NEW DELHI/LONDON (Reuters) – European Union plans to charge airlines for carbon emissions are “discriminatory” and violate global laws, a group of 26 countries including the United States and China said in a joint declaration released by the Indian government on Friday.

India, which hosted a two-day meeting in New Delhi this week, said delegates from the non-EU countries, which are also members of the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) executive council, agreed to lodge a formal protest against the EU’s new rules at the council’s next meeting.

“There was wide concern expressed by all countries present, without exception, that the unilaterally imposed EU (emissions trading scheme) measures were inconsistent with the international legal regimes,” the statement said.

“The legal infirmities in the EU laws were pointed out. It was stated by the various delegates that they were also discriminatory (to) carriers.”

The EU says it needs to put a price on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to guard against future climate impacts such as crop failures, droughts or flooding.

It has launched an emissions trading scheme (ETS) to help it cut carbon dioxide emissions, which it has pledged to reduce by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

From January 2012, airlines flying into or out of EU airports will have to surrender permits to cover all the CO2 they emit during the entire flight. They join some 11,000 factories and power plants already in the $100 billion market.

LONDON (Reuters) – The New Jersey Nets took the honors in the NBA’s first regular season game staged in Europe by beating the Toronto Raptors 116-103 on Friday.

With the Raptors and Nets anchored near the bottom of the Eastern Conference the game will have little significance other than marking another milestone in the NBA’s expansion plans.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 25 points while Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan had a game-high 30 in the first of two sell-out games at London’s O2 arena. The second game takes place on Saturday.

Nets point guard Deron Williams, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz late last month, scored 16 points and dished out 11 assists in his team’s first win in seven games.

“We were all a little worried about how the trip would affect us, whether fatigue would set in, but we had a lot of energy and definitely some bright spots,” Williams told reporters after the game.

London fans were treated to an entertaining match featuring much of the acrobatics and electricity the NBA has come to be known for.

A high-flying slam dunk by Toronto’s DeRozan halfway through the first quarter was met with another ferocious jam by Nets center Lopez a minute later that once again sent the sell-out crowd to their feet.

LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) – The New Jersey Nets took the honours in the NBA’s first regular season game staged in Europe by beating the Toronto Raptors 116-103 on Friday.

With the Raptors and Nets anchored near the bottom of the Eastern Conference the game will have little significance other than marking another milestone in the NBA’s expansion plans.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 25 points while Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan had a game-high 30 in the first of two sell-out games at London’s O2 arena. The second game takes place on Saturday.

Nets point guard Deron Williams, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz late last month, scored 16 points and dished out 11 assists in his team’s first win in seven games.

“We were all a little worried about how the trip would affect us, whether fatigue would set in, but we had a lot of energy and definitely some bright spots,” Williams told reporters after the game.

London fans were treated to an entertaining match featuring much of the acrobatics and electricity the NBA has come to be known for.

A high-flying slam dunk by Toronto’s DeRozan halfway through the first quarter was met with another ferocious jam by Nets center Lopez a minute later that once again sent the sell-out crowd to their feet.

LONDON (Reuters) – NBA star Kobe Bryant went scoreless on Monday night, playing only six minutes as his 2010 champion Los Angeles Lakers were defeated 111-92 by a younger, hungrier Minnesota Timberwolves in a pre-season match in London.

Minnesota’s Martell Webster came off the bench to lead all players with 24 points, while teammate Michael Beasley scored 21.

Lakers’ forward Lamar Odom led his team with 17 points while Shannon Brown added 13.

“Our guys played well, but we didn’t see (the Lakers’) top players tonight,” said Minnesota head coach Kurt Rambis.

Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said he would play Bryant a maximum of 15 minutes in each of the team’s two European matches this week as his star guard Bryant recovered from offseason knee surgery.

Minnesota was ahead 56-55 at the half, but pulled away in the third quarter on a 13-3 scoring run.

“Minnesota looked good; we looked like we just got back from vacation,” Jackson said in a post-game press conference.

LONDON (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant will play for a few minutes in the Los Angeles Lakers’ two European pre-season games as he rests his knee following offseason surgery, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said on Saturday.

Bryant’s 2010 NBA champion Lakers will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in a sold-out game on Monday night at London’s O2 Arena, then play FC Barcelona in the Spanish city on October 7.

“He’s not going to play a whole lot,” Jackson told Reuters.

“His playing time will be limited, maybe 6-7 minutes in his first run, then we’ll see if he can play another set.”

Bryant had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in July, a month after winning his fifth NBA championship and helping the franchise clinch its 16th title.

The guard, twice an NBA Finals’ MVP, said he felt no pain during a practice in south London earlier on Saturday.

“I’m not ready yet, but I’m getting there. Today felt a lot better,” he said.

LONDON (Reuters) – New European Union proposals to limit the use of industrial gas carbon offsets in its emissions trading scheme from 2013 could be a boon for reeling carbon brokers as exchanges wait for clarity before they alter their offerings.

EU climate chief Connie Hedegaard said on Wednesday she is considering post-2012 limits for the use of offsets, called Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs), in the wake of concerns over the environmental integrity of a United Nations carbon finance scheme.

Until the proposals are finalised, Europe’s main emissions bourses said they have no plans to let their members buy specific types of UN-approved offsets, meaning brokers could reign in the over-the-counter market.

“This could segment the market, and that’s good news for brokers,” said Emmanuel Fages, an carbon market analyst at Societe Generale/orbeo.

Uncertainty surrounding rules is being embraced by brokers, who have been plagued this year by layoffs and lost business to bourses in the wake of the European recession.

“A lack of regulatory clarity means clients benefit from our more bespoke services,” said Harry Beamish of brokers CarbonDesk (CO2P.PZ: Quote, Profile, Research).

Hedegaard said the quality restrictions would affect CER use in the scheme’s third phase (2013-2020).

LONDON (Reuters) – New European Union proposals to limit the use of industrial gas carbon offsets in its emissions trading scheme from 2013 could be a boon for reeling carbon brokers as exchanges wait for clarity before they alter their offerings.

EU climate chief Connie Hedegaard said on Wednesday she is considering post-2012 limits for the use of offsets, called Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs), in the wake of concerns over the environmental integrity of a United Nations carbon finance scheme.

Until the proposals are finalized, Europe’s main emissions bourses said they have no plans to let their members buy specific types of UN-approved offsets, meaning brokers could reign in the over-the-counter (OTC) market.

“This could segment the market, and that’s good news for brokers,” said Emmanuel Fages, an carbon market analyst at Societe Generale/orbeo.

Uncertainty surrounding rules is being embraced by brokers, who have been plagued this year by layoffs and lost business to bourses in the wake of the European recession.

“A lack of regulatory clarity means clients benefit from our more bespoke services,” said Harry Beamish of brokers CarbonDesk.

Hedegaard said the quality restrictions would affect CER use in the scheme’s third phase (2013-2020).

LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) – The European Union’s top climate official proposed on Wednesday new limits on the use of carbon offsets from industrial gas projects in the EU’s emissions trading scheme after 2012.

“The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has been successful in some aspects but has also given rise to criticism, e.g. with regard to environmental integrity,” said Connie Hedegaard, Commissioner for Climate Action, in a statement.

“As a first step towards a more advanced carbon market the CDM therefore needs a major overhaul.”

Under the 27-nation bloc’s $100 billion trading scheme, participants can use cheaper offsets from carbon cutting projects in emerging countries approved under the United Nations’ CDM towards their emissions goals.

Hedegaard said she had been asked by market participants to clarify what offsets will be accepted in the scheme’s third phase (2013-2020), as rules surrounding possible qualitatitive or quantitative restrictions remain undecided.

“I have asked my services to prepare a proposal for a measure to introduce further quality restrictions on the use of credits from industrial gas projects in the post-2012 EU ETS,” Hedegaard added.

An emissions trading lobby group on Tuesday sent an open letter to Hedegaard urging her to clarify rules for the sake of the regulatory certainty required by investors. [ID:nLDE67N0SI]

LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – The World Bank has defended its investment in chemical plants accused by green groups of raising production of greenhouse gas HFC-23 with the aim of incinerating it to get extra carbon offsets worth millions of dollars. Approved under the Kyoto Protocol’s $2.7 billion Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) scheme, 19 plants mainly in China and India are issued offsets by the UN for incinerating the refrigerant waste gas called hydrofluorocarbon-23.

But environmental groups including Germany’s CDM Watch have accused some of the plants, in which the World Bank is an investor, of intentionally boosting refrigerant gas production just collect more offsets by destroying it.

The CDM’s executive board last week halted issuance of offsets to five projects, including two with World Bank funding, pending an investigation. [ID:nLDE67J0T3]

“The analysis conducted by CDM Watch is based on a narrow and simplistic approach … Key parameters have been discarded, such as operating conditions and technical capacity,” the World Bank said in an undated report on its website, adding there was not enough evidence to support the allegations.

But environmental activists were not convinced.

“The World Bank is one of the largest investors in HFC-23 projects and clearly has vested interests in protecting its investments and ensuring a continuous flow of credits,” said CDM Watch programme director Eva Filzmoser by email.

“CDM Watch … considered all parameters available and is confident that our analysis that some plant operators are gaming the system to extract huge profits from the CDM is correct.”

LONDON (Reuters) – The World Bank has voiced support for chemical plants that destroy a potent greenhouse gas called HFC-23, which green groups have accused of increasing production to get extra carbon offsets worth millions of dollars.

Approved under the Kyoto Protocol’s $2.7 billion Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) scheme, the 19 plants, mainly in China and India, receive offsets from the UN for incinerating a refrigerant waste gas called hydrofluorocarbon-23.

But environmental groups including Germany’s CDM Watch have accused the plants of intentionally boosting refrigerant gas production to destroy more HFC-23 and collect more offsets.

“The analysis conducted by CDM Watch is based on a narrow and simplistic approach…Key parameters have been discarded from the analysis, such as operating conditions and technical capacity,” the World Bank said in a report on its website.

“There is not sufficient evidence to support the allegations.”

CDM Watch was not immediately available for comment.

With a molecule of HFC-23 trapping 11,700 times more heat than a molecule of CO2, these projects have been lucrative for their long list of investors, which includes the World Bank.