Financial Regulatory Forum

By David Fogarty, Climate Change Correspondent, Asia

SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Australia is now much more likely to introduce a price on planet-warming carbon pollution after support by independents and Greens returned the Labor Party to office on Tuesday.

Independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor backed Labor on Tuesday, with climate change among their top issues, ending a 17-day wait after an inconclusive Aug. 21 election left neither major party with a majority in the lower house of parliament.

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By Michael Szabo

COLOGNE, Germany May 28 (Reuters) – Major changes proposed to the European Union’s emissions market could dramatically alter the landscape for traders, who are increasingly frustrated by regulatory uncertainty and political stalemate.

A deeper 2020 EU greenhouse gas reduction commitment, qualitative and quantitative restrictions on carbon offset eligibility and details on carbon permit auctioning in the scheme’s third phase are among the decisions expected to be made this year by the 27-nation bloc’s executive.

But policymakers at this week’s annual Carbon Expo conference in Cologne were tight-lipped, and the uncertainty caused gloom among traders.

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on Tuesday a proposed economy-wide cap-and-trade system for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases was dead and would be replaced in a new bill.

Graham, a Republican, did not specify whether cap-and-trade might be used to control emissions in just one sector, such as utility companies, instead of earlier efforts for an economy-wide mechanism.

“The cap-and-trade bills in the House and Senate are dead. The concept of cap-and-trade is going to be replaced,” Graham said.

By Nina Chestney

LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) – The credibility of the European Union’s flagship carbon trading scheme was dealt another blow on Monday after carbon prices fell to six-month lows as U.N. talks in Copenhagen failed to deliver a strong climate deal.

Traders and analysts say low prices could continue well into 2010, slowing investment in low-carbon technologies which have already been dented by tight financing due to a slow economy.

“(The low price) reinforces the idea that relying solely on the EU ETS to drive investment is probably not the answer at the moment,” said Andy Kelly, head of business development at Centrica.

 By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON, Dec 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday cleared the way for regulation of greenhouse gases without new laws passed by Congress, reflecting President Barack Obama’s commitment to act on climate change as a major summit opened in Copenhagen. 

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LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) – A United Nations climate panel has blocked carbon financing for around ten Chinese wind farms on Friday over concerns that they are financially viable without receiving carbon offsets, the panel said.

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