Australia records biggest carbon trade-trader

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SYDNEY, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Australia has recorded its largest carbon trade to date as trading in the over-the-counter carbon market gains momentum ahead of the introduction of a carbon pollution reduction scheme scheduled for mid-2010.

Carbon broker Newedge Australia said on Friday it had executed a trade of 50,000 tonnes sold forward at A$21.00 ($13.64) a tonne. It did not give details of the parties involved.

The transaction in Australian Emission Units (AEU) was for settlement on Nov. 1, 2011, making it the first transaction for 2011 settlement executed under Australia’s proposed cap-and-trade carbon emmissions trading scheme.

An AEU is the basic unit that can be traded under the scheme.

“It demonstrates growing activity as the scheme nears, and reflects price movements in European Certified Emission Reduction Units (CERs),” said Gary Cox, vice president commodities, energy at Newedge Australia.

The government announced in December it would allow polluters to import unlimited CERs to offset greenhouse gas emissions, effectively linking the price of AEUs to CERs.

CERs are issued under the Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism to clean energy projects in poorer nations and are traded on the European Climate Exchange.

CER prices have plunged about 60 percent in the past six months as pollutors such as steel makers cut production, reducing the demand for carbon credits to offset carbon emissions.