LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) – After a renewed crisis, the
European Union is embarking on a marathon reform of its carbon
market for rather small gains, and may find more success by
focusing on its next trading cycle after 2020.

The market, which has all but collapsed for the second time
in its brief existence, accounts for half the bloc’s greenhouse
gas emissions and is the main tool for meeting climate change
targets.

LONDON (Reuters) – The European Commission’s retreat from forcing airlines to pay for carbon emissions when flying in or out of the bloc puts huge faith in action by the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organisation.

The decision also brings risks of litigation by European operators.

It made sense to look for a compromise after China and India said they would not comply with a European Union emissions trading scheme (EU ETS).

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) – The European Commission’s retreat
from forcing airlines to pay for carbon emissions when flying in
or out of the bloc puts huge faith in action by the U.N.’s
International Civil Aviation Organisation.

The decision also brings risks of litigation by European
operators.

It made sense to look for a compromise after China and India
said they would not comply with a European Union emissions
trading scheme (EU ETS).

LONDON (Reuters) – Academics and lawmakers have proposed a U.S. carbon tax to curb carbon emissions and trim the debt pile, but the idea depends on prominent Republican support, so far absent.

Without a deal on cutting the fiscal deficit the United States faces a $600 billion package of automatic tax increases and spending cuts which could tip the country back into recession.

LONDON (Reuters) – Some limited flexibility over how member states apply a European Union airlines emissions law might buy time to resolve opposition while the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO.L tries to forge a compromise deal.

The emissions trading directive requires operators of aircraft arriving in or departing Europe to surrender permits equal to their whole-flight emissions.

LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Some limited flexibility over how
member states apply a European Union airlines emissions law
might buy time to resolve opposition while the U.N.’s
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) tries to forge
a compromise deal.

The emissions trading directive requires operators of
aircraft arriving in or departing Europe to surrender permits
equal to their whole-flight emissions.

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Natural gas will struggle beyond
niche applications in U.S. transport despite a widening discount
to rival fuels, given a shortfall in distribution compared with
gasoline, biofuels and electric vehicles.

Shale gas production has up-ended power generation,
under-cutting the economics of older coal plants and new
nuclear.

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) – The reluctance of utilities and
makers of appliances and intelligent meters to develop demand
response systems undermines a core motive in a massive smart
meter rollout in Europe.

It is a great idea: when everyone rushes to turn on the
kettle at half-time in a football final the utility can remotely
turn off non-urgent services like air conditioning to avoid a
demand surge and so save firing up another power plant.

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) – BP’s decision to scrap plans for a
U.S. cellulosic ethanol refinery is a setback for second
generation biofuels and opens the door to alternatives including
Brazilian sugar ethanol, biodiesel and electric vehicles.

The United States wants to cut dependence on foreign oil
through a combination of more domestic oil drilling, improved
vehicle fuel economy and local alternatives including biofuels,
gas and electricity.

LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Britain is edging closer to its
vision of low-carbon energy based on large-scale nuclear power
and fossil fuels with carbon capture, which contrasts with
small-scale renewable energy which many of its European
neighbours favour.

But it has yet to square investor demands for returns with
the massive capital outlay of large-scale plants, untested in
the case of carbon capture and storage (CCS), which implies
large subsidies through guaranteed higher power prices.