Deutsche Lowers EU Carbon Price Forecast

Deutsche Bank has downgraded its year-end forecast for the price of carbon in Europe’s emission trading program.

The bank has lowered its year-end 2011 forecast to €12/t from €17/t, as it expects the market will take some time to recover from volatility resulting from concerns about Europe’s sovereign debt. Deutsche has also lowered its predicted prices for year-end 2012 to €15/t from €19/t.

The bank has retained its prediction that participants in the scheme will see their emissions capped at 395 million tonnes. This may force many companies to switch to less carbon intensive fuels, the bank predicts.

In related news, the EU and Australia are to start talks discussing linking their two emissions trading schemes. European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso praised Australia’s system but said that the global recession has shifted focus away from greenhouse gas emissions, Reuters reports.

And in other news, Poland and Japan have announced that the Asian country is to trade energy storage technology for surplus emission permits Poland holds under the Kyoto Protocol. Previously Japan has paid cash for Poland’s unused permits, but economic conditions have changed the nature of such trades, Reuters reports.