The new company will focus on carbon credit procurement and financing of emission reduction projects, Markus Huwener, board member of 3C Holding, told Point Carbon.

It will cooperate closely with “a couple of banks” and aims to bring to the market pension funds that wish to invest in carbon project related equity, Huwener said.

Germany-based 3C originates and procures carbon credits from projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions both under the Kyoto protocol as well as in the voluntary market. Swiss company Factor is developing and financing such projects, and said in a statement today it has brought more than 20 million carbon credits to the market.

“Through this merger we are saving around one and a half years worth of capacity-building,” Markus Huwener said.

3C opened an office in Washington DC earlier this year, and the new company will also have subsidiaries in Brazil, Chile and China.

Factor3C will count a total of 70 employees, as well as another 20 working closely with the company in joint ventures from locations such as India, Pakistan, the Middle East, Romania and Central Asia.

Oslo