CARBON IN THE NEWS
WEEK 23 2012
Green energy needs milestones to grow-EU Commission
Europe must agree on 2030 goals as soon as possible to spur investment in renewable energy, or green
power growth will fizzle after 2020, the European Commission said on Wednesday in its latest strategy
statement. Many in the renewable energy sector agree on the need for strong guidance, and they want
legally binding targets. But some of the EU's 27 member states strongly oppose new legal goals for
renewables and would favour non-binding milestones or nothing at all. The European Union currently has
a firm target to increase the share of renewable energy in the mix to 20 percent by 2020, which analysts
and industry say it should meet and could exceed.
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Shaw Group to Invest $50 Million in Carbon-Capture Company
The Shaw Group Inc. (SHAW) said Wednesday that it plans to invest up to $50.4 million in a new type of
power-plant technology that captures carbon dioxide. Shaw, of Baton Rouge, La., plans to buy up to half
of the startup company that developed the technology, called Net Power LLC. U.S. power giant Exelon
Corp. (EXC), of Chicago, has agreed to help with permitting and marketing for the venture's first power
plant, a 25-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant that will be located somewhere in or near the Gulf of
Mexico region. Net Power says the plant will capture all emissions, including carbon dioxide, and sell both
the electricity the plant generates and the carbon dioxide it captures. The CO2 will be sold to oil
producers in an existing market for the gas, which is used to produce oil.
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Corporates push voluntary carbon market to highest level since 2008
Transactions of voluntary carbon credits grew to $576m last year, defying the sluggish economy by
reaching the highest level since 2008, with corporate buyers making up the vast majority of purchases.
Companies comprised over 92 per cent of voluntary emissions reductions (VERS), which allow businesses
to invest in climate-related projects to o
research by Ecosystem Marketplace, an initiative of the non-profit organisation Forest Trends, and
analysts Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
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FTSE aims to create greener pension funds with new analytics team
FTSE Group has launched an environmental analytics team to help serve the growing number of pension
fund managers seeking to understand how their investments could be impacted by the e
warming, such as drought and flooding. The group today unveiled the Environmental Social Governance
(ESG) service unit, which will comprise a new analytics team headed by Gordon Morrison alongside the
existing responsible investment team which will continue to be managed by David Harris. Morrison was a
founding partner of ESG research firm LCE Risk. His business partner, Kevin Bourne, has been appointed
managing director of the new umbrella ESG service unit and will report directly to FTSE chief executive
Mark Makepeace in a sign of the stepped up ambition to integrate sustainability into the financial
reporting process. Speaking to BusinessGreen, Harris explained that the unit had been launched in
response to a growing demand from pension funds becoming increasingly concerned about the
sustainability of investing in environmentally damaging industries.
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Global warming gas levels hit 'troubling milestone'
The world's air has reached what scientists call a troubling new milestone for carbon dioxide, the main
global warming pollutant. Monitoring stations across the Arctic this spring are measuring more than 400
parts per million of the heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere. The number isn't quite a surprise, because
it's been rising at an accelerating pace. Years ago, it passed the 350 ppm mark that many scientists say is
the highest safe level for carbon dioxide. It now stands globally at 395. So far, only the Arctic has reached
that 400 level, but the rest of the world will follow soon. "The fact that it's 400 is significant," said Jim
Butler, global monitoring director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System
Research Lab in Boulder, Colo. "It's just a reminder to everybody that we haven't fixed this and we're still
in trouble." Carbon dioxide is the chief greenhouse gas and stays in the atmosphere for 100 years. Some
carbon dioxide is natural, mainly from decomposing dead plants and animals. Before the Industrial Age,
levels were around 275 parts per million.
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New system reduces carbon capture costs by $20 per tonne
A solvent similar to baking soda is the centrepiece of a new carbon capture system that can reduce the
cost of capturing carbon dioxide from power stations by at least $20 per tonne compared to current
technology. The UNO MK3 system, developed by the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas
Technologies (CO2CRC), integrates several research streams to substantially reduce separation costs as
well as greatly improve its environmental footprint. Presenting a paper on the technology today at the
37th International Technical Conference on Clean Coal and Fuel Systems in Clearwater Florida, CO2CRC
Chief Technologist Barry Hooper said that a focus on the big picture was the key to the technology.
“CO2CRC capture research focuses on three aspects of carbon capture to make improvements to the
overall system – the separation medium, the right equipment and integration with power plant
operations,” he said. “By applying our research in each of these areas we believe we have achieved a stepclick here
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change in capture technology.” To read more
