US Largest Carbon Credit Buyer in 2009
The U.S. was the largest buyer of voluntary carbon credits last year, according to a new report released by Ecosystem Marketplace and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. However, total voluntary carbon transactions dropped by 26 percent, according to the report. The total value of traded credits declined 47 percent to $387 million in 2009 and the [...]
Barclays Bolsters Carbon Trading Position with Tricorona Purchase
Barclays plans to buy carbon trading firm Tricorona for 1.13 billion Swedish kronor ($145 million), which will position the U.K. bank as a leading global origination and carbon trading house, reports Market Watch.
Tricorona sources, develops and trades carbon offsets from greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction projects in developing countries, a market established by the Kyoto Protocol’s [...]
Carbon Fraud Revealed Down Under
Prime Carbon, an Australian producer and seller of carbon credits, has been accused of making misleading claims on its Web site and in other marketing materials, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Prime Carbon, whose Web site is closed pending review (see image), is alleged to have claimed an association with Australia’s National Stock Exchange – an [...]
Australia, Belgium Find More Cases of Carbon Fraud
More carbon fraud cases are popping up around the globe including Australia and Belgium as government watchdog organizations step up efforts to monitor the nascent green business sector.
As an example, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it is closely watching the green business sector, reports SmartCompany. ACCC recently forced a green power company, [...]
Mafia Ties to Wind Fraud in Italy Investigated
Italian finance police have arrested two prominent businessmen — including one with ties to a former investor in the Cape Wind project in Nantucket — in the wind energy sector on charges of fraud. Arrested were Oreste Vigorito, head of the IVPC energy company and president of Italy’s National Association of Wind Energy, and Vito [...]
Study Finds More Value in Peat CO2 Credits
Carbon-rich peatlands may trap more greenhouse gases than first thought, driving up their potential value on the carbon market, according to a new study, reports Reuters.
Huge amounts of greenhouse gases are released when peatlands are logged or drained for agriculture, and even more when the dried bogs catch fire and release toxic haze into the [...]
Carbon Trading Could Trigger a ‘Sub-prime Style’ Economic Crash
Plans to expand carbon markets at UN climate talks this December could trigger a second ’sub-prime’ style financial collapse and fail to protect the world from a global warming catastrophe, according to a report from Friends of the Earth.
The trade in carbon permits and credits, primarily based in Europe, was worth $126 billion in 2008 [...]
Global Climate Talks Set Carbon Offsets in Motion, Market May Quadruple by 2015
The success of the emerging global carbon market rests on the outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December, according to a report from market researcher Frost & Sullivan. In the meantime, European Union leaders have agreed on a climate deal to present at the global climate talks. But analysts say the biggest polluters, such [...]
Cap-and-Trade System Might Cost Less Than Critics Say
The financial impact of regulating coal-fired power plants that produce carbon dioxide emissions under a cap-and-trade system is much less than previously projected, and a carbon capture and storage (CCS) option could keep the price of carbon credits low, according to new research. Opponents of the U.S. climate bill’s proposed cap-and-trade system claim it will [...]
Greenpeace Calls Noel Kempff Climate Action Project a Carbon Scam
Greenpeace released a new report that calls into question the Noel Kempff Climate Action Project (NKCAP) aimed at saving Bolivia’s rainforests, stating the project did not deliver promised emissions reductions. However, other environmental groups like the Nature Conservancy and Union of Concerned Scientists dispute the report.
The area in dispute is northeast Bolivia’s Noel Kempff Mercado [...]
