Oslo, 6 April 2010

Last year, some 1,887 Million tonnes (Mt) of greenhouse gases were emitted by the installations that participate in the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), plus Norway. This drop in emissions, equivalent to 11% on the comparable 2008 figure of 2,120 Mt, occurred across all sectors and in all countries and is in line with Point Carbon estimates.

The analysis was based on the verified emissions data published April 1 by the European Commission via its Community Independent Transaction Log ( CITL). The analysis is based on data for just above 10,000 installations accounting for around 90% of 2008 emissions.

The data confirms that the economic downturn has had an even greater impact on industrial production and power demand than last year when the economic slump resulted in a 6% reduction in emissions compared to 2007. While emissions were down in all sectors, following the recent economic downturn, the largest relative change is found in the Metals Sector (emissions down 29%) and the Cement, Lime and Glass sector (down 20%) probably reflecting that these are the sectors that have been worse hit by the recession. The Power and heat sector emitted 9% less mainly due to significantly lower industrial production and a resulting fall in demand for power through 2009.

Emissions reductions also occurred across all countries whose emissions were verified. Most significantly, Italy and Spain both saw a 16% reduction in their emissions, followed by the UK (13%) and Germany (8%).

According to Kjersti Ulset, Manager of European carbon analysis at Point Carbon Trading Analytics & Research, “This data certainly confirms that 2009 was a year of almost unprecedented economic downturn in Europe and most of the world. Emissions were down in all sectors and in all countries as the slump has deepened and widened considerably over the past twelve months”.

She added “The data was in line with Point Carbon’s predictions and was more or less what the market expected. However, the small uptick in the price of carbon after the data was released might suggest that market participants had feared even lower emissions in 2009, and that market confidence improved once the data was released.”

As each year more verified data is issued, future predictions and forecasts can be made with more certainty, providing an important tool for the future development of the emissions market in its second phase.

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