Canceled coal plants show carbon trade is working, Barclays analyst says

By Mathew Carr - Sep 14, 2010 4:24 AM PT

Planned investment by European utilities and RWE AG’s cancellation of a coal plant in Poland demonstrates that emissions trading works, according to an analyst at the investment bank of Barclays Plc.

One European utility wants to boost its renewable energy capacity to 21 gigawatts by 2020 from 2.2 gigawatts this year, Trevor Sikorksi, a London-based analyst at Barclays Capital, said in a Sept. 13 research note, citing a speech at one of the bank’s conferences. He didn’t name the company.

Essen-based RWE plans to halt construction of the 800- megawatt coal-fired power plant near Katowice, southern Poland, showing “how extensively the investment behavior of companies in large-emitting sectors has changed with the introduction of the European Union emissions-trading system,” he said. The program started in 2005.

Canceled Coal Plants Show Carbon Trade Is Working, Barclays Analyst Says

Technorati Tags: coal,carbon market,Europe

European Parliament approves illegal timber ban

 

James Murray, BusinessGreen, Wednesday 7 July 2010 at 13:22:00

MEPs vote 644-25 in favour of legislation blocking the import and sale of illegally logged timber

Green groups celebrated today after the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation banning the import and sale of timber obtained through illegal logging.

The parliament voted 644-25 in favour of the legislation, paving the way for the rules to come into effect from 2012.

The regulations still need to be rubber stamped by the European Council of member states, although the final approval is expected to be a formality after the council signalled last month that it would support the legislation.

The new rules will close a loophole that has made it possible for European firms to import and sell timber that has been logged illegally in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia.

According to WWF, the trade is worth up to £700m a year, with up to a fifth of timber imported into the EU alleged to come from illegal sources.

Under the new regulations, all companies importing and selling timber in the EU will be required to demonstrate that they have exercised adequate due diligence to ensure their timber has been felled legally.

European environment commissioner Janez Potocnik welcomed the passage of the legislation, arguing that the regulations marked a significant step towards tackling illegal logging.

"Combating illegal logging will bring environmental and development benefits, " he said. "With this, we are sending a signal to the world that the EU will no longer serve as a market for illegally harvested timber." …

European Parliament approves illegal timber ban

Technorati Tags: deforestation,rainforest,Europe

Top French chefs take bluefin tuna off the menu

The move comes as some scientists predict that many of the fish we currently eat will be extinct by 2050.

Over the past few months, a cadre of top French chefs have pledged to keep bluefin tuna and other threatened fish species off the menu, whatever the cost.

With half of the fish eaten in Europe dished up in restaurants, it was high time for the food-loving nation's leading chefs to take a stand, said one of the country's greatest chefs, Olivier Roellinger.

Roellinger, celebrated for his fish and seaweed fare in western Brittany, took bluefin tuna -- aka red tuna -- off the menu five years ago.

Said Roellinger: "We have a responsibility towards all those who are in charge of feeding others, cooks but also mothers and even fathers, and must show them the way. They must be made aware that the sea, this natural larder, is in danger." …

"We chefs have played our part in this catastrophe," chef Gael Orieux said. "People tend to buy fish at the market that they've had at a restaurant. So my logic is to propose other fish that are less under threat, in order to influence consumers in their choices." …

Top French chefs take bluefin tuna off the menu

Technorati Tags: fish decline,overfishing,ocean overexploitation,Europe,tuna

EU mulls state aid to ease costs of cutting CO2

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is considering state aid to help companies deal with the risk of electricity prices rising as the EU clamps down on carbon emissions, a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed.

The measures are aimed at easing a stand-off with member states including Germany and Poland that fear big employers will simply move operations overseas to less regulated countries, rather than face the cost of cutting carbon at home.

The EU is now reviewing its flagship c, which caps how much CO2 industries may emit and makes them pay for permits to pollute.

"Aid could be reasoned to be necessary...where the costs of ETS burden companies to an extent that they would leave the EU," the document said.

EU mulls state aid to ease costs of cutting CO2
Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:10:10 GMT

Technorati Tags: European Union,carbon reduction,emissions trading

Tuna fishing to be cut by 30 pct over two years: EU

AFP - Bluefin tuna fishing will have to be cut by 30 percent over two years in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean under an international accord reached in Marrakesh, the European Commission said Tuesday.

Tuna fishing to be cut by 30 pct over two years: EU (AFP)
Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:14:42 GMT

Technorati Tags: tuna,overfishing,European Union