Carbon Offsets Daily

The market for Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) or the carbon credits issued by the UN's (CDM), when the Lieberman-Warner bill was amended to make provision for US industries to purchase international carbon offsets. The prices increased throughout May and their as well..

New concerns over supply of the Kyoto CDM carbon credits, bullish signals on demand and the rising world oil price have combined to push up the price of issued CERs on the secondary market by almost 20 per cent since April 30.

The rising CER prices can be attributed primarily to the ever-increasing gas prices, which have led to an increase in demand for coal in Europe. This in turn has rendered EU carbon emissions permits more expensive, affecting the CER secondary market. In addition, the recent earthquake in China -the leading supplier of CERs, has imposed fueling the price hike.

The governments of Ontario and Quebec have to set up an inter-provincial carbon trading market. Initiated by the premiers of Ontario and Quebec - Dalton McGunity and and Jean Charest respectively, the market is slated to go live by 2010.  The carbon trading would be based on the cap-and-trade system and would use the as the baseline, with the aim to reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels.

But the plan has been for not having a proper regulatory mechanism, among other reasons. However, the federal government's plan for bringing about reductions in the greenhouse emissions, that uses a 2006 benchmark, is not only incompatible with what exists in other countries but also inadequate..

...The Quebec-Ontario system opts for "real reductions" in emissions as opposed to the federal government's much criticized "intensity-based" plan, which links reductions to productivity and which environmentalists say does not go far enough toward cutting emissions associated with climate change.

Let's hope that they are able to reach a resolution soon enough and adopt a unified approach to solving the problem of global warming, instead of a fragmented one. Meanwhile, in the United States, continue to shape the future of the carbon market here.

The White House is to the climate change bill that is being debated  by the US Senate this week. The legislation, referred to as the Lieberman-Warner bill after its sponsors, Senators Joseph Liebrman and John Warner, recommends a "cap-and-trade" system. The system would stipulate a cap on industrial carbon emissions and allow industries to trade carbon credits. The United States is the only developed country that is not part of the carbon-capping and the adoption of the climate bill will help reign in its global warming emissions by 66 per cent by the year 2050.

However, President George Bush warned the lawmakers that the bill would cost the American economy six trillion dollars. Speaking against the bill, he said "You know, there's a much better way to address the environment than imposing these costs on the job creators, which will ultimately have to be borne by American consumers."

But what would be the cost of NOT passing the bill, we wonder.

reports that a group of US scientists, led by a physicist at Columbia University in New York, is working towards creating a device that will "suck" or extract carbon-dioxide from the air. They say that a prototype of the machine should be ready in two years time. Previous attempts at creating such machines (or scrubbers) were in vain due to their high energy requirements. However, Lackner and his team claim that they will use changes in humidity to tackle this problem:

... The team says it can trap the CO2 from air on absorbent plastic sheets called ion exchange membranes, commonly used to purify water. Crucially, it has discovered that humid air can then make the membranes "exhale" their trapped CO2.

They still need to work out how exactly the carbon-dioxide captured by the device will be disposed off. Tentative solutions include using the CO2 in greenhouses for plant growth or to grow algae which could be used for food, fertilizer or fuel.

Lackner admits that their invention will not serve as a panacea for the problem of global warming. However, 

... the team says the technology may be the best way to avert dangerous temperature rises, as fossil fuel use is predicted to increase sharply in coming decades despite international efforts.

 

The Montreal Climate Exchange (MCeX), Canada’s first regulated environmental market was A joint venture between the and the , the MCeX will begin trading futures contracts in carbon dioxide equivalent units. Carbon credits will be given to the exchange members who are able to meet or exceed emission reduction targets, and they will be able to sell the credits through the exchange at market value to those who fall short of the target.

Luc Bertrand, the President and CEO of the Montreal Exchange and the Chairman of the MCeX said "Our goal is to position MCeX as a leading developer of market solutions that help industry reduce greenhouse gas emissions as efficiently as possible." With Canada's energy consumption and thus emissions among the highest in the world, if the MCeX is indeed able to accomplish its goal - the world will surely become a greener place.

Only a few days left for the on-line virtual tradeshow that began May 15th and concludes May 31st, 2008. They are giving away $5,000 to one of ten sustainable energy projects, each of which has sent in a video summary of their project.

PROJECT SUMMARIES: videos are available in the video section of the (you have to login) and text summaries are here:

1. Shelby Tyne- Greenway Farms - S. Africa – Biogas
Shelby installed a biogas collection system on his farm which now produces electricity and cooking gas. Against many obstacles he has persevered and is now showing other African farmers how to do the same.

2. Dan Robichaud - Canada - Solar Heater
Dan shows that anyone with a bit of initiative can create their own low-cost energy solution.  Taking personal initiative and publicly sharing his results he proves that individual action can have a larger system effect.

3. DAXU - China – Biomass
Burning crop waste instead of coal with a home stove design that increases cooking time while reducing smoke. Changing one stove from coal to biomass prevents over 8 tons/year of CO2.

4. Practical Action - Peru - Micro Hydro
Over 5 million people live in remote villages in the Andes with little to no access to electricity. Microhydro schemes keep people in villages allowing teachers and doctors to bring in computers and refrigeration - Local earnings have increased 60%.

5. AIDS - Philippines - Hydro pumps
Over 15,000 people now have access to clean and safe water and irrigation for crops. Clean water means that vegetables can be grown in dry season and people can keep livestock and fish ponds.

6. SKG - India - Biomass & Biogas
Using cow dung, village women produce electricity and then use the slurry to make fertilizer, providing a source of income and free time that has increased the education of their children.

7. BioTech - India – Biomass
As parts of S. India have grown in middle class, waste disposal has become a major problem. Biotech uses unwanted food waste to produce gas for cooking and electricity. Each plant replaces 1400 tons/yr of diesel which results in 3700 tons/ year of CO2 reduction.

8. Center for Rural Technology - Nepal - Micro Hydro
Processing grain requires women and children to carry heavy loads long distances to mills. Improved hydro mills cut the price of making flour in half and each improved mill replacing diesel offsets 2.4 tons/yr of CO2

9. Deng Ltd - Ghana - Solar PV Panels
Solar power now replaces kerosene lamps greatly reducing indoor toxic fumes which cause the majority of respiratory problems. 600 schools equipped with solar PV can now stay open at night for adult education.

10. SEEDS -Sri Lanka - Micro financing for Solar
Innovative microfinance schemes have financed over 52,000 solar home systems in rural areas of Sri Lanka, where average families had to spend 19% of their income on energy. SEEDS sets affordable monthly payments which are paid back over 1 to 4 years.