Abstract
Overview
Introduction
Against a backdrop of challenging carbon abatement targets and reduced European carbon emission allocations, the role of traded carbon markets is growing in importance as the second leg of the EU-ETS takes effect. The marketing and product development for carbon financial instruments is growing rapidly as greater volumes are swapped on increasingly liquid platforms across Europe
Scope
- An overview of the Kyoto Protocol, climate change regulations, emissions trading and carbon markets, with a particular emphasis on phase 2 of EU-ETS
- Detailed analysis of Phase 2 of ETS and the bullish implications for EUA demand and pricing against a backdrop of considerable upside risk
- Insight as to why demand for carbon credits will differ greatly across Europe, underpinned by generation mix and fuel switching capabilities analysis
- A range of carbon compliance scenarios based on the likely evolution of the power generation mix in key EU markets and the impact on carbon markets
Report Highlights
The over-allocation of EUAs and ensuing lack of price-tension seen during phase 1 of EU-ETS will not be repeated in Phase 2. The phase 2 cap - well below 2007 adjusted emissions - has set the tone for a very ambitious energy-policy package out to 2020 which points to significantly higher carbon prices and demand over 2008-20
The optimal compliance strategy for the ETS as a whole is to use the largest possible allocation of carbon credits during Phase 2, thereby minimizing the cost of compliance in Phase 2 to the €40/t implied by the LRMC curve while buying time to build the extra switching capacity needed to meet the cap over Phase 3
Reasons to Purchase
- Understand how carbon markets are likely to evolve as key European players leverage switching capabilities within their power generation mix
- Leverage Phase 2 of the EU-ETS to your advantage having understood how demand, supply and price conditions are likely to evolve in key EU markets
- Formulate and apply successful strategies to leverage greater demand for financial carbon instruments as liquidity and price efficiencies materialise
Table of Contents
- DATAMONITOR VIEW
- CATALYST
- SUMMARY
- SOURCES
- ANALYSIS
- Emissions trading allows countries to meet their carbon abatement
obligations under the Kyoto Protocol
- The Kyoto Protocol binds most developed nations to a capand trade system
- Emissions trading is an administrative approach used to control pollution by way of economic incentives
- The European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) is the leading emissions trading system
- The ' global' carbon emission trading market is still very much Eurocentric
- EU-ETS continued to dominate global carbon trading volumes in 2007
- In 2007, EU- ETS sustained its lead in terms of total traded financial values
- The EU is pivotal to establishing a truly ' global' carbon market
- An increasing majority of European carbon is traded over-the-counter
- No changes on the exchanges: the ECX continues to lead the standardized market for EU emissions trading
- EUA-II prices recovered strongly mid 2006 on the expectation that Phase II compliance caps would be tightened
- EUA-II prices recovered strongly mid 2006 on the expectation that Phase II compliance caps would be tightened
- Carbon markets will grow in importance as emission trading is reborn
under phases II and III of EU-ETS
- ETS Phase II will bring a dramatic shift in market fundamentals
- Phase II of EU-ETS looks a lot tighter than Phase 1 and has bullish implications for EUA demand and pricing
- It is likely that ETS installations will largely favour the use of carbon credits in Phase II and lower carbon generation in Phase III
- Upside risks could be introduced into current abatement targets, causing more upward pressure on demand and pricing
- Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland and Spain will be structurally short carbon credits in 2008, based on their respective 2007 emissions
- European countries will see a dramatic rise in the need for carbon abatement in Phase II ETS, and to a much larger extent Phase III
- Carbon abatement shortfalls will drive European wholesale market growth, offset by fuel switching, CCS and limited supply
- Emissions trading allows countries to meet their carbon abatement
obligations under the Kyoto Protocol
- APPENDIX
- Definitions
- Ask the analyst
- Datamonitor consulting
- Disclaimer
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: EUA trading forms the bulk of traded volumes,followed by project-based activities and voluntary transactions
- Figure 2: EUA trading forms the bulk of trading values,followed by project-based activities and voluntary transactions
- Figure 3: Active trading programs exist in several pollutants worldwide, yet EU-ETS remains by far the largest carbon market,with 62% of the physical market and 70% of the financial market
- Figure 4: Non-brokered bilateral trading is losing ground to OTC and exchange-based trading
- Figure 5: The Anglo-Dutch ECX continues to dominate formalized EU emissions trading
- Figure 6: Market focus is shifting from an increasingly meaningless ETS Phase I towards increasingly stringent Phase II allocations
- Figure 7: The inclusion of 85Mt of new emissions not covered in Phase 1 means that the Phase II cap has effectively been reduced by 13%
- Figure 8: The transition from Phase I to Phase II allocations will see the current surplus of credits replaced with an EU A shortfall from 2008
- Figure 9: The suggested EU emissions cap of 1,720Mt by 2020 presents a very challenging target, with severe implications for demand and pricing, given the aggressive Phase III limits on CDM / JI credits
- Figure 10: The five European countries with the largest carbon abatement targets also display the largest carbon allowance deficits
- Figure 11: Of the 5 countries that will be significantly short carbon credits in 2008, only Spain will be long on average overphases 2 and 3
- Figure 12: EU wholesale carbon market growth

