All Of Your Refrigerant Needs Under One Roof

WE BUY:

R11, R12, R13, R22, R113, R114, R115, R23, R134a, R400, R500, R502 & R503. Shipping documents are provided and most cases the freight cost is paid by A-Gas RemTec. We can provide recovery cylinders for easier transaction.

WE SELL:

R11, R12, R22, R113, R114, R123, R125, R134a, R404A, R407C & R410A. Variety of tanks and quantities available for immediate shipment.

TANK REFURBISHMENT:

Complete DOT certified tank refurbishing located within our facility in Bowling Green, Ohio.

CONSIGNMENT PROGRAM:

A-Gas RemTec can provide the refrigerants you need at your facility at no immediate cost to you. You pay for what you use monthly and offset that cost by sending in your reclaim. Simple. Quick. Effortless.

Top ten projects that have earned the most CRTs in the Reserve

We recently achieved the significant milestone of issuing over 40 million carbon credits, each representing one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions reduced or sequestered from the atmosphere. Learn more about the top 10 largest offset projects in the Reserve that helped this achievement:

Top ten projects that have earned the most CRTs in the Reserve

We recently achieved the significant milestone of issuing over 40 million carbon credits, each representing one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions reduced or sequestered from the atmosphere. Learn more about the top 10 largest offset projects in the Reserve that helped this achievement:

Canadian Cap-And-Trade Program

http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/capandtrade.htm

The European Union's eight-year-old Emissions Trading System (ETS), the world's largest cap-and-trade carbon market, is broken.

The European Union's eight-year-old Emissions Trading System (ETS), the world's largest cap-and-trade carbon market, is broken.

Steam billows from RWE's Frimmersdorf coal power plant near Grevenbroich, Germany. The European Union's carbon market was meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions, but heavy industry has resisted steps that would make the system more effective, and fossil fuel more expensive.

Photograph by Wolfgang Von Brauchitsch, Bloomberg/Getty Images

Thomas K. Grose in London

National Geographic News

Published April 18, 2013

 

The European Parliament this week voted 334-315 (with 60 abstentions) against a controversial "back-loading" plan that aimed to boost the flagging price of carbon, which since 2008 has fallen from about 31 euros per tonne to about 4 euros (about $5.20). Since the vote, the price has fallen even farther, to 2.80 euros. The collapsing market is hardly the kind of firm foundation needed for building a clean-energy economy. (Related: "Renewable Energy Not Growing as Fast as Necessary," and "IEA Outlook: Time Running Out on Climate Change")

"Now, the market is dead, as far as I can see," said Steffen Böhm, director of the Essex Sustainability Institute at Britain's Essex Business School.

What will be the aftermath of the ETS collapse? Here's a quick primer on what happened, and what it could mean elsewhere, particularly in California, which inaugurated a new carbon market at the start of this year. (Related: "California Tackles Climate Change, But Will Others Follow?")

Q: First of all, what's a carbon market?

A: The U.S. introduced the concept of using market forces to rein in greenhouse gas emissions during the talks that lead to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to combat climate change. Ironically, Europe wasn't initially keen on the idea. But after it failed to enact an EU-wide carbon tax, Europe ultimately launched the ETS in 2005.

The basic idea is setting an ever-tightening cap on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, then issuing allowances up to that level. Major contributors of greenhouse gases-mainly power companies and heavy industry-face heavy fines if they don't have enough allowances to cover their emissions.

The cleanest companies can either bank the ones they don't need, or sell them to companies in need of more.

The idea is to make it more expensive to emit CO2, and to make green technologies-including renewable fuels, and carbon capture and sequestration-that are initially expensive more competitive with fossil fuels.

Trading certainly was happening; Bloomberg estimates that the ETS represents 89 percent of the $61 billion worth of carbon emissions traded worldwide.

But experts say a price of 30 euros ($39.20) or more is needed for the ETS to be effective at driving adoption of cleaner energy. (Related: "As U.S. Cleans Its Energy Mix, It Ships Coal Problems Abroad")

Q: So why has the price of carbon in Europe fallen?

A: "There were far too many allowances in the system in the first few years," Böhm said. Moreover, he said, Europe was flooded with "cheap CDMs," or clean development mechanism offsets that companies earned for funding green initiatives in developing countries. But what really pummeled the market was the 2008 Great Recession and the subsequent anemic recovery, said Tomas Wyns, director of the Center for Clean Air Policy Europe, a Brussels-based nonprofit, because demand for goods and power has dropped.

Q: Recessions do happen, so wouldn't that always be a problem for carbon markets?

A: Wyns certainly thinks so. The problem, as he sees it, is that while demand fluctuates, the supply of allowances is fixed. "There is no way to respond to the supply side in its (the ETS's) current form." One possible fix, Wyns said, would be a price-stabilization reserve that buys up allowances when prices are too low.

Q: Wouldn't a simple, straightforward carbon tax be a better solution?

A: Some economists think so, and that was certainly the first choice of many European policymakers. But in the EU, a tax needs the support of all member states, and that proved impossible. (Related: (Related: "British Columbia Rethinks Its Pioneering Carbon Tax" and "Coal-Fired Australia, Buffeted by Climate Change, Enacts Carbon Tax")

In the United States, Republican antipathy toward new taxes also makes a carbon tax unlikely. In addition, "taxes have a way of hitting the wrong people at the wrong time and can be pretty inflexible, as well," Böhm said,

Q: What would backloading have done, and would it have worked?

A: Back-loading would have taken a huge chunk of allowances out of the market for two years, creating a temporary scarcity that proponents say would have boosted the price of carbon. But Wyns estimates that, at best, it would have only pushed the price up to about 10 euros ($13.08), well below what would be necessary to effect change.

Q: Who opposed it, and why?

A: Mainly heavy industries that use a lot of energy, Wyns said. These industries-ranging from steelmakers to beer brewers-argued that if carbon prices rose, they wouldn't be able to compete against American rivals who are benefiting from cheap shale gas. "That's a very simplistic argument," he said, "but it plays well."  (Related: "U.K. Dash for Gas a Test for Global Fracking")

Q: Is that the end, then, for ETS?

A: Probably not. As Wyns said: "This is Europe; these things never end." He expects some sort of revised plan will surface eventually.

But Böhm, who is not a fan of carbon trading, said, "They really need to start from scratch." He doubts that will happen, because the political backlash from admitting failure would be too terrible.

Q: The U.S. Senate killed a cap-and-trade plan in 2010, and Japan has also backed away from one. Now, given the ETS debacle, is carbon trading essentially a dead concept?

A: No. California launched an ambitious emissions market last November (though it faces lawsuits), and Korea is considering one, as are seven Chinese provinces. "The good thing is other countries will learn lessons from Europe," Wyns said. Clearly, he would hope that future markets have a mechanism to respond to an oversupply of allowances. (Related: "British Columbia Rethinks Its Pioneering Carbon Tax")

"If it has to be a market solution," Böhm said, then there must be the political will to set a very tough cap. "But if you do that, you effectively have a carbon tax, which is why Europe's cap was not all that tough." He's also dismayed that California's plan accepts international credits. CDMs, he said, lead to "creative accounting" and not effective reductions in emissions. It is better, he said, to keep markets local.  (Related Interactive: "World Electricity Mix")

California carbon twice as expensive as European

The cost of carbon in California has risen sharply while the equivalent in the European Emissions Trading System has so far gained little from yesterday’s long-awaited reform proposals

London, 26 July 2012 – A reduction in regulatory uncertainty in California, and concern about a nuclear power outage, have helped to push the price of a carbon allowance in the US’ most populous state to more than double that in the much longer-established European Union Emissions Trading System.

The value of a California Carbon Allowance (CCA) for delivery in December 2012 closed at $19.50 per metric ton of CO2 equivalent (EUR16.04/tCO2) on 24 July, the highest closing price of the year so far. The price for European Union Allowances (EUAs) for delivery in December 2012 closed at EUR7.20/tCO2 on the same day.

The much higher price in California may be surprising to Europeans, given perceptions about American reluctance to take action on climate change. Ironically, the California scheme was almost derailed earlier this year by legal action taken by an environmental action group (the Association of Irritated Residents) who insisted that the scheme was not strict enough.

The price of EUAs has remained low despite the European Commission’s release yesterday of its proposal for changes to auctioning volumes in Phase III of the EU ETS, which begins in 2013. These changes, if approved by both Parliament and the Council, would delay some of the auctioning volume originally intended for the early years of Phase III, into the later years. The changes were proposed by the European Commission in response to widespread criticism that the price in the EU ETS is too low to promote the necessary investments in clean energy.

In the long term, Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects prices in both the Californian and EU ETS to rise significantly, since the emission reduction targets in both parts of the world for the period beyond 2020 are likely to continue to strengthen. At the moment the firm’s base case forecast for the spot price of an allowance in 2020 in both markets is the same, at EUR45/tCO2 ($55/tCO2). The fact that the forecasts are the same is purely coincidental and belies significant structural differences in the two markets; the EU ETS has access to the Kyoto market for international credits whereas California does not; and the largest sector in the EU ETS is the power sector while transportation is the largest emitter in the California market.

Matthew Cowie, head of carbon market research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, commented, “While it appears that Europe has the political will to give the EU ETS more teeth in the long term, the process of fixing the problems continues to suffer delays. A month ago most market participants thought that changes to the Auctioning Regulation could be in place by the end of 2012, but most commentators now expect that this will take well into 2013 to accomplish. This market needs both ambition and structural stability in order to regain its lost importance.”

Michel Di Capua, head of North American research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, commented, “After several failed attempts to introduce cap-and-trade at the national level, there’s a widespread belief that carbon markets are dead in North America. Not so. We are on the verge of seeing the emergence of a meaningful tradable market that over the long run will transform California’s power, industrial, and transport sectors. The business community should take note; this market will impact some of the country’s largest utilities and some of the world’s biggest oil and gas players, among others.”

Futures contracts for the California market have been trading since 2011. Its underlying spot market is due to begin in 2013. The EU ETS saw the first futures trading in 2003, and the start of spot trading in 2005.

For further information:
Matthew Cowie
Bloomberg New Energy Finance
+44 20 3216 4780
mcowie2@bloomberg.net

 

Carbon Credits Provide Cash Incentives and Environmental Benefits for the Recovery and Destruction of CFCs

Used CFCs found in any condition, or mixed with other refrigerants can be turned into cash with the additional benefit of protecting the environment!    

The California Climate Action Reserve (CAR) has formally released a Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) Protocol, that provides a standardized approach for quantifying and monitoring Green House Gas (GHG) reductions, from projects that destroy ODS with high global warming potential. Specifically, the CAR Protocol version 2.0 provides incentives for the destruction of R-11, R-12, R-13, R-113, R-114 and R-115, with the caveat that these gases were previously used in refrigerant applications, or are from virgin stockpiles. Other CFCs recovered from foam building insulation and from appliance insulation are also eligible. The protocol is available at the following link: http://www.climateactionreserve.org/how/protocols/adopted/ods/current/

“The current market value of these offset credits not only covers all the costs of destruction, but also provides cash incentives to contractors and end users who are willing to recover these refrigerants and send them to an approved recycling facility that is recognized by CAR as a site that can convert these CFCs to verified carbon credits. “

For more information contact RemTec today or visit our website www.remtec.net

Global Expansion Continues With US Deal

The Bristol Post
Michael Ribbeck
August 8 2012

A-Gas buys disposal specialist

A company based in Portishead which specializes in supplying gases used in refrigeration has just completed its fourth takeover this year.

A-Gas has gone on its acquisition spree as part of a strategy to expand into international markets.

The firm is already one of the world's largest suppliers of refrigerated gases, environmental services and specialty gases and chemicals.

The company, which also has offices in Bristol, has bough United States based RemTec International in its latest deal. The firm specializes in disposing of harmful gases.

The value of the deal was not made public but it took place with support from private equity specialist LDC, which invested in the firm in April 2011.

RemTec was set up in 1986 and provides products and services inolved in managing Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and substances high in Global Warming Potential (GWP) across the world. 

As part of the expansion plan A-Gas has now got a presence in the Middle East, China, Australia and India as well as Latin America.

RemTec has contracts with organizations all over the world to remove, recycle and remarket halocarbons.

The acquisition of RemTec follows on from similar acquisitions of Australian-based Technochem in March and SA Rural in May, and UK based A-Zone Technologies in April.

John Rutley, chairman of A-Gas International, said, "The acquisition of RemTec is another great example of our ambition to grow the business on a global scale." 

"RemTec brings a market leadership position in Halons and a strong platform for growth in refrigerants; we believe that there is real scope to build further upon RemTec's success to date in North America, whilst also driving value across the enlarged group."

Ian Podmore of LDC added: "2012 has been an exceptionally busy year to date for A-Gas. RemTec is the fourth strategic acquisition completed by the business this year and not only strengthens their existing position in the global refrigerant market but also gives the business real scale within the USA."

"The transaction brings many strategic benefits to A-Gas and is part of an agreed strategy to rapidly expand and build the business both through organic investment and bolt-on acquisitions. We will continue to work closely with the team to drive their amitious growth plans."

Yann Souillard, managing director of LDC South Region, added: "LDC's South team has worked in close conjunction with the management team to support their ambitious 'buy and build' growth strategy. As part of our investment commitment, LDC works closely with our investment portfolio to provide expertise and follow-on funding when the right target companies become available."

The Coalition for Responsible Fire Protection September Conference

Analysis: Brazil struggles to cash in on carbon credits

By Marcelo Teixeira

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 19 (Reuters Point Carbon) - A patchwork of regional legislation and complex rules governing land ownership have so far kept Brazil from cashing in on what could potentially be the world's biggest carbon offset market.
The country, home to the much of the planet's rain forest, has struggled to come up with a national strategy to make money protecting its vast ecosystem with projects that Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, also known as REDD.

Although not an official theme of the United Nations' Conference on Sustainable Development, REDD has been a hot topic this week in Rio de Janeiro, where policymakers from more than 190 nations are meeting to discuss environmental sustainability.

The idea is to get the private sector and governments to pay to reduce deforestation, which accounts for up to 17 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Advocates say REDD is needed to keep the planet from heating up and causing widespread famine and drought, a key objective at U.N. climate conferences.

"You cannot address climate change without including REDD," says Arild Angelsen, an environmental economist with the Center for International Forestry Research and a professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

But Brazil, which could potentially produce 58 percent of global REDD credits according to the World Bank, risks falling behind African and Asian nations in attracting private and public investment.

"We have some 19 state-level legislations on climate and REDD and we will have to find a way to harmonize these rules under a national strategy," Brazilian Climate Change Secretary Carlos Klink said. "We know there is great potential, but also a huge difficulty to move ahead."

Emission reductions from anti-deforestation projects are not eligible for carbon credits under the international U.N. framework. They are also not allowed in mandatory emissions trading programs in Europe and New Zealand.

Currently, only Japan and the U.S. state of California have said they might accept REDD credits for compliance with their carbon reduction programs.

In 2010, the U.N. asked countries to develop national strategies, baselines and monitoring systems, while discussions continued to include these credits in a new climate regime that could take effect in the next decade.

That triggered a rush in some nations, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Congo, which were quick to map out national strategies to attract large corporate buyers seeking greener images who want reduce their carbon footprints.

BURNED
Marco Antonio Fujihara, a consultant with Key Associados, manages two low-carbon funds in Brazil and said financial resources for the few REDD projects that exist have so far originated from donations. When this money runs out, the number of projects will decrease, unless private-sector buyers can be found.

But some investors seeking to buy up land rights lasting decades have in the past been caught short by Brazil's complex land laws. Earlier this year, Brazil moved to cancel more than 30 such deals unless they had the express permission of the government.

Plinio Ribeiro, executive director of trading and consulting company Biofilica, said investors need clarity or they will stay away.

"The risk is pretty high right now to invest in REDD projects in Brazil," he said. "A national strategy that is linked to a future national emissions market and that deals with the land ownership issue, would greatly reduce risk and attract a lot of people to these initiatives."

ROUND OF TALKS
In a bid to get things moving, the Brazilian government announced this week a new round of meetings between officials from states that already have some REDD legislation, such as Acre, Amazonas, Pará and Mato Grosso.

Acre has one of the most-advanced policies and has already clinched a deal with California to trade future carbon credits from its cap-and-trade scheme, which is scheduled to start next year.
Said Monica de los Rios from Acre's Climate Change Institute: "We spent the last two years defining legal structures in the state, but now we run the risk of not fitting in a future national framework."
(Editing by Andrew Allan and Andre Grenon)

RemTec International: Full Service Halon, Refrigerant & Clean Agent Specialist

RemTec Launches New Website

Check out RemTec's new website! We have updated the look and and usability for the convenience of our customers and future customers. Thanks for visiting!
www.remtec.net

California, Quebec plan joint emissions allowance sale

13 Jan 2012 14:27 GMT

Portland, 13 January (Argus) — The Canadian province of Quebec will join California in selling emissions allowances at the first Western Climate Initiative (WCI) allowance auction on 15 August. The remaining members of the WCI held a stakeholder meeting in San Francisco yesterday in which they announced their commitment to the program. Quebec and California are the only partners of the initiative that have approved regulations to participate in the WCI's regional, multi-sector cap-and-trade system, which is due to begin in January 2013. The WCI, a partnership of Canadian provinces British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec and the state of California, aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 15pc below 2005 levels by 2020 through a carbon trading scheme. Six US states dropped out of the initiative last year to join an offshoot of the regional climate group that does not have a GHG cap-and-trade program. That group, known as North America 2050, aims to reduce GHG emission through carbon sequestration, sustainable biomass and the development of carbon offset projects. The WCI partners plan to release recommendations for a final offset system this month. Tim Lesiuk, chairman of the WCI's offsets subcommittee, said the initiative aims to come up with a common set of offset protocols that can be adopted across different member jurisdictions. Each member has the choice to adopt all or some of the protocols. “We would like to see four to five offset protocols this year,” Lesiuk said. Quebec plans to adopt offset regulation in spring or summer this year, said Robert Noel de Tilly, senior policy advisor in the climate change office for Quebec's ministry of environment. California has adopted four offset protocols, all based largely on voluntary protocols developed by the non-profit Climate Action Reserve. The state has adopted final offset protocols for US forestry and urban forestry projects and projects that destroy ozone depleting substances and capture and destroy livestock methane. Quebec has not released details of how many allowances it plans to sell at WCI's August auction. The province's cap-and-trade regulation directs its environment minister to make public 60 days before an auction the number and vintage of allowances that it will offer. Jean-Yves Benoit, treasurer economist in the climate change office at Quebec's environment ministry, told Argus the number of allowances the province will auction will not be released until this summer. A potential sticking point to Quebec's participation is the requirement that California submit a rulemaking amendment to the state Air Resources Board that would allow Quebec to link with California's cap-and-trade program. This rulemaking has to take place before Quebec can take part in the auction. Michael Gibbs, deputy secretary for climate change at the Air Resources Board, said it will be a “challenge” to complete this rulemaking in time for the August compliance auction. It is unclear when the other Canadian provinces will have regulations in place to participate in cap-and-trade. Lesiuk of British Columbia said the province is finishing a carbon price analysis of cap-and-trade and did not comment further on when it would be ready to trade allowances. Manitoba still does not have regulations in place to participate in the cap-and-trade program, though it is considering legislation, said Neil Cunningham, director of climate change for Manitoba. Plans to link other regional carbon trading schemes, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, with WCI appear to be off the table. Pat Cummins, WCI's project manager with the Western Governors' Association, said a North America 2050 working group that was working on linking emissions trading programs was not active. He also said the group's offset working group, which is focused on the development and implementation of offsets that can be used in emissions trading programs, is looking at voluntary rather than compliance offsets. Send comments to feedback@argusmedia.com

Summary of Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

Halt on gas import

Samisoni Nabilivalu
Friday, December 23, 2011

THE Department of Environment has revealed that a batch of Refrigerant 134A (R134A) sold locally is actually not 100 per-cent R134A.

The imported refrigerant is used in the car air conditioning systems and commercial and domestic refrigeration.

According to the packaging, the cylinder contains R134A but tests conducted by Seru Ramakita, an Ozone Depleting Substances Inspector with Department of Environment, have proven otherwise.

Mr Ramakita made the discovery by accident earlier this year when demonstrating the use of a refrigerant identifier to customs officers at a workshop in Lautoka.

"The R134A I used for the demonstration was not 100 per cent," he said.

"It was cross contaminated with chlorofluorocarbon and hydro chlorofluorocarbons.

"I kept the discovery to myself because it was a big issue.

"I needed more evidence before we could make any moves and I was hoping one of the companies would bring it up as well."

Lincoln Refrigeration Limited director Praveen Singh was the first to approach Mr Ramakita after the processors for some of their fridges kept burning out.

Mr Singh said he suspected the R134A was inferior and Mr Ramakita confirmed his suspicions after he tested the gas.

"We also supply gas and we've never had this problem before.

"We had a shortage of gas, so we bought the R134A from another supplier," Mr Singh said.

Mr Ramakita confirmed all importers, wholesalers, and retailers of the product had been instructed to halt imports and remove the refrigerant from their shelves as investigations continue.

He said many businesses would have suffered unnecessarily if the product had continued to be used.

Mr Ramakita would not identify the manufacturer or local supplier of the product.

Save The Date - Women in HVACR will host a FREE Educational Session at AHR EXPO

September 11, 2001

We will always remember those that were lost on this day and those that have since lost their life protecting our freedom and rights.

Proud To Be American!

Happy Earth Day From RemTec International!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

RemTec's Carbon Offsets & Destruction Programs