The global aviation sector will need to buy 59 million emissions permits under the EU’s carbon cap-and-trade system this year, said a market analyst, at an estimated cost of €500 million ($665.4 million).

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has adopted final regulations for the world’s second largest cap-and-trade system, despite unresolved concerns over allowance allocations, buyer liability for offsets and the size of the overall market.

The EU’s decision to regulate all non-EU airlines flying into or out of the bloc under its Emissions Trading System (ETS) from 1 January next year is illegal, the US airline industry has argued before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Opposition to EU plans to include non-European airlines in its Emissions Trading System from 2012 erupted this week with Airbus and Virgin Atlantic warning of a potential trade war with China. But the European Commission has said it will not back down – a position supported by environmental NGOs and carbon market investors.

Australia's top climate change adviser has recommended that the nation begin with a fixed carbon price of about A$26 (US$27.80), increase it by 4% a year then shift to a floating price regime after three years.

EU member states have put forward 78 large-scale renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects to compete for funds from the EU’s NER 300 programme.

Carbon markets have settled this week, but remain vulnerable to further political shocks from Germany’s nuclear policy and attempts at revolution in several Arab countries.

Carbon trading in China is unlikely to result in significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in the next five years, according to a report from the Climate Group.

Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami on Friday and the subsequent nuclear emergency has sent carbon prices to their highest level in two years, in response to higher natural gas prices and Germany’s decision to close nuclear reactors for testing.

The EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is the ideal environment for laundering money – and if such a scandal emerges, it will mean the end of the cap-and-trade programme, a leading investment banker has warned.

The European Commission has proposed a raft of measures to improve security in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in the wake of the theft of around 4 million EU allowances (EUAs) that has slowed the spot market to a crawl. But market participants and lawyers have slammed the measures as inadequate and overdue.

Christiana Figueres, the shepherd of UN climate change talks, this week voiced support for a carbon tax to address global warming.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme registries in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the UK are set to reopen on Friday – but the effects of the EU allowance (EUA) theft that caused their shutdown are set to linger, say traders.

No EU registries will go back online today, meaning there will be a further delay before spot trading resumes in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Trading in the EU carbon market has slowed to a crawl following the decision yesterday afternoon by the European Commission to suspend transactions in all EU member states' allowance (EUA) registries, following the latest in a string of “security breaches”.

Japan is to delay the start of carbon trading, but will press ahead with other tax measures and incentives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

There is unlikely to be a seamless transition into a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, with a ‘delayed extension’ until 2015 the most likely outcome, according to HSBC.

California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading system survived two challenges in elections this week, but the Democrat’s loss of the House of Representatives effectively puts an end to any federal programme to cap and trade emissions.

China will establish a national emissions trading system at some time in the future, the country’s top climate negotiator said this week, but opportunities remain limited for now.

Project developers in India are likely to shift away from the carbon markets to take advantage of promising national markets for renewable energy and energy efficiency certificates, according to Anmol Jaggi, director of Gensol Consultants.