LONDON (Reuters) – Airlines’ entry to the European Union’s carbon market next year will add at least 1 billion euros to their costs, make some operators less competitive and ultimately lead to higher air fares and carbon prices.

From January 1 next year, around 4,000 aircraft operators will be included in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme ETS.L. Most flights that land and depart from EU airports will be covered, regardless of the operator’s nationality.

LONDON (Reuters) – Europe must invest heavily in efficiency to limit spiraling energy costs and beat its own target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

Much or all of the extra investment would be recovered from savings on oil imports, the Commission said in its “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050.”

LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) – Europe must invest heavily in
efficiency to limit spiralling energy costs and beat its own
target to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the European Commission
said in a report to be published on Tuesday.

“Without action the oil and gas import bill could instead
double compared to today, a difference of euros 400 billion or
more per annum by 2050, the equivalent of 3 percent of today’s
GDP,” said the final version of the Commission’s proposal to cut
greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, seen by Reuters.

LONDON (Reuters) – A UK government review of incentives for installations generating over 50 kilowatts of renewable energy could harm the economy and stunt a fledgling market, Sharp Corp’s UK solar divison told Reuters.

The government announced a review last month of the so-called Feed in Tariff (FIT) scheme, which pays per unit of electricity produced from small-scale, low-carbon energy.

LONDON (Reuters) – The global renewable energy market is still suffering from the effects of the financial crisis which started in 2008, according to a report published by Ernst & Young on Monday.

“The toxic legacy of the global financial crisis continues to cast a shadow over the global renewable energy market,” the report, which ranks 30 countries according to their attractiveness for renewables investment, says.

LONDON (Reuters) – European Union industrial carbon emissions rose by up to 4 percent last year, analysts estimate, still far below 2008 levels and leaving the bloc on course to beat its 2020 climate target.

The EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) caps the emissions of about 12,600 installations, including power plants, factories and oil refiners, and the European Commission publishes emissions data in April of each year.

LONDON (Reuters) – A new European Union plan to cut greenhouse gases by 25 percent by 2020 via energy efficiency has divided the EU carbon market as participants either attack its lack of clarity or relish the prospect of higher carbon prices.

A leaked document last week confirmed what EU sources had told Reuters — that the bloc is overhauling its energy strategy to put it on track for a 25 percent cut by 2020, up from its current 20 percent target.

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Carbon markets continue to be
shaken by criminal scandals, while the failure to agree a global
climate deal is adding to gloom in the sector.

Below is a summary of the main risks and opportunities
facing carbon markets in 2011 and beyond.

LONDON (Reuters) – Multiple platforms for auctioning European Union carbon permits from 2013 could make the EU’s emissions market even more complex, drive up transaction costs and further dent security, analysts said.

“It makes the market even more fragmented. If Germany, Poland, UK and Spain all opt out, it’s a serious issue,” said Sanjeev Kumar, senior associate at environmental think tank E3G.

LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Multiple platforms for auctioning European Union carbon permits from 2013 could make the EU’s emissions market even more complex, drive up transaction costs and further dent security, analysts said.

“It makes the market even more fragmented. If Germany, Poland, UK and Spain all opt out, it’s a serious issue,” said Sanjeev Kumar, senior associate at environmental think tank E3G.