Carbon Market Data publishes key figures on the European emissions trading scheme for the year 2011

Carbon Market Data, a European company providing carbon market research and IT services, issued a data summary on the recent release of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme‘s 2011 verified emissions reports.

Based on Carbon Market Data calculations, the EU emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) installations were long by 87 Mt in 2011 (they emitted 87 million tonnes CO2 less than their number of freely received carbon allowances). This figure is derived from the verified emissions data submitted so far by 89% (in volume) of the 11,000 installations currently included in the trading scheme. It shows that EU ETS installations emitted – in total – 4.9% less CO2 than the number of allowances they received for free.

These figures include the 27 EU countries except Greece and Cyprus.

These figures do not include either so-called “new entrant reserves” allowances, which are distributed for free to new installations and to installations expanding the volume or the nature of their activities.

In 2011, EU countries allocated to their installations a total of 1985 million allowances (an allowance is a permit to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide). Verified emissions data submitted so far show that these installations emitted during the same period 1693 MtCO2. This represents an average decrease in CO2 emissions of 2.21% per installation in 2011 over 2010 (this figure takes into account only the installations that have submitted their emissions report).

This decrease in CO2 emissions surprised most analysts and might be due to the economic stagnation in Europe combined with the effect of energy efficiency and renewable energy policies.

In 2011, only one country allocated to its installations – in aggregate - less free allowances than they emitted: Germany (50 Mt).

All the other countries allocated to their installations more allowances than the amount of carbon emitted in 2011. Romania (-22 Mt), Spain (-18 Mt), Czech Republic (-12 Mt), France (-10 Mt) and Belgium (-10 Mt) are topping the list of countries with a surplus in EU carbon allowances.

The graph shows the EU ETS emissions-to-cap (the difference between the verified emissions and the allocated allowances) figures of EU countries.

In terms of emissions evolution between 2011 and 2010, only seven countries countries saw an increase of their CO2 emissions. Spain (+8.7%), Romania (+8%) and Portugal (+3.36%) experienced the highest increases in CO2 emissions. Last year, Spain and Portugal had seen a decrease in CO2 emissions of respectively 12% and 15% compared to 2009.

Countries that saw a decrease in their CO2 emissions in 2011 are topped by Northern European countries: Finland (-15%), Denmark (-15%), Lithuania (-14%) and Sweden (-12.3%).

The table shown in the following page displays the list of the 10 installations having the biggest shortage of free carbon allowances in 2011 in the European emissions trading scheme (excl. Greece).

The total shortage of these 10 installations amounts to 89 million carbon allowances.

Four of these installations belong to the German energy giant, RWE.

List of the 10 installations with biggest EUA shortage in 2011 (Provisional – Greece excl.)