World’s First Carbon Expo Will Boost Carbon Trading In Poor Countries

 Washington, DC, March 15, 2004—Developing countries will have an unprecedented opportunity to increase their share of the emerging carbon market when the World Bank co-sponsors the very first trade fair and conference on emissions trading and the emerging carbon market on June 9 to 11 in Cologne,Germany. 

Carbon Exporepresents   a watershed event in the emerging carbon market¾it is the first opportunity for buyers and sellers of greenhouse gas emission reductions to meet face to face.  The World Bank has been preparing its borrowing countries through “learning-by-doing” in the creation of credible greenhouse gas emissions for global trade. Carbon Expo is the result of  the cooperation among the private sector International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), the leading trade fair management company “Koelnmesse” and the World Bank.

“The Trade Fair is the culmination of more than ten years of Bank assistance to its borrowing countries to tap into private capital and technology flows through the carbon market while putting themselves on a climate-friendly development path,”  says Ken Newcombe, Manager of the World Bank’s Carbon Funds. On the eve of the 2005 European Emissions Trading Scheme, which will accept emissions reductions originating in developing countries, Newcombe adds “ the global carbon market is coming of age. Carbon Expo will allow developing countries with portfolios of  high quality carbon emission reductions to present them to buyers in Europe and other OECD countries with voluntary or mandatory emissions reductions regulatory regimes.”

According to a recent independent study from Point Carbon the potential of the global carbon market over the next several years is  US$10 billion a year.  The World Bank is working to ensure that  poor  countries get a sizable chunk of that market, providing high quality carbon emission reductions in exchange for development dollars, technological know-how, and clean technologies for sustainable development.  

“We see the World Bank’s role as helping to reduce risk and uncertainty for private investment  in projects in developing countries and transition economies to achieve greenhouse gas reductions, and building the capacity of emerging markets to meet these demands with high quality emissions reductions.,”   says Newcombe.

Climate change threatens to derail the efforts of developing countries to achieve sustainable economic development. A global market in greenhouse gas reductions helps them take advantage of their lower costs of achieving greenhouse gas emissions to attract the capital and know-how to upgrade their energy systems and infrastructure and improve land management. The World Bank has provided strategic planning support to 25 countries and established the world’s first carbon funds to achieve environmentally credible greenhouse reductions for trade. The Bank is also focusing its development assistance on helping poorer  countries adapt to a world of climate change through investments in agriculture, coastal zone management and health planning designed to increase resilience to climate change at the local level.

The driving force behind such developments is the Kyoto Protocol which commits OECD countries to reduce their carbon emissions by 5 percent below 1990 levels in the period 2008-2012.  However, global carbon trading will continue through schemes such as the European Emissions Trading Scheme even the Kyoto Protocol does not enter into force.

The Bank was first up to the plate with it’s flagship Prototype Carbon Fund (PCF) in 2000. The public/private partnership of six governments and 17 companies buys carbon emission reductions from projects that use mainly renewable energy technologies such as wind, small hydro and biomass energy technology.  Today the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Business includes a whole range of Funds including the Netherlands CDM Facility, the Community Development Carbon Fund, the BioCarbon Fund, and the newly minted Italian Carbon Fund.

Public-private partnerships are key to the development of markets in global public goods and have been pivotal for carbon market development.  In the particular case of  Carbon Expo, IETA  represents the leading international industrial companies, suppliers of technical inspection services, brokerage firms and providers of financial and consulting services, and Koelnmesse has a long experience in the trade fair business, 

Carbon Expo  will highlight the best that developing countries have to offer for carbon emission buyers.  Not only  will the Fair provide the perfect platform for buyer-seller exchange, but it will also offer an opportunity to showcase the latest renewable energy technologies, as well as show-case CDM/JI projects.  With its one-stop venue, the expo will also offer cornerstone information and learning events such as sessions on the Regulatory Framework, Carbon Financing, and Legal Issues associated with the market.  There will be unique training opportunities offered by IETA and the World Bank Institute (WBI) including a special training session for journalists on all aspects of the emerging carbon market.

You can find more information on Carbon Expo at www.carbonexpo.com

For more information on the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Business log onto: http://www.carbonfinance.org     http://www.prototypecarbonfund.org