Lehman Brothers Inc. has announced it will start trading carbon credits in Japan, becoming the first global investment bank to link the Japanese and European carbon markets. Lehman Brothers has become the first foreign financial firm to open an account in Japan's national registry system for trading in Certified Emission Reductions, the company said. A CER is a carbon credit developed by carbon offset providers that is certified as being equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide under the mechanism defined by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to combat global warming. The carbon offset system allows emitters of greenhouse gases to pay another party to undertake to remove an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Lehman Brothers said its entry into Japan's carbon trading market follows a significant increase in its global reach in the international carbon markets, including China, India and Latin America.

Lehman Brothers Inc said Tuesday it will start trading carbon credits in Japan, becoming the first global investment bank to link the Japanese and European carbon markets. Lehman Brothers has become the first foreign financial firm to open an account in Japan's national registry system for trading in Certified Emission Reductions, the company said. A CER is a carbon credit developed by carbon offset providers that is certified as being equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide under the mechanism defined by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to combat global warming. The carbon offset scheme allows emitters of greenhouse gases to pay another party to undertake to remove an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

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Global carbon trading has gained momentum. The Worldwatch Institute, drawing from various studies, places the total value of the trade in 2007 at $59.2 billion, an 80 per cent increase over 2006. As the 2012 deadline for reducing emission levels approaches, the volume of carbon trading will be enormous. Asian countries are the biggest sellers and western countries the biggest buyers. A World Bank report on the 2007 carbon market shows that China has a market share of 61 pe r cent and India 12 per cent.

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