President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech to Congress could indicate how badly he wants a global warming bill, which opponents say will cost U.S. jobs and raise prices -- a scary prospect for politicians trying to ride out a horrible economy in an election year.
Some carbon emissions trading desks are expanding or diversifying into other commodities as continued low carbon prices and a weak U.N. climate deal have dulled the market.
European Union carbon emissions futures barely moved after a small German permit auction on Wednesday, but traders warned a UK auction on Thursday could push prices lower.
Voluntary carbon markets in the United States will grow especially at the regional level even if a stalled federal climate bill fails to impose cap and trade on American industry, the chairman of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) said.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Sunday he believed a global agreement to combat climate change might still be possible despite the limited results of last month's Copenhagen meeting.
European Union carbon futures slipped in light trading on Thursday to end the year down 21 percent from 2008 closing prices.
South Korea will launch a pilot carbon emissions trading scheme from January after the environment ministry received applications from 641 public and private organizations, the ministry said on Wednesday.
China on Friday defended the role played by premier Wen Jiabao at climate change talks in Copenhagen this month after a barrage of international criticism blaming China for obstructing negotiations.
Demand for voluntary carbon offsets declined in December, traditionally one of the market's busiest months, as a slow year meant retailers did not face the usual scramble to square their books, market players said.
Just days after countries agreed to a last minute agreement at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen, accusations are beginning to fly over who was responsible for what many consider a poor agreement.
Australia promised to press on with its carbon trade plan on Tuesday despite the U.N. climate summit's failure to set emissions targets, but the Copenhagen outcome has cooled chances an early election on climate policy.
Prices for European carbon emissions futures on Tuesday clawed back a little of Monday's 9 percent falls, as bearish sentiment waned over a watered-down deal at the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen. EU Allowances for December 2010 delivery closed 2.01 percent higher at 12.70 euros ($18.17) a tonne, with volume at 4,378 lots.
China condemned claims ascribed to Britain's climate change minister that it had hijacked negotiations in Copenhagen, saying on Tuesday the accusations were an attempt to sow discord among poor countries.
European carbon prices crashed by almost 9 percent on Monday after UN climate talks ended on Saturday with a bare-minimum agreement between after the U.S., China and a few other emerging powers that falls far short of the conference's original goals.
The credibility of the European Union's flagship carbon trading scheme was dealt another blow on Monday after carbon prices fell to six-month lows as U.N. talks in Copenhagen failed to deliver a strong climate deal.
The benchmark contract for European Union carbon emissions futures closed at a six-month low on Monday, having fallen as much as 9 percent in intra-day trade after a weak U.N. climate deal disappointed investors.
The world will find it hard to get U.N.-led climate talks back on track in Mexico in 2010 after an unambitious deal agreed in Copenhagen set no firm deadline for a legally binding treaty.
U.N. climate talks ended with a bare-minimum agreement on Saturday when delegates noted an accord struck by the United States, China and other emerging powers that falls far short of the conference's original goals.
A U.N. climate meeting in Copenhagen committed on Saturday to try and complete its work on agreeing a new global pact by the end of 2010.
A U.N. summit is considering a target of limiting global warming to a maximum 2 degrees Celsius, backed by a new fund of $100 billion a year to aid developing nations, according to a draft text pulled together on Friday morning hours before world leaders met.
The following is text extracted from a draft of an Accord among Leaders at Copenhagen.
The White House said that world leaders had reached a meaningful agreement that would pave the way towards multi-laterally combatting global climate change.
