Analysis

  • Sunshine and showers

    01 April 2009

    China's wind energy sector is likely to be a beneficiary of the government's efforts to stimulate its economy as the world splutters into recession. But the outlook isn't so bright for its solar industry, reports Joshua Speckman

  • Weathering the storm

    01 April 2009

    In the last quarter of 2008, the global financial crisis finally hit the catastrophe bond market. As bond issuance begins to resume, Beat Holliger explains how the market is learning the lessons from Lehman Brothers' default

  • The case for allocating carbon allowances

    01 April 2009

    The US power sector stands ready to contribute to the nation's efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions – but any cap-and-trade programme must allocate, not auction allowances, says Thomas Kuhn

  • Seeing the wood for the trees

    01 April 2009

    As the US prepares to regulate carbon emissions, the links between business and the environmental movement – such as those forged by Glenn Prickett – will become crucial. Gloria Gonzalez reports

  • Time to intervene?

    01 March 2009

    The anaemic price of carbon allowances is generating growing anxiety about the role of emissions trading in tackling climate change, and some predictably confused reporting. It is also generating calls for intervention in the market to ensure that a sufficiently high price signal is transmitted to change corporate behaviour.

  • People moves this month

    01 March 2009

    Comings and goings in Environmental Finance this month

  • An evolving role for international offsets

    01 March 2009

    The Clean Development Mechanism is playing an important role in the international climate regime and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme – but business as usual is not an option, say Jos Delbeke and Peter Zapfel

  • The path to US participation

    01 March 2009

    The evolution of a domestic US carbon market is intimately interwoven with the stance of the new administration on the international stage – and the shape of both is beginning to emerge, say James Heath, Aleka Seville and Tuomas Rautanen

  • From sea to shining sea

    01 March 2009

    Three regional greenhouse gas emissions trading schemes are under way or planned in the US. No fewer than 10 bills proposing federal carbon caps have been drafted by Congress. Katie Kouchakji summarises the key features of the regional schemes (left). Below we set out the salient features of the leading cap-and-trade bills and chart their projected emission trajectories

  • Why cap and trade is not the answer

    01 March 2009

    It may have worked for SO2, but cap and trade is the wrong answer to the climate change question, say Laurie Williams and Allan Zabel