A global emissions market is already in place due to the trading of CERs and ERUs, says carbon consulting group 3C, who urge middle and short term investment reliability for CDM and JI projects.
“3C welcomes the aim expressed by politicians and industry leaders during the World Economic Forum in Davos this year to establish a world wide emissions trading scheme,” the group said today. But a global trading scheme has “in a way already become reality, not with emission allowances but with emission reductions provided by the CDM and JI project based mechanisms,” the group continues.
The consultants say it is of utmost importance that a future trading scheme will tie up to those mechanisms in order to ensure middle and short term investment reliability for CDM and JI projects.
“We assume that 10,000 to 15,000 climate change projects worldwide will generate 2 to 2.5 billion CERs and ERUs until 2012. There is huge potential for efficient climate protection in this market, which industrialised countries as well as developing countries and emerging markets can profit from. We must not jeopardise this opportunity by tedious discussions about the post-Kyoto period,”says Sascha Lafeld, member of the board of 3C Holding.
The relevant decisions for a post-Kyoto period scheme should be taken as soon as possible, 3C continues. “The G8 summit in Germany in June would be a very good opportunity to do so. The leaders of the main industrial nations are invited to commit themselves to binding emission reduction targets and a further endorsement of the successfully implemented project based mechanisms CDM and JI after 2012.”
Lafeld goes on to say: “If there are no binding post Kyoto climate protection agreements by 2008, the danger of congestion in the investment pipeline will occur, since a lot of projects take up to five years from planning to implementation. If there is no market for emission reductions guaranteed, there will be no incentive to invest in climate change projects in developing countries and emerging markets.”
