The European Commission said it intends to develop stricter Internet security protocols in response to the cyber attacks, although no timeline has been set for their implementation.

"The integrity of the market is of utmost importance to us," BlueNext spokesman Keiron Allen said. "All effort should be made to prevent this from happening again" (Mathew Carr, Bloomberg, Feb. 5). -- GN

The Climex data are accessible to Bloomberg users via the functions ALLX CLIX and ERH CLX . All throughout January a banner, which links directly to the Climex data, will be on display to Bloomberg users.

“We are very happy that Bloomberg is providing continuous access to the Climex data to more than 300,000 Bloomberg users,” explains Axel Posthumus, CEO of Climex. “This adds great value to Bloomberg users and furthers transparency in both the compliance and voluntary market and it leads to better access to what happens on our exchange. Since we are the only exchange offering cleared ERU trading, we think it can specifically contribute to price information on this market.”

The Climex continuous trade data are also available on Reuters 3000 and the carbon section of the Thomson Reuters Community, where they have already been available to clients since 2007. The data can be found on Subject Name RIC: CLIMEX: European Unit Allowance Spot CLXEUA2SPOT and CLIMEX: Certified Emission Reduction Spot CLXCERSPOT/A on Reuters 3000. Registration to the Thomson Reuters Community is free and open to everyone.

Further data contracts are expected in the near future.

The reports later indicated, the U.S. and China are often pointed out as the responsible parties for the lack of progress. Obama had made promises on the issue of climate protection, but has yet to deliver results. This shows the overwhelming influence that U.S. domestic politics has on the planet, as the rest of the world waits for the nation to confirm its promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The disappointment was felt mostly in Europe, where there is a general consensus on the necessity for action.

The Copenhagen Accord in short:

- Agreement not to let human induced climate change cause warming beyond 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures;

- No legally-binding emission reductions for developed countries; countries are to submit their reduction pledges before 31 January 2010;

- No quantified emission reduction objectives by developing countries, only measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) reported to the Convention;

- US$30 billion of short-term finance, balanced between climate change adaptation and emissions mitigation, has been committed for the period 2010-2012 by developed country governments;

- Long-term finance of a further US$100 billion a year by 2020 will be mobilised from a variety of sources; and

- Four new bodies: a mechanism on REDD-plus, a High-Level Panel under the COP to study the implementation of financing provisions, the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund and a Technology Mechanism.

- Read the full accord at:
http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_15/application/pdf/cop15_cph_auv.pdf

The Accord is only the beginning of the next phase in international climate negotiations, and over the course of the next year the real challenge will be for Parties to maintain the political momentum as reflected in the Copenhagen Accord and turn its political intentions into legally binding agreements. Based on positions of Parties during COP15 it appears likely that any legally binding agreement will continue on a two track basis - under both the Kyoto Protocol, which at this stage appears likely to be extended into a second commitment period for developed country targets after 2012, and under a new protocol to the UNFCCC to give legal effect to commitments by developing countries (and the United States as a non-Kyoto Party).

The next COP is scheduled for November 2010 in Mexico. Negotiators are hoping to nail down then what they failed to achieve here in Copenhagen: a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Pressure from the private sector to provide clear rules will increase this year as the deadline of 2012 is coming nearer.

Therefore at some stage suspicions on the market and amongst authorities rose that the trading was not a result of compliance trading or speculation but because of VAT. Selling parties sold EUAs nationally with legal VAT charges applying to the sale. Because of the large transaction amounts, the VAT charges the Treasury was still due to collect from these sellers, was enormous. The question is, were these charges being paid to the Treasury at all? There is a major concern that this was not the case. As a consequence the countries in question lost out on large amounts of tax revenue, which harms the tax payer in the end. And respectful organisations can unwillingly become involved in a fraudulent trading cycle.

Because of the large spot trading volumes in France, it was a logical step by the French Government to be the first to take VAT related measures, followed by the Dutch, British and later on Spanish Authorities. These Governments took decisive action already before the summer of 2009 and before the European Commission had taken a stance. Technically the measures are quite different but they all result in the same; in these countries VAT does not apply any more to Carbon Invoices, and therefore fraud with VAT declarations is no longer possible and the national Treasury does not miss out on any demands. Apart from these Governmental measures, a number of market parties themselves also took (radical) actions. Climex, for instance reviewed its contracts, sharpened the registration criteria and is checking existing members against the new criteria. Climex now refuses membership to organisations who can or will not meet the (stricter) criteria. This however does not solve or prevent the problem.

As a consequence of the measures certain governments have taken, trading volumes have plummeted during the fourth quarter to 150 million tonnes.
The question rises now, if this is the ‘real’ trading volume. In theory, fraud is still a possibility in Europe. Not in France, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom or Spain, but in the other European countries. Should the trading have been driven by VAT motives, then it is logical the trading will shift to those countries where VAT on carbon credits is still applicable. This will harm the tax payer in that respective country, but also market parties like Climex, because credible organisations and volume are drawn towards countries were fraudsters are still active. It will also harm the EU ETS in general because the image of a ‘cap and trade’ system is already under pressure after disappointing results in Copenhagen.

For this reason Climex finds it incomprehensible and even irresponsible why European Authorities have not yet taken European-wide measures, or why the remaining Member States have not yet done so on their own accord.
In a letter to the European Authorities, Climex has brought this concern forward, but so far has not received an answer.

Tuesday 9 February – E-World Energy & Water 2010, Essen
Time: 13.30-16.30 CET

This workshop will take place at the fair site, during the trade show. All participants will be offered the opportunity to get acquainted with the status of the EU discussion and the preferred auction format, familiarising themselves with the processes and procedures, acquiring EUAs through allocation auctions and the secondary market and discussing strategies.
Please note: This workshop is in German only and you need to register since there is a limited number of places available. Please bring your laptop!

If you are interested in participating in the workshop you can register at: http://www.energieagentur.nrw.de/_infopool/page.asp?InfoID=8428&find=fachkongress%20zukunftsenergien. Here, you can also find the programme of the workshop.

Wednesday 3 March - Carbon Market Insights 2010, Amsterdam
Time: 11.00 – 12.45

Side Event: Phase III Allocation Auctions in Practice
- Status of the EU discussion on Allocation Auctions
- Design of the Allocation Auctions
- Understand the impact of the different approaches currently under discussion
- Gain experience in a real life simulation
- Receive valuable insights for your own company’s strategy
This side event will give you a status update and overview of the discussions around Phase III Allocation Auctions and provides you with the opportunity to gain hands on experience in participating in such auctions. In a simulation you will experience the different approaches and their pros and cons, you will learn to work with the generally accepted auction model and you will develop purchasing strategies.
Please bring your laptop to this side event.

Allocation Auction Workshop, Warsaw, Poland
The first workshop of this year was held on 28 January in Warsaw, Poland. It was organised in cooperation with the Polish Government. The workshop drew many participants who came from various branches of industry and Governments. Several high level speakers (like Tomasz Chruszczow, Department of Climate Change, Ministry of the Environment, Poland and Anne-Theo Seinen, European Commission) provided their insights and visions on important aspects of and developments regarding allocation auctions in Phase III, which was followed by a plenary discussion. During the second part of the workshop participants had the opportunity to participate in different kinds of allocation auctions on the Climex Auction Platform. Afterwards, the high number of reactions of the participants were all very positive, they considered it a very informative and useful meeting.

If you are interested to participate in future workshops or if you would like a demo session you can contact us at the Climex website: csdesk@climex.com

“It is very encouraging when companies decide to renew their contracts” says Sascha Bloemhoff, Commercial Director of Climex, “and we are pleased Wagenplan chose Climex to be the preferential purchasing channel. We also believe the auctions to be a very efficient and easy route to market for sellers and we hope to be facilitating many more auctions in the coming months.”

Wagenplan is looking for 26,000 VCS VERs from renewable energy projects, except biomass and landfill and the VCUs will need to be delivered into the TZ1 Registry account of the Buyer. A Fact Sheet describing the exact requirements of the Buyer and the VERPA are available now as well as some of the auction documentation for registered participants. Sellers will have to disclose the project(s) from which the VERs offered originate upfront and if all requirements are met, participation at auction will be approved. The auction will be an open order book descending clock auction, which means anonymous offers will be visible to all and the auction will start at a maximum price, with prices moving downwards, and the deal will be granted to the lowest offer at closing time.

Members of Climex will automatically receive full details on the auction and the project by Climex. Sellers interested in participating in the auction can contact Climex for more information or register for free membership with the Climex exchange at the website: www.climex.com.

This 3rd Austrian auction will be exactly the same as the previous auctions; the competitive auction with 200,000 EUAs for sale and the non-competitive auction with 100,000 EUAs.

The competitive auction will be exactly similar to the format used so far by auctioning Governments and has received the EU consensus as the design for post 2013 Allocation Auctions.
The non-competitive auction was specially developed for SME not active on the trading market and offers them small number purchases of EUAs for their compliances, risk free and easily accessible. The minimum bid size is 50 EUAs. Participants in the non-competitive auction only bid for volumes, the price will be defined during the competitive auction.

During Phase II of the EU-ETS (2008 - 2012), the Austrian Government is allocating an annual average of 30.33 million emission allowances to Austrian installations participating in the EU ETS. According to the Austrian Allocation Plan and corresponding ordinance, 2 million EUAs (about 500,000 per year, starting 2009) - accounting for 1.3% of the total number - will be auctioned throughout this period, at two auctions per year.

The 1st Austrian Auction, consisting of a non-competitive and a competitive auction format, was successfully coordinated and conducted by Climex with the support of ÖEKV on 16 March 2009 on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW). 205,050 EUAs were sold at €11.65, with 5,050 EUAs resulting from the non-competitive auction, leaving the remaining 94,950 EUAs from the non-competitive auction for later auctions.
The 2nd Austrian Auction was a competitive auction, which took place on 13 October 2009. A total of 200,000 EUAs was sold at €14.23.

The Austrian auctions are open to all parties with a Holding Account connected to the CITL. For further information about the auction, please contact the Climex Customer Service Desk. Companies interested in participating in the auction need to be a Member of Climex and need to fully collateralise their bids. There are no costs or obligations related to becoming a Member; for registration go to www.climex.com.

The official announcement regarding the auctions can be found on the website of the BMLFUW (www.lebensministerium.at) and the Austrian Emissions Trading Registry (www.emissionshandelsregister.at). The announcement will also be published at www.co2markt.at and www.climex.com, as well as all related news items and further details.

The total energy consumption of this National Government will be up for auction as well as the previous European Tender. The total electricity purchase will be 1 TW, the gas contract 150.000.000 m3. The intention is to close new energy contracts for the years 2012 – 2015. The electricity and gas contracts are separate tender procedures.

Interested? Please contact Climex on: CSDesk@climex.com.

The basic principle of Avans Hogeschool, which is the University of Applied Sciences, is rooted in and springs from its social environment. Operating in several cities, they offer customised course packages to a large number of full-time and part-time students (20.000 in total). Avans belong to the top three Universities of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands.

Climex Energy Auction auctioned the contract for a period of 2 years (2010-2011) with an option on gas supplies for 2012 and 2013. During the two-hour auction, interested suppliers competed on price. At the end of the auction, the contract was awarded to the supplier who offered the best price.

The reaction of the Republicans is that cap-and-trade is jiust taxing: "In June 2009, the House passed H.R. 2454, the Democrat cap-and-tax energy bill. The bill imposes a national cap-and-tax regime that ultimately every consumer in the U.S. would pay for. Independent researchers, CBO, and the President all agree that this cost will be passed to consumers. There is little debate that a national energy tax would outsource millions of manufacturing jobs to countries such as China and India. " (GOP website)

It relies on businesses to self-regulate their carbon emissions in the absence of a legally binding climate agreement and individuals' need to offset their carbon footprint.

Brokers MF Global saw an increase in demand for Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) and Gold Standard credits this month.

"Interest in pure-VCS credits, particularly from U.S. buyers, has increased markedly, " it said in a brokers' note.

Prices for Gold Standard spot voluntary emissions reductions were around 6.50 to 7.50 euros a tonne. Pure Voluntary Carbon Standard credits were $2-$2.50, while recent vintage pre-CDM voluntary carbon units were $3-$4.

Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, last week said the deadline was ‘soft’, describing the accord as “a living document” that countries will add to over the year.

“The proof of the overall success of the Copenhagen Accord is going to be the adoption of domestic measures and actions,” said Abyd Karmali, president of the Carbon Markets & Investors Association.

The moves by Japan and Australia follow a meeting of ministers from Brazil, South Africa, India and China – dubbed the ‘BASIC’ countries – last weekend, at which the four countries highlighted their support for the accord, but stressed the “centrality” of the UN process and called for an additional five negotiating sessions this year before a summit in Mexico at the end of the year.

The BASIC statement was clear that the accord “is a tool to help advance negotiations”, said Andrei Marcu, Geneva-based head of regulatory affairs at trading house Mercuria, adding that he expects “a significant number of countries” to make their commitments known. However, he added that the 31 January deadline was always “difficult to achieve”, due to the accord being agreed so late in December and the requirement for intra-governmental consultations.

But Karmali noted that the deadline was an attempt to “maintain momentum ... after 31 January, there’s not much of a roadmap.”

“There’s a lot of shadow-boxing as people try to understand” how to turn the accord into a full regime and guess at what the US will do, said Nick Mabey, chief executive of London-based think-tank E3G. The US was instrumental in getting the text agreed with major developing countries in Copenhagen, but has since been silent on its intentions. Before the December meeting, President Barack Obama had pledged to reduce emissions by 17% below 2005 levels by 2020.

“Things were thrown up in the air in Copenhagen – it’ll be interesting to see who’s prepared to work together,” Mabey said.

Marcu added: “At some point, the question is: who is going to take the initiative and host meetings of the Copenhagen Accord signatories?”

“We obviously have the UNFCCC process which will continue, but we’re entering a phase in which climate policy negotiations are more fragmented,” said CCC’s Caldecott, adding that talks are likely to take place in other fora.