European Union climate chief Connie Hedegaard said that plans to delay some carbon auctions are a short-term tool to tackle oversupply and will be followed by further talks. The measures are meant to boost emissions prices after they sank to a record low last month. Hedegaard called the market "over-flooded" and said that she would aim for a decision by member states on the proposal to review the auction rules by the end of the year. The slumping permit prices have allowed European countries to burn increasing amounts of coal and still meet legally binding targets for carbon emissions. Profits based on the German prices for electricity produced by coal-fired plants have risen by 30 percent. "If you have anything that's coal-fired in your generation park at the moment--be it lignite or hard coal--you will take advantage of the high margins and burn the stuff," said a trader with a German utility. In Germany, coal's share of the nuclear and fossil fuel power supply rose from 53 to 68 percent from January to May. For the full story, see http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-10/eu-s-hedegaard-says-co2-auctio…. For the story on the coal increase, see http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-energy-power-co-idUSBRE847….