[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
Primary CER carbon prices near 6 mth low: analysts
Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:44am EST
LONDON (Reuters) - Primary market prices for carbon offsets generated by clean energy projects under the Kyoto Protocol fell to their lowest level since July, analysts IDEAcarbon said late on Friday.
Prices for the U.N.-approved Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) generated by advanced-stage projects, which present the lowest delivery risk, fell to 10.51 euros ($15.80) a tonne, 1.57 euros below market resale rates.
Average prices across all risk scenarios for pre-2012 delivery CERs dropped to 8.99 euros.
CER prices are closely correlated to European Union carbon permit prices. Benchmark EU permits hit a 5-month low of 12.47 euros last Wednesday on increased selling pressure from industrial firms and softer energy prices.
Through the $6.5 billion primary market for carbon offsets under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism, companies can invest in clean energy projects in emerging nations like China and India, and in return receive CERs which can be used toward greenhouse gas emissions targets or sold for profit.
Primary CERs are now at their lowest levels since July 9 while secondary market prices, finishing last week at 12.08 euros, gained 4.2 percent since last Tuesday.
CER prices were also pressured by investor concerns over upcoming climate talks, IDEAcarbon said.
"The buy-sell ranges for all CER risk scenarios except (post-2012 delivery) widened again this week ... a sign that participants are beginning to look away from commercial negotiations toward the political talks," IDEAcarbon said.
Delegates from over 190 nations will meet at a U.N.-backed climate summit in Copenhagen next week to hash out a successor agreement to the Kyoto climate pact, which expires in 2012.
The talks have run out of time to settle a legally-binding global deal after arguments between rich and poor nations about who should cut emissions, by how much and who should pay.
"The CER market has yet to draw any solace from the statements from the United States and China, outlining the positions they intend to take to Copenhagen," IDEAcarbon added.
Last Thursday, China unveiled its first firm target to curb greenhouse gas emissions, a day after the United States pledged to cut its 2005 emissions by 17 percent by 2020.
China, the top emitter of greenhouse gases from human activity, said it would cut the amount of carbon dioxide produced per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels.
IDEAcarbon said it expects the primary CER market to quiet ahead of the climate talks and as the holiday season approaches.
[Green Business]
Scan Energy lowers expectations for IPO
Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:46am EST
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Wind and solar park developer Scan Energy cut its expectations for what will likely be the second-largest initial public offering in Germany in 2009, after Hochtief also hit a cautious note on its planned unit IPO.
Danish Scan Energy on Monday said it had set the price range for the IPO at 9-13 euros ($13.43-19.41) per share and that this would generate gross issue proceeds of 158 million to 228 million euros, far less than the 228-280 million euros it had announced earlier this month.
The news came after the chief executive of Hochtief, Germany's largest builder, said the company reserved the right to put the planned IPO of its infrastructure unit on hold, should stock markets take a hit from the Dubai debt crisis.
Hochtief aims to raise as much as 1 billion euros by floating a minority stake its Concessions unit in what would be Germany's biggest IPO in two years.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz)
[Green Business]
German biodiesel firms say U.S. imports escape duty
Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:26am EST
By Michael Hogan
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's biodiesel industry, Europe's largest, is suffering from cheap U.S. imports of the green fuel which evade punitive European Union import duties, industry leaders said on Monday.
The EU in May imposed anti-subsidy duties on imports of biodiesel and fossil diesel/biofuel blends with more than 20 percent biodiesel content claiming they were sold at unfairly low prices because of U.S. biofuel subsidies.
But large imports of U.S. fossil diesel/biodiesel blends are still being made into the EU with a 19 percent biodiesel content which escapes EU anti-dumping duties, said Norbert Heim, chief executive of German oilseeds industry association Ufop.
"Such imports are not being sold directly on the market but are being blended with other fuels to achieve the required biodiesel level," Heim said during a conference on biofuels organized by Ufop and German bioenergy association BBE.
Imports were largely being made via Rotterdam, Heim said.
Tonnages of 19 percent biodiesel content blends being imported were unclear but the trend was being felt by Germany's biodiesel industry, already suffering from falling demand due to high German taxes on green fuels, said Ufop chairman Klaus Kliem.
Germany's biodiesel industry will support plans by European biodiesel association EBB to ask the EU to extend the punitive duties on U.S. imports, Kliem said.
NEW GERMAN GOVERNMENT DISAPPOINTS
Germany's new government elected in September had promised to review the country's controversial green fuel taxes to revive the depressed biofuels industry.
But the industry was disappointed that the new government was only proposing to freeze biodiesel taxes at their current level of 18 euro cents a liter and cancel tax rises planned for 2010, said BBE chairman Helmut Lamp.
The industry needed a tax reduction to 10 cents a liter to revive sales of pure biodiesel at petrol stations, Lamp said. "Commercially-economic production of biodiesel and vegetable oil fuels is not possible at the current 18 cent tax level."
German sales of pure biodiesel at petrol stations were likely to fall to only about 200,000 tons from 1.1 million tons in 2008, he said.
Only about 100 to 150 German petrol stations sell biodiesel, down from a peak of about 1,900 two years ago.
Green fuel producers argue biodiesel needs to be around 10 cents a liter cheaper than fossil diesel as vehicles consume more.
The pro-business FDP party, the junior member of the new government coalition, on Monday called for a biofuels tax cut. FDP agricultural spokeswoman Christel Happach-Kasan said a freeze in taxes was not enough to revive Germany's biofuels market.
(Editing by James Jukwey)
[Green Business]
Primary CER carbon prices near 6 mth low: analysts
Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:44am EST
LONDON (Reuters) - Primary market prices for carbon offsets generated by clean energy projects under the Kyoto Protocol fell to their lowest level since July, analysts IDEAcarbon said late on Friday.
Prices for the U.N.-approved Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) generated by advanced-stage projects, which present the lowest delivery risk, fell to 10.51 euros ($15.80) a tonne, 1.57 euros below market resale rates.
Average prices across all risk scenarios for pre-2012 delivery CERs dropped to 8.99 euros.
CER prices are closely correlated to European Union carbon permit prices. Benchmark EU permits hit a 5-month low of 12.47 euros last Wednesday on increased selling pressure from industrial firms and softer energy prices.
Through the $6.5 billion primary market for carbon offsets under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism, companies can invest in clean energy projects in emerging nations like China and India, and in return receive CERs which can be used toward greenhouse gas emissions targets or sold for profit.
Primary CERs are now at their lowest levels since July 9 while secondary market prices, finishing last week at 12.08 euros, gained 4.2 percent since last Tuesday.
CER prices were also pressured by investor concerns over upcoming climate talks, IDEAcarbon said.
"The buy-sell ranges for all CER risk scenarios except (post-2012 delivery) widened again this week ... a sign that participants are beginning to look away from commercial negotiations toward the political talks," IDEAcarbon said.
Delegates from over 190 nations will meet at a U.N.-backed climate summit in Copenhagen next week to hash out a successor agreement to the Kyoto climate pact, which expires in 2012.
The talks have run out of time to settle a legally-binding global deal after arguments between rich and poor nations about who should cut emissions, by how much and who should pay.
"The CER market has yet to draw any solace from the statements from the United States and China, outlining the positions they intend to take to Copenhagen," IDEAcarbon added.
Last Thursday, China unveiled its first firm target to curb greenhouse gas emissions, a day after the United States pledged to cut its 2005 emissions by 17 percent by 2020.
China, the top emitter of greenhouse gases from human activity, said it would cut the amount of carbon dioxide produced per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels.
IDEAcarbon said it expects the primary CER market to quiet ahead of the climate talks and as the holiday season approaches.
[Green Business]
Scan Energy lowers expectations for IPO
Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:46am EST
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Wind and solar park developer Scan Energy cut its expectations for what will likely be the second-largest initial public offering in Germany in 2009, after Hochtief also hit a cautious note on its planned unit IPO.
Danish Scan Energy on Monday said it had set the price range for the IPO at 9-13 euros ($13.43-19.41) per share and that this would generate gross issue proceeds of 158 million to 228 million euros, far less than the 228-280 million euros it had announced earlier this month.
The news came after the chief executive of Hochtief, Germany's largest builder, said the company reserved the right to put the planned IPO of its infrastructure unit on hold, should stock markets take a hit from the Dubai debt crisis.
Hochtief aims to raise as much as 1 billion euros by floating a minority stake its Concessions unit in what would be Germany's biggest IPO in two years.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz)
[Green Business]
German biodiesel firms say U.S. imports escape duty
Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:26am EST
By Michael Hogan
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's biodiesel industry, Europe's largest, is suffering from cheap U.S. imports of the green fuel which evade punitive European Union import duties, industry leaders said on Monday.
The EU in May imposed anti-subsidy duties on imports of biodiesel and fossil diesel/biofuel blends with more than 20 percent biodiesel content claiming they were sold at unfairly low prices because of U.S. biofuel subsidies.
But large imports of U.S. fossil diesel/biodiesel blends are still being made into the EU with a 19 percent biodiesel content which escapes EU anti-dumping duties, said Norbert Heim, chief executive of German oilseeds industry association Ufop.
"Such imports are not being sold directly on the market but are being blended with other fuels to achieve the required biodiesel level," Heim said during a conference on biofuels organized by Ufop and German bioenergy association BBE.
Imports were largely being made via Rotterdam, Heim said.
Tonnages of 19 percent biodiesel content blends being imported were unclear but the trend was being felt by Germany's biodiesel industry, already suffering from falling demand due to high German taxes on green fuels, said Ufop chairman Klaus Kliem.
Germany's biodiesel industry will support plans by European biodiesel association EBB to ask the EU to extend the punitive duties on U.S. imports, Kliem said.
NEW GERMAN GOVERNMENT DISAPPOINTS
Germany's new government elected in September had promised to review the country's controversial green fuel taxes to revive the depressed biofuels industry.
But the industry was disappointed that the new government was only proposing to freeze biodiesel taxes at their current level of 18 euro cents a liter and cancel tax rises planned for 2010, said BBE chairman Helmut Lamp.
The industry needed a tax reduction to 10 cents a liter to revive sales of pure biodiesel at petrol stations, Lamp said. "Commercially-economic production of biodiesel and vegetable oil fuels is not possible at the current 18 cent tax level."
German sales of pure biodiesel at petrol stations were likely to fall to only about 200,000 tons from 1.1 million tons in 2008, he said.
Only about 100 to 150 German petrol stations sell biodiesel, down from a peak of about 1,900 two years ago.
Green fuel producers argue biodiesel needs to be around 10 cents a liter cheaper than fossil diesel as vehicles consume more.
The pro-business FDP party, the junior member of the new government coalition, on Monday called for a biofuels tax cut. FDP agricultural spokeswoman Christel Happach-Kasan said a freeze in taxes was not enough to revive Germany's biofuels market.
(Editing by James Jukwey)
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