The European Union asked the UN to allow its Member States the right to unilaterally deepen their Kyoto Protocol emission reduction targets in 2015 – 2017. The motion, supported by Denmark, Sweden and the UK, came soon after the release, on February 1st, of a EU Commission staff working paper, which declares that a 20 per cent emissions reduction target is now less costly in monetary terms than was assumed in 2008.

So, that means that a 30 per cent reduction scenario has become significantly less costly.
A similar progress would be perfectly in line with the EU pledge to agree a second Kyoto Protocol phase starting in 2013 and to submit a new target to the UN by May. A strengthening of the EU goal is likely to drastically cut the cap of the EU Emission Trading Scheme; environment ministers from all 27 EU countries are expected to examine the paper on March 9th, at a European Council meeting.

The National Bureau of Statistics of China has recently released 2011 energy data, which illustrate that energy use in the country rose at a fast pace in the last four years.
Overall energy consumption, in fact, increased by 7 per cent to 3.48 billion tonnes of standard coal equivalent; this increase was certainly supported by strong coal consumption, which rose 9.7 per cent in a year, whereas crude oil increased 2.7 per cent and natural gas 12 per cent.
So, China misses its 2011 energy intensity goal: its energy consumption for unit of GDP fell 2.01 per cent from 2010, falling short of the 3.5 per cent energy intensity goal for 2011.

Read full stories and updates about carbon market in the latest issue of Climate Policy News, by Marinella Davide.

Photo by mafe