[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
Gerard Wynn and Martin Howell
DAVOS, Switzerland
Thu Jan 28, 2010 1:23pm EST
U.S. cap and trade must take back seat: executives
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Business executives and policy officials said a U.S. cap and trade scheme must give way to a clean energy law, after U.S. President Barack Obama favored "green jobs" in his State of the Union Address.
Cap and trade works by limiting carbon emissions from polluters, which then pass on the extra cost to consumers. That model is proving a hard sell during a slow U.S. economic recovery.
Obama said on Wednesday he wanted to create more clean energy jobs and supported a "comprehensive energy and climate bill" in the Senate. But he didn't mention cap and trade.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a climate bill last year, featuring a cap and trade scheme, and is awaiting the passage of a similar Senate draft.
"I don't think that the House bill that passed will even be considered this year in the Senate," said Tom Donahue, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, noting that it was an election year and there were so many other priorities, including Obama's latest jobs plan.
"We are in search of a solid domestic bill, whether its cap and trade or cap and carbon tax or however these things are put together. We just don't want a bill like the one that came out of the House," he told Reuters on Thursday on the sidelines of a business and policy summit in the Davos Swiss ski resort.
The industry looby group ran a high-profile campaign against the House climate bill, losing some members as a result, but even businesses with big investments in green technology are now calling for a backing from cap and trade for now.
"There is so much on the plates of politicians and regulators in the United States it is hard for me to envisage a strong movement to have a cap and trade system in place in the next eight or nine months," said John Rice, a vice chairman of General Electric Co, who also serves as chief executive of its GE Technology Infrastructure division.
GE is a top wind turbine manufacturer and also has investments in solar.
"I would worry if we tried to push it through in this environment we would end up with a very incomplete solution, and I think it is more important that we are thoughtful about it and if we do it, we do it correctly," Rice said.
"You can see in the U.S. we are getting a backlash in a lot of areas and I just don't think it would be helpful."
The House bill passed a scheme which would force polluters to buy carbon emissions permits from an economy-wide quota which would be ratcheted down, to drive carbon cuts.
"It's the dumbest idea," said Timothy Wirth, former U.S. senator and now President of the U.N. Foundation, on the idea of forcing businesses to buy emissions permits.
He expected a modified scheme to pass eventually which may apply only to utilities without enforced permit auctions.
In the near term, analysts expected the United States to pass a slimmer energy bill without cap and trade, focused instead on targets for renewables and nuclear power.
"I do not believe that there will be legislation on climate any time soon in the U.S., but they will address clean energy and that will have very good benefits for the climate," said Bjorn Stigson, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a green business lobby.
(Reporting by Martin Howell and Gerard Wynn, Editing by Stella Dawson)
[Green Business]
Gerard Wynn
DAVOS, Switzerland
Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:34am EST
Renewable power growth to beat coal: Alstom
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Power equipment maker Alstom expects demand for renewable and nuclear technologies to outstrip growth in coal and gas fired electricity projects, Chief Executive Patrick Kron said on Thursday.
"There will be a faster growth of non carbon dioxide emitting technologies, but there will also be a role in thermal (gas and coal) as part of the equation. There will be a move toward more efficient thermal plants," he said.
"Renewables and nuclear are likely to grow faster, but coal and gas will definitely grow," he added, declining to comment on which technologies Alstom expected to see greatest sales growth.
Alstom's sales of power plant turbines have suffered from a decline in electricity demand in 2009, the first year-on-year drop in global demand since 1945, said Kron.
Alstom's total orders should recover from lows seen last year but it is "not unlikely" that sales will fall in the 2010/11 reporting year because of the 2009 dip, he said.
"Over 2009 we had a slowdown in order intake as a number of customers delayed their investment decisions, because of the uncertainties," he said.
"As far as our order intakes were concerned we reached a type of low point in 2009 and now we will see how it goes."
The financial crisis has dampened energy demand growth in some countries, leading some plant builders to put off major investment projects, while smaller developers in the renewables sectors have struggled to get financing for projects.
But Kron was upbeat on prospects for long-term sales.
"Our market growth will remain steady over the medium and long term. There is a massive need for power generation," he said.
(Editing by Daniel Fineren and Jon Boyle)
[Green Business]
LONDON
Fri Jan 29, 2010 8:32am EST
EU carbon prices ease as financials continue to sell
LONDON (Reuters) - European carbon emissions futures eased in Friday's early trade, as financial institutions continued to sell to take profit from a recent rally.
EU Allowances for December delivery were down 19 cents or 1.45 percent at 12.95 euros ($18.18) a tonne at 0808 GMT. Volume was light at 1,208 lots traded.
"After a slow start, we saw a flurry of trading as sellers started to appear. There is some short-term profit taking from financials and a small amount of utility buying lending support," said Andy Ager, head of emissions trading at Bache Commodities.
EUAs opened unchanged from the previous session's close. A bout of selling pushed prices down to 12.90 before utilities lent support to push prices back toward 13 euros, Ager said.
EUAs lost ground on Thursday as lower German power prices weighed and speculators took profit following a recent rally in prices.
Heavy selling from financial institutions wiped out support from utilities who had been buying EUAs based on firmer British natural gas prices for winter and spring.
Some traders suggested the selling had been sparked by industrial companies selling small volumes of excess EUAs.
"Looks like the expected industrial flow is coming through gradually and giving some selling signals to financials," a trader said. Other traders agreed that industrial selling was happening, but in a much subtler way than last February when prices sank to 8 euros.
Spot EUAs on BlueNext were down 16 cents or 1.23 percent at 12.80 euros a tonne on Friday.
German Calendar 2010 baseload power was up 50 cents or 1.02 percent at 49.35 euros per megawatt hour.
Oil was steady near $74 on Friday, headed for a third consecutive weekly drop, as the recovery of the U.S. economy has yet to boost fuel demand.
Certified emissions reductions were down 11 cents or 0.95 percent at 11.43 euros a tonne.
The Obama Administration formally embraced the Copenhagen Accord on global warming on Thursday, a day after the president urged a fractious U.S. Congress to get to work on comprehensive legislation to stem the nation's emissions.
(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by XXX)
[Green Business]
Gerard Wynn and Martin Howell
DAVOS, Switzerland
Thu Jan 28, 2010 1:23pm EST
U.S. cap and trade must take back seat: executives
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Business executives and policy officials said a U.S. cap and trade scheme must give way to a clean energy law, after U.S. President Barack Obama favored "green jobs" in his State of the Union Address.
Cap and trade works by limiting carbon emissions from polluters, which then pass on the extra cost to consumers. That model is proving a hard sell during a slow U.S. economic recovery.
Obama said on Wednesday he wanted to create more clean energy jobs and supported a "comprehensive energy and climate bill" in the Senate. But he didn't mention cap and trade.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a climate bill last year, featuring a cap and trade scheme, and is awaiting the passage of a similar Senate draft.
"I don't think that the House bill that passed will even be considered this year in the Senate," said Tom Donahue, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, noting that it was an election year and there were so many other priorities, including Obama's latest jobs plan.
"We are in search of a solid domestic bill, whether its cap and trade or cap and carbon tax or however these things are put together. We just don't want a bill like the one that came out of the House," he told Reuters on Thursday on the sidelines of a business and policy summit in the Davos Swiss ski resort.
The industry looby group ran a high-profile campaign against the House climate bill, losing some members as a result, but even businesses with big investments in green technology are now calling for a backing from cap and trade for now.
"There is so much on the plates of politicians and regulators in the United States it is hard for me to envisage a strong movement to have a cap and trade system in place in the next eight or nine months," said John Rice, a vice chairman of General Electric Co, who also serves as chief executive of its GE Technology Infrastructure division.
GE is a top wind turbine manufacturer and also has investments in solar.
"I would worry if we tried to push it through in this environment we would end up with a very incomplete solution, and I think it is more important that we are thoughtful about it and if we do it, we do it correctly," Rice said.
"You can see in the U.S. we are getting a backlash in a lot of areas and I just don't think it would be helpful."
The House bill passed a scheme which would force polluters to buy carbon emissions permits from an economy-wide quota which would be ratcheted down, to drive carbon cuts.
"It's the dumbest idea," said Timothy Wirth, former U.S. senator and now President of the U.N. Foundation, on the idea of forcing businesses to buy emissions permits.
He expected a modified scheme to pass eventually which may apply only to utilities without enforced permit auctions.
In the near term, analysts expected the United States to pass a slimmer energy bill without cap and trade, focused instead on targets for renewables and nuclear power.
"I do not believe that there will be legislation on climate any time soon in the U.S., but they will address clean energy and that will have very good benefits for the climate," said Bjorn Stigson, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a green business lobby.
(Reporting by Martin Howell and Gerard Wynn, Editing by Stella Dawson)
[Green Business]
Gerard Wynn
DAVOS, Switzerland
Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:34am EST
Renewable power growth to beat coal: Alstom
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Power equipment maker Alstom expects demand for renewable and nuclear technologies to outstrip growth in coal and gas fired electricity projects, Chief Executive Patrick Kron said on Thursday.
"There will be a faster growth of non carbon dioxide emitting technologies, but there will also be a role in thermal (gas and coal) as part of the equation. There will be a move toward more efficient thermal plants," he said.
"Renewables and nuclear are likely to grow faster, but coal and gas will definitely grow," he added, declining to comment on which technologies Alstom expected to see greatest sales growth.
Alstom's sales of power plant turbines have suffered from a decline in electricity demand in 2009, the first year-on-year drop in global demand since 1945, said Kron.
Alstom's total orders should recover from lows seen last year but it is "not unlikely" that sales will fall in the 2010/11 reporting year because of the 2009 dip, he said.
"Over 2009 we had a slowdown in order intake as a number of customers delayed their investment decisions, because of the uncertainties," he said.
"As far as our order intakes were concerned we reached a type of low point in 2009 and now we will see how it goes."
The financial crisis has dampened energy demand growth in some countries, leading some plant builders to put off major investment projects, while smaller developers in the renewables sectors have struggled to get financing for projects.
But Kron was upbeat on prospects for long-term sales.
"Our market growth will remain steady over the medium and long term. There is a massive need for power generation," he said.
(Editing by Daniel Fineren and Jon Boyle)
[Green Business]
LONDON
Fri Jan 29, 2010 8:32am EST
EU carbon prices ease as financials continue to sell
LONDON (Reuters) - European carbon emissions futures eased in Friday's early trade, as financial institutions continued to sell to take profit from a recent rally.
EU Allowances for December delivery were down 19 cents or 1.45 percent at 12.95 euros ($18.18) a tonne at 0808 GMT. Volume was light at 1,208 lots traded.
"After a slow start, we saw a flurry of trading as sellers started to appear. There is some short-term profit taking from financials and a small amount of utility buying lending support," said Andy Ager, head of emissions trading at Bache Commodities.
EUAs opened unchanged from the previous session's close. A bout of selling pushed prices down to 12.90 before utilities lent support to push prices back toward 13 euros, Ager said.
EUAs lost ground on Thursday as lower German power prices weighed and speculators took profit following a recent rally in prices.
Heavy selling from financial institutions wiped out support from utilities who had been buying EUAs based on firmer British natural gas prices for winter and spring.
Some traders suggested the selling had been sparked by industrial companies selling small volumes of excess EUAs.
"Looks like the expected industrial flow is coming through gradually and giving some selling signals to financials," a trader said. Other traders agreed that industrial selling was happening, but in a much subtler way than last February when prices sank to 8 euros.
Spot EUAs on BlueNext were down 16 cents or 1.23 percent at 12.80 euros a tonne on Friday.
German Calendar 2010 baseload power was up 50 cents or 1.02 percent at 49.35 euros per megawatt hour.
Oil was steady near $74 on Friday, headed for a third consecutive weekly drop, as the recovery of the U.S. economy has yet to boost fuel demand.
Certified emissions reductions were down 11 cents or 0.95 percent at 11.43 euros a tonne.
The Obama Administration formally embraced the Copenhagen Accord on global warming on Thursday, a day after the president urged a fractious U.S. Congress to get to work on comprehensive legislation to stem the nation's emissions.
(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by XXX)
※コメント投稿者のブログIDはブログ作成者のみに通知されます