In this edition, Bloomberg New Energy Finance crunches U.N. carbon offsets issuance numbers and predicts a rise in supply due to, as BNEF analyst Richard Chatterton says, a rush to “monetize credits for the first Kyoto commitment period while they still have the chance.” Outside of the carbon markets, focus remains on the pending U.S. Keystone decision, with President Obama under fire from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to approve the pipeline after Friday’s State Department findings showed limited significant environmental harm—findings that environmental groups argue weren’t generated by a completely neutral process.
Quote of the Day:
“Here’s a project that essentially wouldn’t cost the taxpayers a dime to build, that would have almost no net environmental effect, and that would put thousands of Americans to work right away. Yet, the President has delayed and delayed for more than five years now. Not because the project really needs to be studied further, but because of pressure from the most doctrinaire fringe of the doctrinaire left.”
–U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in The Hill’s “McConnell demands Obama approve Keystone pipeline”
Lead Stories
McConnell demands Obama approve Keystone pipeline
The Hill
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called on President Obama Monday to approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
http://jlne.ws/MTVPnv
UN Carbon Supply May Rise as Sellers Rush to Beat 2015 Deadlines
Bloomberg
Supply of United Nations carbon offsets may rise after February as owners of offsets rush to sell them before their eligibility ends in the European Union’s market in March 2015, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
http://jlne.ws/MqFPZk
COLUMN-EU weighs competitiveness and climate policy: Kemp
Reuters
“I don’t want us to be the only people out there in front of the rest of the world,” Britain’s finance minister George Osborne said last September, speaking about the country’s role in tackling climate change.
http://jlne.ws/1fCl5Zl
Industry Groups Fight Carbon Rules
Environmental Leader
Some 40 industry groups, led by the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce have partnered to oppose the EPA’s carbon emissions rules for power plants and other “poorly crafted GHG regulations.”
http://jlne.ws/1eOoNLN
In China’s war on bad air, government decision to release data gives fresh hope
The Washington Post
China’s Communist state is hardly known for its transparency. So when environmental groups appealed to the government last year to disclose official data on air pollution, they were not expecting much.
http://jlne.ws/1elAzlY
Spain Plans to Cap Return Earned by Clean Energy Plants at 7.4%
Bloomberg
Spain plans to set the return earned by renewable energy at 7.4 percent, moving to curb subsidies to an industry that got 50 billion euros ($68 billion) in the past decade, according to draft rules seen by Bloomberg News.
http://jlne.ws/1k59LbV
Firms Cut Costs, GHGs with EPA Climate Programs
Environmental Leader
US businesses prevented 365 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 by partnering with the EPA on climate protection programs, the agency says.
http://jlne.ws/1fHSeCu
Events
Climate Leadership Conference
Association of Climate Change Officers
February 24-26, 2014
San Diego, CA
climateleadershipconference.org/
The Microgrid, Distributed Energy, and Renewables: How They Work Together
February 25, 2014
New York
http://jlne.ws/1hTnxNR
Round Table: California Clean Energy Markets and Policy Strategies
EMA
February 28, 2014
San Francisco,CA
Click here for more information and to register.
Navigating the American Carbon World (NACW) 2014
March 26-28, 2014
San Francisco, California
www.nacw2014.org
GLOBE 2014
13th Biennial Conference and Trade Fair on Business and Sustainability
March 26-28, 2014
Vancouver, British Columbia
http://jlne.ws/1cAETLI
Natural Gas/Coal/Alternative Fuels
Novozymes Says India Biofuel Interest Doubled
Bloomberg
Novozymes A/S (NZYMB), the biggest producer of enzymes used for biofuels, says Indian interest doubled in the past year as costlier oil spurs demand for alternatives.
http://jlne.ws/1dnrC5m
Shale boom in U.S. weighs on Brazil petrochemical firms -Odebrecht
Reuters
A drop in natural gas prices caused by a shale gas boom in the United States is hurting Brazilian petrochemical company profits by reducing pricing power and making them less competitive, the head of the construction and industrial conglomerate Grupo Odebrecht SA said on Monday.
http://jlne.ws/1n7O4oC
Egypt forecasts gas shortage next fiscal year
Reuters
Egypt’s energy woes are likely to worsen in the next fiscal year as gas production fails to meet surging domestic demand, according to government estimates.
http://jlne.ws/1dntY4e
Power
Brazil Dams Seen Getting Little Rain as Dry Season Looms
Bloomberg
Brazilian hydro-power dams and crops are forecast to get below-average rain this month as low water levels push up electricity prices and coffee rallies on concern dryness will hurt output of the world’s top exporter.
http://jlne.ws/1cOyBJ7
**repeats in Water
Japan Utilities Offset Idled Reactor Losses by Lifting Rates
Bloomberg
Japanese utilities including Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) leaned on customer rate increases to boost their financial performances in the first nine months of their fiscal years, as idled nuclear plants kept fuel costs high.
http://jlne.ws/MTKaFe
Wpd Building 14.4 Megawatts of Wind Farms in Southern Ontario
Bloomberg
Wpd AG, a closely held German wind-power developer, is building two power plants totaling about 14.4 megawatts in southern Ontario.
http://jlne.ws/1fUlO6E
Vestas to raise more capital after turnaround
Reuters
After two years of cost-cutting, Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems on Monday forecast improved profitability in 2014 and used its strong share price performance to raise more than 450 million euros in new capital.
http://jlne.ws/1dZ5iz2
Water
Brazil Dams Seen Getting Little Rain as Dry Season Looms
Bloomberg
Brazilian hydro-power dams and crops are forecast to get below-average rain this month as low water levels push up electricity prices and coffee rallies on concern dryness will hurt output of the world’s top exporter.
http://jlne.ws/1cOyBJ7
**repeats in Power
House looks to help Calif. drought victims by easing Obama’s water restrictions
The Hill’s E2 Wire
The House will pass legislation next week that would restore the flow of water to farms, homes and businesses in California’s Central Valley, to help victims of what congressional Republicans say is a drought that is being made worse by the Obama administration.
http://jlne.ws/1etGhR4
Abu Dhabi Slowly Pursues Water-Conserving, Renewable Energy Path Circle of Blue
Just across an expanse of sand and highway, close to this capital city’s airport, lies a collection of modern buildings promoted here as the example incarnate of what’s possible when a nation fueled by oil decides that the supply of its primary natural and economic resource is finite. http://jlne.ws/1fCo0kM
Reports
California Carbon Market Watch: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Golden State’s Cap-and-Trade Program,Year One (January 8, 2014)
EDF
http://jlne.ws/1agCk0M
Assessing Corporate Emissions Performance Through the Lens of Climate Science (December 2013)
Climate Counts and Center for Sustainable Organizations
http://jlne.ws/1kZFzuA
Use of internal carbon price by companies as incentive and strategic planning tool (Posted December 11, 2013)
CDP
http://jlne.ws/1dspD1J
OECD: Effective carbon prices (November 4, 2013)
http://jlne.ws/176gahP
Global 500 Climate Change Report 2013 (Posted September 12, 2013)
CDP
http://bit.ly/16mBo8p
The Future of China’s Power Sector (posted August 27, 2013)
Bloomberg New Energy Finance
http://bit.ly/14Bk1k2
U.S. Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Extreme Weather (Posted July 14, 2013)
U.S. Dept. of Energy
http://bit.ly/12z1YK5
Turn down the heat: climate extremes, regional impacts, and the case for resilience (Posted June 19, 2013)
World Bank
http://bit.ly/14KrLza