Contact: Katie Kouchakji, kouchakji@ieta.org

BRUSSELS, 15 July – IETA welcomes today’s publication by the European Commission of its legislative proposal to revise the EU ETS Directive to reflect political agreements reached over the past 12 months.

The Commission’s proposal will enshrine the emissions trading elements of the bloc’s 2030 climate and energy package, as agreed in October 2014.  The proposal  includes the target to reduce overall EU emissions by at least 40%, compared with 1990 levels. The legislative package helps set a predictable framework for investors and business, says IETA.

IETA is pleased that the proposal addresses concerns about competition with businesses in non-carbon constrained jurisdictions. In particular, IETA welcomes the proposal to use up to date production data to determine the allocation of free allowances – although closer inspection of the rules to tackle the risk of carbon leakage is needed to understand the consequences for market participants in different sectors.

“We welcome this step in bolstering the EU ETS for the future, knowing that Europe’s leaders are looking to its 10-year old market to continue to play a central role in the region’s climate response,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. “Enshrining the long-term target in law gives business the certainty and predictability needed to plan investments.”

However, IETA remains concerned that closing the door to the use of carbon offset credits from developing countries will lead to higher prices for European businesses and risks stymieing efforts to encourage wider participation in global carbon markets. 

“International credits have a role to play in meeting Europe’s wider emission reduction goals.   We firmly believe that the option to use them should be preserved,” says Sarah Deblock, IETA’s Director of European Policy.

“IETA members have put forward strong proposals on the use of auction revenues to support climate action in developing countries, which could include the purchase high-quality offsets. This would help all nations to play a role in the climate change response, and we are encouraged to see the European Commission proposing that member states reinvest carbon auction revenues to finance climate action in third countries.”

Deblock adds: “IETA looks forward to engaging with Members of the European Parliament and European Member States in the coming months on finding ways to ensure the revision of the Directive works towards strengthening the role of the EU ETS in Europe’s climate strategy.”

Earlier this week, IETA released a paper examining policies that overlap with the EU ETS and recommendations to mitigate this risk.

Contact: Katie Sullivan, sullivan@ieta.org

TORONTO, 25 June – IETA welcomes Alberta’s decision to build on its existing market mechanism to tackle climate change, as sub-nationals continue to lead on carbon pricing and markets across North America.

The province’s new Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips today announced that the Alberta’s Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER) system1 would be extended until at least the end of 2017, ending months of uncertainty about the future direction of climate policy. The program, the first in North America to put a price on carbon, will also seek greater emissions reductions.

Alberta last year signed the World Bank’s Joint Statement on Carbon Pricing, and has reached out to emerging economies interested in markets via the Bank’s Partnership for Market Readiness. 

“IETA is pleased to see that one of the first orders of business for the new Alberta government is to tackle the province’s climate policy – and to recommit to its market-based system,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. “This is the signal that business and investors in Alberta have been needing.”

The new expiration for SGER, 31 December 2017, coincides with the likely start date for Ontario’s emissions trading system – which is intended to link with those of California and Québec. These two systems will be starting their third compliance period from 1 January 2018.

“IETA looks forward to working with the government on how it can further improve SGER, including potentially expanding Alberta’s next phase of carbon pricing to tie in with other developments in North America,” says Katie Sullivan, Director of North America and Climate Finance.

“Increased coordination can help achieve greater reductions at even lower costs,” she adds. “This is crucial as the province evaluates its options to meet its long-term climate change commitments. IETA and our members stand by ready to engage with the government on this process.”

 NOTES

1 Alberta’s SGER is a baseline-and-credit system, with the option to use offsets to comply. For more information on Alberta’s system, please see the IETA-EDF-CDC Climat case study.

Please find press release here.

Contact: Katie Kouchakji, kouchakji@ieta.org

GENEVA, 18 June - IETA welcomes Pope Francis’s call for climate action in the run-up to the Paris talks. He is right to call on all of us to do our part, especially those of us in the business community.  We share his hope that the nations of the world can come together in Paris to chart an ambitious path forward that delivers climate benefits and enhances sustainable economic growth. 

However, the encyclical's brief mention of carbon credits was out of step with the views of most economists and analysts.  Carbon markets are typically quite competitive, and they contain safeguards against the excessive speculation warned about in the encyclical.  It misses the more important point that market mechanisms can help keep the costs down for producers and consumers alike.  Through their cost-effectiveness, market approaches can enable more ambitious emissions cuts to be achieved – and more quickly than cumbersome regulations. 

Carbon markets are not just a tool for incentivizing major economies and their industries to change.  They also  allow smaller countries and organisations to access climate finance and engage in the global response to climate change. They can also deliver side benefits, such as improved public health, access to education, job creation and female empowerment, among others, as demonstrated by REDD+ and clean cookstoves projects in the developing world.  

IETA stands firm in its belief that market approaches can benefit climate action and enable businesses to do well by doing good.  In so doing, they can enable humanity to rise to greater ambitions in protecting the earth. 

Download the press release here

Contact: Katie Kouchakji, press@ieta.org

He adds: “IETA stands ready to help advance the public-private dialogue about market matters.”

Contact: Katie Kouchakji, kouchakji@ieta.org 

GENEVA, 1 June – Climate negotiations opening today in Bonn, Germany must harness the momentum from February’s talks and start narrowing differences if the Paris deal is to be adopted in six months, IETA says today. 

In the two-week meeting, negotiators will tackle the so-called Geneva text for the first time since it was agreed in February. This 90-page text will form the basis of the Paris Agreement in December.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Isabel Hagbrink - Press World Bank Group - ihagbrink@worldbank.org
Katie Kouchakji - Press IETA - kouchakji@ieta.org
Marta Juvell - Press Fira de Barcelona - mjuvell@firabarcelona.com

BARCELONA, May 28 – Carbon market discussions among policy makers, business representatives, NGOs, think tanks and financial institutions ended on a high note today at the 12th edition of Carbon Expo. Organized by IETA, the World Bank Group and Fira de Barcelona, the event reaffirmed its status as the world's largest climate finance and carbon market conference. 

The Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Christiana Figueres, emphasized the role of the private sector in her opening remarks:

"Business used to wait for governments for policy perfection – they are no longer waiting. They are moving forward, providing support and encouragement to national and international actions, because addressing climate change is their best policy for business continuity. In doing so they can also help towards providing the investment, the finance and the technology developing economies need to pursue a climate-friendly path that is part and parcel of their growth and development."

The event also focused on the development of strong carbon markets, effective climate financing and technology to decarbonize the global economy. Despite a challenging few years for carbon markets, participants expressed a strong belief in a market–based solutions to emissions mitigation, as reflected in the 10th edition of IETA's Market Sentiment Survey released at the event.

"There's a growing chorus of business voices calling for market mechanisms as they are the most effective tool to tackle climate change," says Dirk Forrister, IETA's CEO and President. "The message for policymakers going in to the climate negotiations is clear: markets matter for the success of any future climate framework in boosting action by the private sector." This Carbon Expo attracted the largest number of CEOs ever, with more than 35 company heads attending, which highlighted their interest in public-private collaboration to catalyze real economic transformation using market instruments. 

Addressing the opening ceremony, Rachel Kyte, Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change at the World Bank Group, said, "We hope you will lift up your eyes to Paris and beyond as we try to do something we have never attempted before, which is to grow without carbon. Market mechanisms will be key to mobilizing a global response of an appropriate scale. Carbon pricing will be a necessary if insufficient component of each country's transition, accompanied by other measures to get prices right and send signals to economic actors." 

King Felipe VI of Spain welcomed participants and other high-level speakers, including Miguel Arias Cañete, the European Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy; Spain's Environment Minister Isabel Garcia Tejerina; and French Ambassador for Climate Negotiations Laurence Tubiana.

The next Carbon Expo will take place in Cologne, Germany in late May 2016. 

World Bank Group, IETA and Fira de Barcelona: a successful partnership
The World Bank Group was the first institution to develop global public-private carbon funds with the creation of the Prototype Carbon Fund in 2000, and has since launched over 18 carbon initiatives designed to support carbon markets in client countries, reduce green technology investment risk and increase the scope of carbon finance. This is now widening to innovative financial instruments to support climate and carbon finance from the client country perspective.  

IETA has been the leading voice of the business community on the subject of carbon markets since 1999. IETA's 130 member companies include some of the world's leading corporations, including global leaders in oil, electricity, cement, aluminum, chemical, paper, and other industrial sectors; as well as leading firms in the data verification and certification, brokering and trading, legal, finance, and consulting industries. IETA works to develop an active, homogeneous global greenhouse gas market that transcends national frontiers. 

In 2009, the World Bank Group and IETA brought on board Fira de Barcelona, Spain's leading organiser of trade fairs and industrial exhibitions, to guarantee the success of Carbon Expo in Spain.

Images of the 2015 event available here

Download the pdf of the press release here

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: IETA: Katie Kouchakji, kouchakji@ieta.org

EDF: Jennifer Andreassen, jandreassen@edf.org or +1 202 572 3387

CDC Climat Research: Maria Scolan, maria.scolan@cdcclimat.com

 BARCELONA, 27 May – Carbon markets around the world are continuing to expand and gather momentum, according to a series of case studies released by IETA, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and CDC Climat Research today, despite diverse challenges.

The case studies – released at Carbon Expo in Barcelona – find that while countries such as Kazakhstan, Norway and New Zealand are opting for market-based carbon pricing systems, each system is tailored to suit the national circumstances.

Case studies on carbon markets and pricing in Australia, Brazil, the EU, Japan, India, Tokyo, South Africa, the UK and Switzerland have also all been updated, to reflect the latest in policy developments in these regions. Each case study identifies unique challenges and lessons learned for each market, such as how forestry could be handled in an ETS, addressing competition concerns and moving away from free allocations.

The World Bank estimates that the world’s emissions trading systems are now valued at $34 billion.¹ A report by the International Carbon Action Partnership earlier this year found that jurisdictions with an ETS now represent 40% of global GDP.²

“This collection of work showcases how different governments have used market forces to curb emissions, tailored to their unique circumstances,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. “As we increasingly move towards a bottom-up world of climate policy, these case studies offer an array of models that others can borrow from. They show that carbon markets can work for all regions, all circumstances and all economic structures.”

“It is highly encouraging to see the growth and development of carbon markets around the world,” said Gernot Wagner, Lead Senior Economist at EDF. “As more governments implement innovative and effective market systems, we are beginning to see the needle shift on global climate policy.”

“There is a growing consensus on the fact that carbon pricing is becoming a priority among economic decision makers around the world – the big question is how to put a price on carbon,” says Benoît Leguet, Director of CDC Climat Research. “These case studies provide a fantastic collection of experiences that can be extremely useful to share government experience and inform the implementation of these innovative climate policies.”

He adds: “Whatever their stage of maturation, each system has to overcome important challenges to ensure the credibility and the stability of the system and the emergence of a robust and predictable carbon price signal.”

Today’s release is the third and final instalment of the World’s Carbon Markets series, following releases of the China, Alberta, California, Québec and RGGI case studies earlier this year.

 NOTES

1 The World Bank’s valuation is based on the price of allowances in all ETSs on 1 April 2015 multiplied by the allowance volume for 2015. See Carbon Pricing Watch 2015, released by the Bank on 26 May for more information.

2 See the ICAP Status Report 2015 for more information.

About IETA:
IETA has been the leading voice of the business community on the subject of carbon markets since 1999. IETA's 130 member companies include some of the world's leading corporations, including global leaders in oil, electricity, cement, aluminium, chemical, paper, and other industrial sectors; as well as leading firms in the data verification and certification, brokering and trading, legal, finance, and consulting industries.

 About EDF:

Environmental Defense Fund, a leading international non-profit organisation, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. Connect with us on EDF Voices, Twitter and Facebook.

 About CDC Climat Research:

CDC Climat Research benefits from the support of the Caisse des Dépôts Group to provide independent expertise on economic issues relating to climate and energy policies. CDC Climat Research helps public and private decision-makers improve the way in which they understand, anticipate, and encourage the use of economic and financial resources aimed at promoting the transition to a low-carbon and resilient economy.

 Please download this press release here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Kouchakji, kouchakji@ieta.org

EUA prices seen on the up in IETA’s annual market sentiment survey

BARCELONA, 26 May – Respondents to IETA’s annual market sentiment survey expect European carbon prices to rise for the first time in four years. 
 
This years survey, conducted again by PwC, found that respondents expect the average Phase III EUA price to be €10.79 – up from €8 last year, and the first rise since 2011. Prices between 2020 and 2030 are expected to average €18.40, according to the survey of IETA’s members.
 
This 10^th edition of IETA’s annual market sentiment survey found that respondents see a lower carbon price needed to drive low-carbon investment than five years ago, averaging €29.60 now compared with two-thirds saying a price of €40 or more is needed in 2010. 
 
However, unsurprisingly, an overwhelming number of respondents (88%) see carbon markets as an effective policy instrument – with 58% saying markets are the most effective driver of low-carbon investment, up from 36% in 2010. 
 
The Paris climate talks will lead to an expansion of global carbon markets, according to 58% of respondents – with strong growth seen in Asia and North America in particular. Notably, all respondents expect China to have a national ETS, with 64% expecting the market to be implemented by 2020.

“This year’s survey is a sign that, after a few years of crisis and reform, market participants see a stronger EU ETS in the future, and that sentiment is increasingly positive around the world,” says Dirk Forrister, CEO and President of IETA. 

“Recent years have seen a burst of activity in new market development, which is reflected in the survey. The message for Paris is that markets matter – and the challenge for policymakers is to bring together all these bottom-up efforts and find a way to make the links between domestic actions and international contributions.”

“Carbon market sentiment is on the rise for the first time in years,” says Jonathan Grant, director of PwC’s climate and sustainability practice. “It may seem obvious that IETA members would give this endorsement, but after years of low prices and policy turmoil in carbon markets around the world, business is still saying that market-based approaches are the most effective.”

He adds: “On Paris, there’s a big gap between the members’ ideal outcome and their actual expectations – few expect legally binding targets.  The IETA survey sends a clear signal to governments that the Paris agreement should accelerate the use of markets nationally and internationally.”

The survey report will be released at a press conference at Carbon Expo in Barcelona on 26 May at 9am CET. Hard copies will be available at the press conference and it can also be downloaded from the IETA website. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Kouchakji, kouchakji@ieta.org

GENEVA, 18 May – IETA is honoured to announce today that His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain will be opening this year’s Carbon Expo trade fair and conference.  

His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain will speak at the opening plenary of the three-day event on 26 May in Barcelona at 11am CET.

Other high-level speakers at Carbon Expo 2015 include Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC executive secretary, Miguel Arias Cañete, the European Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy, Spain’s environment minister Isabel Garcia Tejerina, France’s Special Representative for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference and French Ambassador for Climate Negotiations Laurence Tubiana and World Bank vice-president Rachel Kyte.

More than 35 CEOs will also be present at the event, as well as several environment ministers and leading policymakers – making Carbon Expo the essential milestone on the road to the Paris climate agreement at the end of this year.

“As we enter the final months of negotiations for the Paris climate agreement, having a forum for discussion between business and government such as Carbon Expo is crucial, particularly with regards to market matters,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. “The presence of His Majesty King Felipe VI is a sign of how high the importance of the global response to climate change has escalated.”

Carbon Expo 2015, organised jointly by IETA, the World Bank Group and Fira de Barcelona, features more than 220 speakers in nine plenary sessions and 27 workshops. Carbon Expo will also host 36 side events featuring the latest products and services for climate and carbon finance, including industry case studies, new reports and networking opportunities. The side events will be open to all participants.

 For the full programme and to register, please see www.carbonexpo.com. 

 Please download this press release here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Press Office, Fira de Barcelona, mjuvell@firabarcelona.com or +34-93 233 20 89

Barcelona, 13 May 2015: UN climate chief Christiana Figueres, Europe's climate commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete, Spain's environment minister Isabel Garcia Tejerina and Laurence Tubiana, France's ambassador for the climate negotiations, are among the distinguished speakers at this year's Carbon Expo trade fair and conference. 

The three-day event, now in its 12th year, gathers together leading policymakers, business representatives and financial institutions and provides a crucial opportunity for discussions in the run up to the Paris 2015 climate agreement. Other speakers at this year's event include World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change Rachel Kyte, Morocco's Minister of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment Hakima El Haite, State Secretary at the German environment ministry Jochen Flasbarth, Ecuador's Minister of Environment Loren a Tapia and Teresa Ribera, director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations. 

Carbon Expo this year also hosts the largest number of company heads ever, with more than 30 CEOs set to attend the 26-28 May event, which will include a special CEO Roundtable on the Road to Paris. Heads of Acciona, Ferrovial, Natsource, C-Quest Capital and Australia's Clean Energy Regulator will be in attendance, among many others. 

Discussions will focus on carbon pricing, the transition to low-carbon development and energy, and what investors should look for in the Paris climate agreement. Carbon Expo 2015, organised jointly by IETA, the World Bank Group and Fira de Barcelona, features more than 220 speakers in nine plenary sessions and 27 workshops. Carbon Expo will also host 36 side events featuring the latest products and services for climate and carbon finance, including industry case studies, new reports and networking opportunities. The side events will be open to all participants.

"Carbon Expo provides an ideal scenario for underscoring that, in addition to the new approach implemented in our domestic climate change policies, we view the year 2015 as a crucial year to prepare for the Paris Climate Summit," says Isabel García Tejerina, Spain's Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment. "All governments face the challenge of reaching a global agreement and public and private sector commitment is essential for advancing towards a low-carbon economy."

"Achieving a peaking of global emissions in 10 years, a deep decarbonisation of the global economy and climate neutrality by the second half of the century will require ambitious public policy, entrepreneurial drive and finance to support the growth and climate ambitions of developing countries," says Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. "This year's Carbon Expo needs to help build that response. The Expo takes on special significance for the carbon market community as the world heads towards a new universal, global climate change agreement in Paris -- not least being the role of market mechanisms in supporting the new agreement and the surrounding decision over the coming years and decades."

 World Bank Group, IETA and Fira de Barcelona: a successful partnership

The World Bank Group was the first institution to develop global public-private carbon funds with the creation of the Prototype Carbon Fund in 2000, and has since launched over 18 carbon initiatives designed to support carbon markets in client countries, reduce green technology investment risk and increase the scope of carbon finance. This is now widening to innovative financial instruments to support climate and carbon finance from the client country perspective. 

 IETA has been the leading voice of the business community on the subject of carbon markets since 1999. IETA's 130 member companies include some of the world's leading corporations, including global leaders in oil, electricity, cement, aluminium, chemical, paper, and other industrial sectors; as well as leading firms in the data verification and certification, brokering and trading, legal, finance, and consulting industries. IETA works to develop an active, homogeneous global greenhouse gas market that transcends national frontiers. 

 In 2009, the World Bank Group and IETA decided to bring on board Fira de Barcelona, Spain's leading organiser of trade fairs and industrial exhibitions, to guarantee the success of Carbon Expo in Spain.

 Images of past events available here

 The 2015 Conference Program is available here

 Please download this press release here.