U.S. exchange’s CO2 cap-and-trade to end: report

According to Reuters, “The United States’ only national carbon trading scheme could be shut down within months because of stalled emissions trading laws in Congress, the Financial Times newspaper on Tuesday quoted a senior exchange official as saying. The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) operates what it calls a voluntary but legally binding greenhouse gas emissions [...]

Germany arrests 4 in CO2 probe, 50 more suspects

According to Reuters, “Frankfurt prosecutors said on Friday they had arrested four people in Germany and Britain in connection with suspected tax evasion in carbon permit trading and 50 more people were being investigated. He declined to name individuals, as is customary under German law. Deutsche Bank said seven of its employees were suspects in [...]

France to propose new carbon tax: minister

According to Reuters, “The French Constitutional Council annulled the tax, hailed by President Nicolas Sarkozy as a ground-breaking tool to fight climate change, on Tuesday on the grounds that it offered too many exemptions. After the Constitutional Council complained that some 93 percent of industrial emissions were exempt from the tax, Lagarde told French radio [...]

Obama surprises with Copenhagen summit decision

According to Reuters, “Obama was originally scheduled to attend the December 7-18 summit in Denmark on Wednesday before traveling to nearby Oslo to collect his Nobel Peace Prize. Some European officials and environmentalists had expressed surprise at the initial decision, pointing out most of the hard bargaining on cutting greenhouse gas emissions would likely take [...]

Ed Miliband statement to the House on the draft National Policy Statements

According to the Transcript, “With permission, I would like to make a statement about the energy National Policy Statements and our proposals on clean coal.  In the summer, we published the Low Carbon Transition Plan, which explained how we would meet our commitments to carbon reduction for 2020 and beyond. New infrastructure is being provided [...]

Japan mulls early emission limits: report

According to the AFP, “Japan’s new government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama plans to introduce a mandatory cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions system as early as 2011, a report said Sunday. A cabinet committee is likely to discuss the issue Sunday in an effort to reach Hatoyama’s stated goal of reducing emissions by 25 percent [...]