Carbon trading system has “suffered almost total collapse”.
2/6/2011 Guardian The UN carbon market is deeply dependent on the European emissions trading
system,because European heavy industries are the biggest buyers of UN carbon
credits.
The international market in carbon credits has suffered an almost total
collapse, with only $1.5bn (£916m) of credits traded last year - the lowest
since the market opened in 2005, according to a report from the World Bank.
A fledgling market in greenhouse gas emissions in the US also declined, and only
the European Union’s internal market in carbon remained healthy, worth $120bn.
However, leaked documents seen by the Guardian appear to show that even the EU’s
emissions trading system is in danger.
The international market in carbon credits was brought about under the Kyoto
protocol, as a way of injecting much-needed investment into low-carbon
technology in the developing world. Under the system, known as the clean
development mechanism, projects such as windfarms or solar panels in developing
countries are awarded carbon credits for every tonne of carbon avoided. These
credits are bought by rich countries to count towards their emissions reduction
targets.
From its start in 2005, when the Kyoto protocol finally came into force, to 2009
the system generated a total of $25bn for developing countries. But last year’s
$1.5bn was less even than the amount paid for credits in the first year of
operation.
“This bodes very badly for the countries we are trying to help,” said Andrew
Steer, envoy for climate change at the World Bank. “The [carbon] market is
failing us. It has done very good things in the past but it is not delivering
what we feel is necessary.”
If the poor performance continued, it would mean increasing greenhouse gas
emissions, he predicted. “We are heading for a 3C or 4C world [temperature
rise].”
Part of the problem is uncertainty over the future of the Kyoto protocol. The
current provisions of the 1997 treaty, which took years to come into force
because of wrangling among governments, are due to expire in 2012 and there is
no agreement yet on a continuation.
The US refuses to take part in the treaty, and Russia, Japan and Canada said at
the recent G8 meeting they would not continue under Kyoto.
The UN is now trying to ensure that the trade in credits continues even if the
protocol is not renewed. Christiana Figueres, the UN’s climate chief, said there
was broad agreement among countries that carbon trading should continue, but
said investors also needed to look beyond the carbon markets to ways of
financing emissions reductions independently of the protocol – for instance
through “green bonds” issued by governments or the World Bank.
Henry Derwent, chief executive of the International Emissions Trading
Association, said the relative health of the EU’s emissions trading system
showed that carbon trading was still going strong. He pointed out that the total
value of the carbon market was $142bn in 2010, of which 97% came from the EU.
“That is 1.5% smaller than [the previous year] during a period of turmoil. That
is no big deal,” he said. “The carbon market is working – it is still quite a
big thing.”
But the future of the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) is also in doubt,
according to leaked documents. If the EU meets its target of improving energy
efficiency by 20% by 2020, then the price of carbon permits under its trading
system is likely to fall dramatically. This will in turn make it less
financially attractive for companies to invest in low-carbon technologies.
Under the EU system, energy-intensive companies are awarded a quota of carbon
permits, each representing a tonne of CO2, and cleaner companies can sell their
spares to big emitters. The current price of about €17 a tonne is regarded as
too low to stimulate the investment in low-carbon technology envisaged under the
system, however, and any further falls would remove even more of the incentive
to clean up.
The UN carbon market is deeply dependent on the European system, because
European heavy industries are the biggest buyers of UN carbon credits, which
they can use to top up their own carbon quotas.
The European commission said: “Energy efficiency is key to reduce emissions. All
energy efficiency measures are welcome. This said, we have to make sure that the
energy measures are compatible with the ETS. This is why the commission proposed
in the 2050 roadmap to recalibrate the ETS cap and set aside a number - to be
determined - of [carbon] allowances for the next phase of the ETS from 2013 to
2020.”
Ruth Davis, chief policy adviser at Greenpeace UK, said: “A small group of dirty
companies have spent years trying to undermine the European emissions trading
scheme - in the process netting billions of euros of free polllution permits.
Now these same companies are arguing that Europe should ‘rescue’ the ETS by
abandoning its energy-saving plans. With global climate pollution going through
the roof, and the Arctic ice cap melting, only a lunatic would argue that now is
the time to waste more energy. The only ‘rescue package’ the scheme needs is a
new 30% emissions reduction target for the EU – a target supported by a a
growing movement of Europe’s biggest businesses and employers, including
Unilever, Google, Ikea and Vodaphone.”
Go to: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/01/world-bank-failing-carbon-markets?intcmp=122