There's a new market growing in the United States, but unlike others trading in tangible commodities, this one trades in the absence of something that no one wants: greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. According to industry figures, the global markets for both voluntary offsets and those sold to meet compliance requirements are growing rapidly, and U.S.
MUMBAI: When Barack Obama talked about harnessing the sun, wind and soil to fuel cars and run factories, a flicker of hope rekindled in the hearts of Indian entrepreneurs pursuing clean technology projects. There is optimism now that growth in the carbon sector could indeed pick up, leading to higher demand generation for carbon credits from India.
MUMBAI: When Barack Obama talked about harnessing the sun, wind and soil to fuel cars and run factories, a flicker of hope rekindled in the hearts of Indian entrepreneurs pursuing clean technology projects. There is optimism now that growth in the carbon sector could indeed pick up, leading to higher demand generation for carbon credits from India.
LONDON - A new advisory firm launched on Monday seeks to boost carbon emissions trading in sub-Saharan Africa and raise the continent's lagging profile in the $120 billion global carbon market.
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: UK
Author: Michael Szabo - Analysis
LONDON - Tumbling prices for emissions permits may have knock-on effects on the world's $120 billion carbon market, including a slowing of U.N. offset supplies and a shake out in green project developers.
With companies cutting production globally, carbon emissions are down, and so is the demand for certified emission reductions (CERs) or carbon credits. This has led to the price of carbon credits crashing from E25 in September to E15 last week.
Carbon or greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets have long been promoted as an important element of a comprehensive climate policy approach. Offset programs can reduce the overall cost of achieving a given emission goal by enabling emission reductions to occur where costs are lower.
Carbon offset programs require the application of rigorous quantifi cation, verifi cation, and enforcement criteria in order to ensure that the integrity of greenhouse gas (GHG) caps is not compromised. Some types of climate change mitigation activities
REDD is designed to reward those who deforest, not those who
already protect the forests. It also has several significant inbuilt flaws that mean it is most unlikely to have a positive impact on climate change. In particular, it permits the replacement of natural tropical forest with plantations; and it would increase net emissions of carbon to the atmosphere if carbon offsetting were involved.
