London, 26 February 2011

ICE Futures Europe plans to bid for UK and EU-wide tenders to operate EUA auctioning platforms for phase three of the EU ETS, a well-placed source at the exchange said. “ICE expects to bid for at least the pan-European and UK registries, and is reviewing the opportunities in Poland and Germany,” the source told Point Carbon News.

Last week, the UK, along with Germany and Poland, notified the European commission that they would opt out of participating in a bloc-wide common platform for auctioning emissions permits in the third phase, which starts in 2013.

The move means the top three emitting nations under the EU ETS will likely hold their own tenders alongside that of the EU commission.

The source said ICE was also considering bids for the Polish and German contracts.

While there is currently no obvious frontrunner for the Polish tender, winning the German one could prove more difficult, as rival exchange EEX has handled weekly EUA auctions for the German government since early 2010.

The Leipzig-based bourse has now hosted the sale of around 50 million emissions units to date, more than any other exchange, making it a strong incumbent for the German contract.

Regardless, the source said ICE’s position as the market leader could give it an advantage over other bidders.

“We’re in a very strong position to offer an effective service,” he said.

“We operate a very large, very liquid market, we’ve got experience operating in every jurisdiction in the EU and we have a trading platform on thousands of desks across Europe.”

Ends --

By Michael Szabo, Point Carbon

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

London