With thanks and respect to Steve Bell
From Bloomberg:
By Mathew Carr – Sep 21, 2012 8:16 PM GMT
European utilities are poised to add more coal-fired power capacity than natural gas in the next four years, boosting emissions just as the era of free carbon permits ends.
Power producers from EON AG to RWE AG (RWE) will open six times more coal-burning plants than gas-fed units by 2015, UBS AG said in a Sept. 5 research note. Profits at coal-fired power stations may more than double by then, according to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. report published on Sept. 13th.
The new stations, replacing atomic and aging fossil fuel- based plants, will boost demand for emission permits because coal-fired generators need twice as many credits as gas users under climate protection rules. The price of UN credits may rebound 73 percent by the end of next year from an all-time low on Sept. 18, according to the Euro Carbon Macro Fund in Luxembourg, which manages about $32 million.
“The economics for coal are near the best we’ve seen in five years,” Laurent Segalen, a director at ECMF, said yesterday in an interview from London. Buying UN credits for 2013, after they plunged almost 80 percent in the past year, is “an amazing bargain,” he said.
With thanks and respect to Steve Bell
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
Ahhhhhh…. Interesting.
O.K. I note that the “Euro Carbon Macro Fund in Luxembourg” only manages about $32 million, but I’d be interested to hear some more opinions from economists on this matter.
If some of the ‘big boys’ [banks and big-oil] really bought into this concept as much as some report, then there are much bigger sums to be made [or, more likely, lost] than $32 million.
I generally don’t go in for conspiracy theories, but market-manipulation is not always the same thing [as far as a judge is concerned].
Medium and long term, the carbon market is headed for the toilet. But there may be some interesting spasms en-route.
Oh, it’s big. Very big.
The German government recently decided to phase out nuclear power, in favour of conventional power plants. Has this affected their stance on carbon credit trading?
US Senate has held EU’s aviation tax to be illegal and will ban US airlines for making any payments.
Connie’s having a tantrum because the big kids don’t want to play by her rules.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/22/us-usa-carbon-airlines-idUSBRE88L06C20120922
Moral of the story: Don’t let 12-year-olds make laws and regulations.
Classic Steve Bell.
And may the Strummer/Jones be with you 😉
[…] on Curious OLR anomaly in the…Trick on Clive Best: Understanding the …DaveR on Coal and carbon credits on the…tchannon on University of Reading, meteoro…Entropic man on Curious OLR anomaly in […]