Tag Archives: cap and trade

Told you so

Oh dear.  Yet another instance of the Bustard’s First Law of carbon pricing alive and kicking. Reuters reports that “California is considering handing out more allowances to energy intensive industry for free under the state’s emissions trading scheme to ease … Continue reading

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Late allocation is symptomatic of a deeper problem: the governance of the EU ETS

Each year companies in the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) receive an allocation of free allowances.  The due date for issuing the allowances is 28th February.  Member states, as the so-called “competent” authorities are obliged to issue these allowances … Continue reading

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Signal confusion

Does the EUA price constitute a signal or not?  Should it? Trevor Sikorsky of Barclays Capital argues in Barclays’ Quarterly Carbon Standard (26th March 2012) that: “It is expectations that drive such investment [in clean technology] … not current prices.” … Continue reading

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Brick wall policy

High energy prices could result in either recession or investment in cleantech. I imagined a car driving into a wall, say, in a film. In one film the car hits the wall and it’s written off. That’s the recession. In … Continue reading

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Clash of the titans: Birol, Stern and Günther.

The front page of the Financial Times today says: “Soaring oil prices risk recession”.  The chief economist of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, says that the high oil prices have the capacity to tip the global economy back into … Continue reading

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