http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-29/un-2010-2012-emissions-spread-widens-to-record-after-suspension.html

The spread between 2010 United Nations emission offsets and those for delivery in 2012 widened to a record on slower-than-expected issuance and after a regulatory board suspended certification companies.

The premium of 2010 UN Certified Emission Reduction credits over the same contract for 2012 widened as much as 16 percent to 29 euro cents (39 cents) a metric ton on the European Climate Exchange in London. It was at 27 cents as of 12 p.m. local time.
The Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board, which regulates the world’s second-biggest carbon market, delayed a decision that would potentially streamline approval of renewable energy projects in developing nations seeking tradable credits. Barclays Capital on March 17 cut its estimate of CER supply from the board this year by 5.6 percent to 170 million metric tons, compared with a month-earlier forecast.
EU factories and power stations may be keen to use CERs in the bloc’s carbon market, the biggest, as soon as possible rather than save them for future years, said Alessandro Vitelli, director of strategy in London at IDEAcarbon, which rates emissions-reduction projects. “There’s got to be some compliance demand,” he said today in a telephone interview.
“I’m almost certain it will be significantly higher than the 82 million surrendered last year” for compliance in the EU, Vitelli said. “We’re getting close to the point where a project registered will no longer generate CERs before May 2013.”
EU Permits Unchanged
EU allowances for December were unchanged at 12.92 euros a ton. UN credits for December rose 7 cents to 11.49 euros. UN CERs for December 2012 rose 3 cents to 11.20 euros.
The board suspended a unit of TUEV SUED AG that certifies projects that produce the credits, according to an e-mailed statement from the UN climate secretariat on March 26. The suspension was because the unit gave “positive opinions” of projects even though it was concerned they may have gone ahead without the credits, the board said in a statement on its Web site.
The suspension, caused by incomplete implementation of the accreditation standard of March 2009, is “disappointing,” Sven Kolmetz, head of carbon management services at TUEV SUED Industrie Service, said in a separate e-mailed statement.
The board also rejected an application for reaccreditation from Korea Energy Management Corp., the secretariat said. The certification company may still accredit certain industries within the program, according to the secretariat.