Newsroom

Latest News in Carbon Sequestration
June 2008

Landmark local emission fee passed in North California
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) imposed the first carbon fee in the United States, approving a 4.4 cent charge per metric ton of CO2 equivalent on businesses within the nine-county region in northern California. BAAQMD worked with California's Air Resources Board to integrate the local fee with already-existing state laws and regulations, such as the "California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006" (AB 32). According to data compiled by the air district, of the 2500 stationary sources that are subject to the fee, seven of the sources would have to pay more than $50,000 to comply, with most of the regulated emitters paying less than $1. The new rule will go into effect on July 1, and the money raised in fiscal year 2009, which BAAQMD predicts will total around $1.1 million, will finance the district's climate protection program. California passed AB 32 on August 31, 2006, to cost-effectively reduce GHGs.
ClimateWire, May 22, 2008
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2008/05/22/2/

Markey unveils bill for slashing emissions 85%
On June 4, Massachusetts Representative Edward J. Markey introduced legislation, called the "Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act (iCAP), H.R. 6186," which proposes cutting CO2 and other GHG emissions by 85% through a cap-and-trade system that would go into effect in 2012. Under the proposed bill, 94% of the billions of dollars in emission credits would be auctioned off, with the proceeds used for energy technology research, tax cuts, and energy efficiency programs. U.S. manufacturers most vulnerable to trade competition would receive the remaining 6%. The cap-and-trade program transition would result in 100% of emission credits being auctioned by 2020; countries that do not implement similar policies by that time would need to purchase emission allowances to import CO2-intensive goods into the United States. If the proposed bill reaches its fruition, all coal-fired power plants built after January 2009 would need to capture and store 85% of their GHG emissions.
Greenwire, May 28, 2008
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2008/05/28/1/

IEA finds U.S. CO2 sequestration program world's most ambitious
The International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG), an international collaborative research program set up under the auspices of the IEA, validated the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSP) and their large-scale carbon dioxide tests as the world's most "ambitious" program to advance the field of carbon capture and storage (CCS). A panel of scientific experts selected by IEA GHG found that the seven RCSPs are unique in that no other country or region has initiated a similar effort. IEA GHG's report says that the projects are realistic and achievable and should be implemented immediately; the projects serve as a major research initiative; and Phase III seeks to achieve significant results for the United States and the international community. The RCSP Program is a federal, state, and private sector collaboration intended to determine the requisite technologies, regulations, and infrastructure needed for future CCS in different geological regions of North America. RCSPs include more than 350 state agencies, universities, and private companies within 42 states, three Indian nations, and four Canadian provinces. DOE launched the three-phase RCSP Program in 2003 as the centerpiece of its efforts to commercialize CCS technologies. During the first phase of the program, RCSPs identified more than 3000 billion metric tons of potential storage capacity in North American geologic formations, equivalent to more than 1000 years of storage capacity. The second phase involved implementing some 25 small-scale geologic storage tests to evaluate whether different geologic formations have the ability to safely sequester CO2 over the long term. RCSPs are currently engaged in Phase III, which will examine the long-term storage of more than one million tons of CO2 in several large-scale tests. The RCSPs encompass 96% of the total land mass in the United States, which is home to 97% of coal-fired CO2 emissions, 97% of industrial CO2 emissions, and nearly all of the geologic sequestration sites available for CO2 storage.
Fossil Energy Techline, June 5, 2008
http://www.fossil.energy.gov/news/techlines/2008/08019-IEA_Finds_US_CCS_Plans_Ambitio
us.html

Hawaii joins DOE's carbon sequestration regional partnership program
Hawaii became the 42nd state to join DOE's RCSP Program on May 6, coinciding with funding awarded to the West Coast Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB) for a Phase III large-scale test in California. The sequestration efforts in Hawaii will involve site characterization, or "source-sink matching," of CO2 emission point sources and the terrestrial and/or geologic sinks that could safely store CO2. Under the leadership of the University of Hawaii, scientists will examine and update an inventory of Hawaiian GHG sources as mandated by a new state law. Hawaii joins California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and British Columbia in the California Energy Commission-managed WESTCARB, which will conduct a geologic storage project in the San Joaquin Basin in Central California as part of its Phase III efforts.
Fossil Energy Techline, June 9, 2008
http://www.fossil.energy.gov/news/techlines/2008/08021-Hawaii_Joins_WESTCARB.html

New Hampshire signs global warming initiative
New Hampshire has become the tenth U.S. state to participate in a regional effort to cut GHG emissions. The law adds New Hampshire to the other New England states, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, in a market-based, cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the region's power plants.
The Boston Globe , June 11, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/06/11/nh_governor_signs_
global_warming_initiative_into_law/

Bipartisan house bill would create carbon sequestration fund
Legislation was introduced on June 12 by a U.S. House of Representatives coalition to create a multibillion dollar fund aimed at speeding up the deployment of CCS technologies. The bill, backed by the House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, would set up a $1 billion annual fund paid for by power companies that use coal, natural gas, and oil. Under the legislation, a newly created Carbon Storage Research Corporation would manage the fund as an affiliate of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and distribute grants and contracts to various private, academic, and governmental bodies to help commercialize technologies that capture and store CO2. Electric utilities believe the bill will help them survive under a future U.S. regulatory system that places a limit on GHG emissions. According to the bill's sponsors, the legislation will add around $10 to $12 to residential customer annual rates.
Greenwire, June 12, 2008
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2008/06/12/2/

Oregon governor outlines climate change proposals
All new buildings constructed in Oregon could be required to achieve zero net emissions by 2030 under a set of legislative proposals outlined by Governor Ted Kulongoski. Speaking in Portland to a climate conference, Kulongoski outlined a series of energy efficiency proposals to complement his major push in the upcoming 2009 legislature: a cap-and-trade system on carbon emissions. Highlights of a few proposals include
1) setting a goal of zero net emissions on new commercial and residential buildings by 2030. A home, for example, could still use natural gas but might generate its own solar power using photovoltaic panels to offset the energy use; 2) implementing the use of energy performance certificates. Much like miles-per-gallon ratings for autos, the certificates would show business or home owners how much energy their property consumes. The certificates could become part of the home-buying process; 3) updating the state Business Energy Tax Credits and the State Energy Efficient Design standards to incorporate energy efficiency further into the policies; and 4) increasing public awareness of energy efficiency measures, particularly how saving energy helps families reduce costs.
Portland Business Journal , June 17, 2008
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/06/16/daily16.html

California unveils major plan to slash emissions
California took a major step forward on its global warming fight by unveiling an ambitious plan for clean cars, renewable energy and stringent caps on big polluting industries. The plan, which aims to reduce pollutants by 10% from current levels by 2020 while driving investment in new energy technologies that will benefit the state's economy, is the most comprehensive yet by any U.S. state. The initiatives include implementing a cap-and-trade program on carbon dioxide emissions that will require buildings and appliances to use less energy, oil companies to make cleaner fuels, and utilities to provide a third of their energy from renewable sources like wind and solar power.
Reuters, June 26, 2008
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN2529055820080626?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandC
hannel=0&sp=true

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International News

Spectra Energy Corporation will examine a large carbon capture project in Canada
Spectra Energy Corporation plans to examine the viability of building a large-scale carbon sequestration facility at its natural gas plant near the town of Fort Nelson in northeastern British Columbia that would store CO2 in a depleted natural gas reservoir 1.3 miles (2 kilometers) underground. The reservoir could potentially store one million tons of CO2 annually--a figure equivalent to the plant's CO2 production over the next 20 to 50 years. Spectra has previously captured and stored 200,000 tons of CO2 in depleted natural gas reservoirs. The provincial government provided $3.4 million toward the project's $11.8 million budget as part of its effort to reduce GHG emissions by 33% by 2020. The Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership will be conducting monitoring, mitigation, and verification (MMV) activities as part of this project.
Reuters, May 26, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2629605920080526

Search for places to store CO2 emissions set to begin
A CCS project led by the Carbon Storage Research Consortium of Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Power, and Nova Scotia's Energy Department will be initiated this summer by searching for potential CO2 storage sites in Cape Breton and northern Nova Scotia. The four-phase project, which recently received $4.87 million in federal research funds, will also examine the regulatory issues and economic impacts facing CO2 storage, in addition to assessing the geology of northern Nova Scotia's oil reservoirs and deep coal beds. Officials said that only certain locales are deemed feasible for geologic storage in Canada--mainly Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia emits about 20 million tons of GHGs annually, with coal-fired power plants serving as the largest point source of GHGs at about 10 million tons annually. If the project succeeds, it is believed that Nova Scotia could be storing up to 10,000 tons of CO2 a day by 2018 to 2020.
The Chronicle-Herald, June 5, 2008
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1060298.html

1000+ amendments to NZ climate change bill
The future of controversial climate change legislation in New Zealand is in the balance after it was reported back from a parliamentary select committee with more than a thousand amendments. The bill seeks to set up a GHG emission trading scheme (ETS) and has been through a fraught process to take it to this stage. It is still not clear whether the Government has the numbers to pass the bill into law, after National withdrew its support and called for a longer process. A majority on the committee voted for the bill to go back to Parliament, but National said in a minority report that it was seriously flawed and the process far too rushed.
stuff.co.nz , June 16, 2008
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4585835a6160.html

UN climate chief asks G8 summit to agree on 2020 emission targets
UN climate chief Yvo de Boer has urged next month's Group of Eight summit in Japan to come to an agreement on midterm targets for carbon emission cuts. "My hope is that the G8 summit would lead to an agreement amongst G8 countries on the direction of their emission reductions by 2020, so perhaps agreeing that their efforts should be guided by a certain range of emission reductions," De Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), told journalists in Geneva. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, however, had said earlier this month that the G8 summit would not set medium-term targets and that the forum would instead look toward a longer-term target. But De Boer pointed out that while it was "important to define the final destination of the journey," what he was "also very interested in is what the first stop on that journey is going to be." He also called for an acceleration in negotiations for the new pact to tackle global warming, warning that time is running out for the world to reach a historic deal in Copenhagen next December.
AFP , June 24, 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j5lcyEX3OISNxt1ovLMpfX3Rx-Hg

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Kyoto Protocol, carbon credits

Stock markets join clean tech index gold rush
Two of the world's biggest stock exchanges, FTSE and NASDAQ, announced plans for new indices designed to serve booming demand from environmentally conscious investors. FTSE said that it has teamed up with cleantech-focused investment firm Impax to launch a new index dedicated to tracking investments in alternative energy and energy efficiency, water treatment and pollution control, and waste technologies and resource management.
GreenBiz.com , June 23, 2008
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/23/stock-markets-join-cleantech-index-gold-rush

Tokyo approves Japan's first greenhouse gas curbs
Tokyo's local government has ordered Japan's first mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and set up a carbon market, moving faster than the national government. Tokyo's metropolitan assembly approved plans to force 1300 major businesses to cut emissions blamed for global warming by 25% by 2020 compared with 2000 levels. The requirements will take effect in 2010, followed the next year by a carbon market, which gives businesses an incentive to go green by letting them buy and trade emission credits. The action by Tokyo--which is the world's largest city when including the metropolitan area--comes as Japan struggles to meet its commitments to cut emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
AFP , June 25, 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hH8w-vFg3PeJoSRGtGeRIipd08rw

Rejected Indian CDM projects head to CCX
Failed Indian Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects are being registered with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) for offset credits, Carbon Finance has learned. Two developers, Bajaj Auto and Carbonyatra, confirmed that projects they have registered with the exchange were initially designed to be CDM projects. Such projects are likely to be controversial, as U.S. legislators mull a federal U.S. cap-and-trade program. The role of international offsets in any such program is proving vexatious, and some U.S. commentators consider CDM credits to be suspect, believing many projects to be nonadditional--that is, that they would have gone ahead without carbon finance.
Carbon finance, June 25, 2008
http://www.carbon-financeonline.com/index.cfm?section=lead&action=view&id=11339

EU deal clinched on capping aircraft emissions
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and national governments, represented by the European Union's (EU's) current Slovenian Presidency, reached a landmark deal on the details of plans to include aviation in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme as of 2012. The deal still needs to be formally approved, but according to reports, it would require all flights, both within the EU as well as international ones arriving or leaving the bloc, to participate in the Union's carbon cap-and-trade scheme as of 2012. The two-staged approach initially proposed by the Commission in a bid to appease countries that are reluctant to be forced into such a scheme--the United States in particular--has therefore been rejected. Under the compromise, the number of pollution permits allocated to airlines would be capped at 97% of average GHGs emitted in 2004-2006--less ambitious than the 90% cap MEPs in the Environment Committee had demanded, but more so than the 100% member states had been pushing for. This cap would then be lowered to 95% for the 2013-2020 period unless agreement on a different figure is reached during negotiations on the revised EU Emissions Trading Scheme. 85% of the permits would still be handed out to operators for free, but the remaining 15% would have to be auctioned. Airlines wanting to emit more CO2 than the number of allowances they hold will have to buy extra permits from other companies, encouraging them to invest in greener technologies.
EurActiv , June 27, 2008
http://www.euractiv.com/en/transport/deal-clinched-capping-aircraft-emissions/article
-173722

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Quotes for Carbon Markets

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Events

Global Conference on Global Warming 2008,
July 6-10, 2008, Global Conference on Global Warming 2008, Dedeman Hotel Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey. At the Global Conference on Global Warming 2008, attendees will exchange information, present new technologies and developments, and discuss the future direction, strategies, and priorities in the field of global warming and climate change. Some of the many topics to be covered include carbon sequestration, clean technologies, and GHGs. Global Conference on Global Warming, July 6-10, 2008
http://www.gcgw.org/ocs/index.php?conference=gcgw&schedConf=

22nd Annual Conference on Fossil Energy Materials
July 10-12, 2008, 22nd Annual Conference on Fossil Energy Materials, Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. This National Energy Technology Laboratory-hosted conference will provide attendees with technical briefings on the research projects supported by the Advanced Research Materials Program of DOE's Office of Fossil Energy. During the 3-day event, four different sessions will cover three main topics: advanced alloys and concepts, coating and protection of materials, and functional materials.
NETL, July 10-12, 2008
http://www.netl.doe.gov/events/08conferences/fem/Agenda.pdf

Carbon 2008
July 13-18, 2008, Carbon 2008, Hotel Metropolitan Nagano, Nagano, Japan. The Science Council of Japan has teamed with the Carbon Society of Japan to put together this 6-day conference focusing on current and future carbon science technologies. The conference has several tracks, including one highlighting the role of carbon in the environment and energy production.
Carbon 2008, July 13-18, 2008
http://endomoribu.shinshu-u.ac.jp/carbon2008/

4th Australia-New Zealand Climate Change Business Conference
August 18-20, 2008, 4th Australia-New Zealand Climate Change Business Conference, SKYCITY Convention Centre, Auckland, New Zealand. This conference will focus on the risks and opportunities posed to businesses by climate change. Sessions discussing voluntary carbon markets, regulating carbon markets, carbon market compliance, a post-Kyoto road map, and carbon sequestration developments will be included.
Climate Change & Business Conference, , August 18-20, 2008
http://www.climateandbusiness.com/program.html

Carbon Markets USA
September 16-17, 2008, Carbon Markets USA, Kellogg Conference Hotel, Washington DC, USA. The second edition of Carbon Markets USA brings together key players in the U.S. carbon industry to examine and explore the latest market developments and methods to accelerate market growth. Attendees have the opportunity to question experts on carbon trading, carbon offsetting, CCS, and voluntary carbon markets. GreenPower Conferences, September 16-17, 2008
http://greenpowerconferences.com/carbonmarkets/carbonmarkets_USA_2008.html

US Carbon Finance Forum
September 24-25, 2008, US Carbon Finance Forum, The Metropolitan Club, New York City, New York, USA. This forum unites investors with representatives from finance, industry, government bodies, and international organizations to examine how carbon legislation will affect stakeholders in the United States. More than 40 high-level speakers will lead the discussion about existing opportunities in carbon markets worldwide.
US Carbon Finance Forum, September 24-25, 2008
http://www.uscarbonfinance.com/index.htm

The 25th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference
September 29 - October 2, 2008, The 25th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, The Westin Convention Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. This conference focuses on the development of future coal-based energy plants as they strive to achieve near-zero emissions of pollutants while reducing costs. Some of the topics to be discussed include combustion, gasification, and environmental control technologies; synthesis of liquid fuels; and coal chemistry.
International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, September 29 - October 2, 2008
http://www.engr.pitt.edu/pcc/2008%20Conference.htm#SESSIONS%20and%20TOPICS

9th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Technologies
November 16-20, 2008, 9th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Technologies, The Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC, USA. The Michigan Institute of Technology and IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme have teamed with DOE to present this conference series on GHG mitigation technologies. Held every 2 years, this conference has become a focal point of CCS efforts. Attendees will be presented with 50 technical sessions that examine absorption processes for CO2 capture, treating flue gas from oxyfuel combustion systems, and strategies for CO2 transport infrastructure development.
9th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Technologies, November 16-20, 2008
http://mit.edu/ghgt9/index.html

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