

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday plans for a broad expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in an effort to win Republican support for new laws to fight climate change.

Obama, a Democrat, said his administration would consider new areas for drilling in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, while "studying and protecting sensitive areas in the Arctic."

The president, who needs bipartisan support to pass a bill that would set limits on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, cautioned that expanding drilling was not a catch-all answer to U.S. energy challenges.

"Drilling alone cannot come close to meeting our long-term energy needs, and ... for the sake of the planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now," Obama said in prepared remarks.

"I know that we can come together to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation that will foster new industries and millions of new jobs protecting our planet and helping us become more energy independent," he said.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Matt Spetalnick; editing by David Alexander)


[Green Business]
Duncan Miriri
NAIROBI
Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:27am EDT
KenGen sees $700 million geothermal funding soon

(Reuters) - Kenya's main electricity generator KenGen is confident it can secure the outstanding $700 million for a major geothermal project to boost electricity output by a around a quarter in the power-hungry country.

An announcement could be made within months depending on institutions like the World Bank, managing director Eddie Njoroge said after signing a loan agreement with the Japanese development agency (JICA) for $323 million.

"We are hoping now for about $700 million from the rest of the financing agencies and the (Kenyan) government is contributing for the drilling which is about $300 million," he told Reuters.

Part of the $1.3 billion project entails lifting electricity output at Kengen's Ol Karia 1 plant to 140 KW from 45 KW. The rest of the 280 KW increase would come from its Ol Karia 4 plant.

Officials estimate Kenya can generate 7,000 MW from the vast reserves of steam which lie under the Great Rift Valley running across the country.

The country plans to raise the electricity generated from geothermal to a minimum of 5,000 MW by 2030, aiming to cut prices and ease dependence on hydro generation.

KenGen generates about 1,000 MW of electricity - 80 percent of Kenyan demand - with 700 MW of that coming from dams. It was forced to shut down a 40 MW hydro generation plant last year by drought, causing outages.

Electricity and demand is projected to rise in tandem with economic and population growth.

Njoroge said the company was also considering more joint ventures after picking South Korea's Daewoo for a 600 MW coal-fired plant at the Kenyan coast.

KenGen raised 25 billion shillings ($323 million) in the largest corporate bond issue in east Africa's largest economy to finance various capacity expansion programmes.

Njoroge said the firm may explore the possibility of another note in 2011.

($1=77.40 Kenyan Shilling)

(Editing by David Cowell)


[Green Business]
EAST HARTFORD, Connecticut
Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:09pm EDT
Siemens tapped as supplier for proposed U.S. wind farm

(Reuters) - The developers of what could become the first U.S. offshore wind farm have chosen Siemens AG to provide the turbines for the project off Cape Cod.

The German conglomerate declined to disclose the value of the order.

Siemens will supply 130 3.6 megawatt turbines for the Cape Wind project, a proposed wind farm in the Horseshoe Shoal off Nantucket that supporters say would make Massachusetts a leader in clean energy.

But the farm, which would generate 420 megawatts of power, enough for 336,000 typical American homes, has been the subject of intense local controversy.

While residents say they like the idea of playing a leading role in renewable energy, they worry that the 24-square-mile (62-square-kilometer) project will be unsightly and hurt tourism.

The project still needs the approval of the federal government. A decision is expected by the end of April.

(Reporting by Scott Malone and James Kelleher; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
Michael Szabo
LONDON
Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:10pm EDT
Costs, confusion greet new UK carbon trade scheme

(Reuters) - Britain's new scheme to cut corporate energy usage and carbon emissions will slash billions from power bills, according to the government, but companies remain confused over compliance and concerned over its costs.

The mandatory Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRCEES), which begins Thursday, forces businesses like banks, hotels, hospitals and schools to help cut annually by 2020 British greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million tonnes and corporate energy bills by 1 billion pounds.

Some 5,000 companies that spend over 500,000 pounds ($753,600) per year on energy are forced to monitor usage and report related emissions annually. From April 2011 they will also need to estimate future emissions and buy carbon permits.

"The scheme is far more complicated for companies to interpret and then comply with at registration than any consultant or government department thought it would be," said Chris Stubbs, director at WSP Environment and Energy.

"The amount of effort being expended is far in excess of what's justified for the level of emissions reduction targeted."

Companies must register with the UK Environment Agency by September 30, 2010, or face steep fines starting at 5,000 pounds. All are exempt from buying carbon credits in the first year.

The CRCEES is one of two incentive schemes launched on Thursday which the government said are key to meeting the UK's target to cut emissions by 34 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Feed in tariffs are also being introduced to spur growth in small-scale, locally produced renewable power.

"From today the rewards for businesses and householders who act to cut their carbon emissions really start to pay off. It's no longer simply about doing the right thing for the environment, it's now a sure-fire financial investment," said UK energy and climate secretary Ed Miliband.

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

A survey published on Monday by energy supplier npower found that nearly half of UK businesses affected by the CRCEES are unaware of how to forecast their emissions or buy credits, and called government guidance "inadequate."

"Businesses have been consulted on the scheme for more than a year and most have known it was coming for longer than that. Though it launches today, firms still have six months to register and are not required to buy credits for another year," said a DECC spokeswoman.

"We will continue to communicate extensively ahead of the September deadline."

An annual league table will highlight the performance of all CRCEES participants, with companies that have cut their energy usage the most getting a bonus payment transferred from companies that have made the least progress.

The bonus/penalty will start at 10 percent of total energy expenditure in 2010 and grow to 50 percent in 2015.

DECC said the revenue-neutral scheme will raise the worst performing companies' energy costs, which it said were typically around 1 percent of total overhead, by 10 percent while other companies save money on power bills or profit through bonuses.

PwC forecast these costs to be higher, with the average firm seeing a 4-6 percent rise in energy bills by 2011 and the worst performers incurring an increase of nearly 20 percent by 2015.

The advisory firm said the top performers could cut energy bills by 8 percent by 2015, saving upwards of 150,000 pounds.

(Reporting by Michael Szabo; Editing by David Gregorio)


[Green Business]
John Crawley and Soyoung Kim - Analysis
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK
Wed Mar 31, 2010 6:11pm EDT
Fuel rules spur hybrids, auto engine efficiency

(Reuters) - Industry will build cleaner-burning diesel cars, plug-in hybrids and more efficient gasoline engines to achieve the 42 percent increase in fuel efficiency mandated by the U.S. government for 2016.

The initiative mandated by Congress and toughened by the Obama administration over the past year represents the first meaningful increase in fuel mileage targets since their introduction in the 1970s. It also will be the first federal effort to regulate tailpipe emissions.

New standards drafted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Transportation Department to be unveiled in Washington on Thursday will be phased in starting with the 2012 model year.

They will raise fuel economy gradually each year to a fleet average 35.5 miles per gallon for 2016 models. That is up 42 percent from the current 25 mpg.

Higher mileage requirements aim to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 900 million metric tons and save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the life of vehicles built through 2016.

That is equivalent to taking 58 million cars off the road for a year, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday in an address on energy policy initiatives that include higher fuel mileage goals and plans to expand U.S. offshore oil and gas drilling.

"Overall, this is a huge step forward. It's the biggest thing this government has done to reduce consumption of oil and curb global warming pollution," said Ann Mesnikoff, transportation expert at the Sierra Club.

Brian Carolin, senior sales and marketing vice president for the North American unit of Nissan Motor Co, said the new rules present each company with challenges.

"All of these regulations are tough," Carolin told Reuters in an interview at the New York auto show. "Ford has their own road map to get there. We will have our own unique solution."

Industry insiders say U.S. and overseas carmakers have to pull all their levers to meet the new Obama fuel standards, which for each company is an average of their fleet performance.

Consumers already have choices that come close, meet or exceed the 2016 standard, mainly from the gasoline-electric hybrid designs.

The 2010 Prius hybrid sedan made by Toyota Motor Corp averages 51 mpg in city driving and 48 mpg on the highway, according to EPA. The Ford Motor Co Fusion hybrid gets 41/36 mpg and the Honda Motor Co Civic hybrid achieves 40/45 mpg.

All electric cars or those designed to run predominantly in electric mode are also part of the mix. Nissan plans to launch the Leaf in December and General Motors Co is getting ready to roll out the Volt.

But the hybrid and electric U.S. sales markets are narrow now, and their future mass appeal is not known even with gasoline prices projected to top $3 per gallon this summer.

Karl Brauer, editor in chief at automotive researcher Edmunds.com, said consumer demands to save money at the pump is embedded in manufacturer product planning. Automakers are focused very hard on improving conventional engines and transmission systems to realize noticeable gains.

"I don't think there is one of them that hasn't made strides," Brauer said. "Things that were exotic technology five or 10 years ago are now mainstream."

For instance, manufacturers are making smaller engines more powerful, fuel delivery systems are advancing, and transmissions include added gearing to improve efficiency.

Suppliers have a large role in driving change with new component designs.

Volkswagen and Germany's BMW AG, the world's largest maker of luxury vehicles, are aggressively trying to popularize clean diesel technology in the United States as a gasoline alternative.

In highway driving, the Ford Focus gets 35 mpg and the Chevy Malibu, 33 mpg. The Volkswagen Jetta tops out at 42 mpg.

A challenge for carmakers is to deliver the changes at costs that do not drive away consumers. Generous state and federal tax credits worth thousands of dollars for car owners will help push hybrid and electric car sales.

Production changes related to the new government fuel and emissions goals are expected to add an estimated $1,300 to the price of a car, on average.

"We will need consumers to buy lots of these high mileage cars to meet the standards," said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the trade group representing GM, Ford and other carmakers, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

"We have to use every tool that we have. There is no single technology that is going to get us there," Bergquist said.

(Additional reporting by Deepa Seetharaman in New York and Tom Doggett in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio)

news20100401reut7

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
Kristen Hays
HOUSTON
Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:48pm EDT
ConocoPhillips, Shell to expand Alaska drilling

(Reuters) - Oil companies with their sights on drilling for oil off Alaska on Wednesday said President Barack Obama's offshore oil announcement allows them to press ahead with big projects there.

Two companies -- Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips -- have spent large sums to secure drilling rights in the remote Chukchi Sea, only to see their plans put on hold by court challenges.

Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil Co, Shell's U.S. arm, said Obama's plan clears the way for the company to begin exploration drilling this year off Alaska's northwestern coast.

"This is actually good news for us in Alaska. It's certainly something we've been looking forward to," Odum said at a news conference on Wednesday announcing the startup of the company's Perdido oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

Shell is the largest leaseholder in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off the north shore of Alaska, which could be home to some of the most prolific, undiscovered U.S. hydrocarbon basins.

Shell spent $2.1 billion for Chukchi Sea leases in 2008, and ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil company, spent $506 million for its Chukchi leases the same year.

ConocoPhillips spokesman John Roper said Obama's plan allows the company to proceed after a U.S. appeals court ruling last year ordered an environmental review of Chukchi and neighboring Beaufort areas.

"Our understanding is that today's announcement means exploration and development of existing Chukchi and Beaufort leases can proceed," Roper said.

The company's initial exploration of Chukchi leases is slated for the summer of 2012, Roper said. ConocoPhillips has spent tens of millions of dollars on environmental studies.

In January Statoil, Norway's government-owned oil and gas company, bought a 25 percent interest in ConocoPhillips' Chukchi leases. Statoil also has 16 leases there.

The Obama administration's plan said exploration drilling in leased areas could begin as early as this summer. However, the plan nixed four future lease sales in the current 2007-2012 plan.

Odum was nonchalant about the removal of those lease sales.

"That's acceptable because there are quite a few leases already," he said. "We have plenty of work to do for a couple of years to execute that program."

The Chukchi, between northwest Alaska and northeastern Siberia, is believed to hold 15 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to U.S. government estimates.

(Editing by Lisa Shumaker)