Shaping the Future of Asia’s Climate Change Action [Press Releases]

Drawing 1,028 participants at this year’s edition, Carbon Forum Asia 2011 once again presented attendees with a comprehensive view of the prevalent trends and vital issues affecting carbon trading markets across the globe.

Cementing its position as the premier gathering for carbon market players and industry observers, Carbon Forum Asia 2011 opened last Wednesday with the launch of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) 2011 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Market Report. Featuring strategic white papers describing the policy developments and current emissions abatement programs in over 29 countries, the report provides insights into the shifting focus of the world’s engagement with climate change through pricing and market mechanisms.

“This is the first time that we have launched IETA’s annual Greenhouse Gas Market Report in the Asia Pacific region, lending credence to the region’s increasing importance in the global emissions trading market,” said Henry Derwent, President and CEO of IETA. “Asia has largely driven the expansion of the Clean Development Mechanism or CDM, and consequently, the region has a huge interest in the future global policies and market mechanisms that will affect the industry. Asia is also where a number of exciting new national and regional markets are being developed, further underscoring the relevance of any future global agreements to the region.” Read more

Singapore’s Chief Negotiator for Climate Change expresses cautious optimism on global carbon market

Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Singapore’s Chief Negotiator for Climate Change expresses cautious optimism on the global carbon market, during the opening ceremony of the annual Carbon Forum Asia 2011.

Held in Singapore again this year, Carbon Forum Asia 2011 brings together industry leaders, government agencies, policymakers, and emissions trading and CDM market experts to learn, network and discuss issues around climate change and carbon trading. This year, Carbon Forum Asia welcomes around 1,000 international participants from close to 50 countries.

In his opening speech, Ambassador Gafoor spoke about the bleak outlook for the global carbon market due to the uncertainty about the future of the Kyoto Protocol and the flexibility mechansims. However, he expressed cautious optimism about the global carbon market in the medium and longer term.

The reasons for the optimism include the start of a process of mitigation actions by both developed and developing countries under the Cancun Agreements, the majority of countries wanting the global carbon market to continue via the emissions trading and project-based mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol, and growing interest in the carbon market with several countries developing or exploring their own voluntary carbon markets. Read more

Carbon Forum Asia 2011: Progressing Asia’s Carbon Abatement Agenda [Press Releases]

In 2011, countries in the Asia Pacific region, such as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan, are upping the ante on carbon abatement programs with a slew of schemes being developed or revived.

While Australia and New Zealand are pushing ahead with their carbon trading schemes, India will be introducing their own trading platform with a focus on energy efficiency rather than just carbon emissions. Similarly, China aims to have a nationwide scheme in place by the end of 2015. The trend is encouraging and demonstrates Asia’s commitment towards the carbon agenda.

“We are witnessing new waves – the first is in local markets, in particular, China and India, where new pilot carbon projects are being launched. And the second is in Climate Finance, an area in which multilateral and bilateral banks such as JBIC and ADB have started to look into,“ said Takashi Hongo, Carbon Forum Asia 2011 Advisory Panel member and Senior Fellow of Mitsui Global Strategic Studies Institute. Read more

CARBON FORUM ASIA 2010 Presents Asia’s Views on Emissions Trading Post-2012

Singapore, 29 October 2010: The fifth CARBON FORUM ASIA ended today, recording yet another successful outing for carbon market professionals in Asia and around the world. Held on 27 and 28 October in conjunction with the Singapore International Energy Week, CARBON FORUM ASIA 2010 attracted a turnout of close to 1,100 participants from 44 countries, an increase of 10 percent from the previous year.

Continuing its role as a leading platform for Asia to showcase the carbon market opportunities in the region, CARBON FORUM ASIA 2010 brought together 120 exhibiting organizations from the public and private sectors as well as 120 global industry experts.

With just two years before the end of the Kyoto protocol, CARBON FORUM ASIA 2010 served as an opportune platform for governments, private organizations and financial institutions across the world to level out key issues and carry forward insightful viewpoints that will outline future dialogues. Read more

Carbon Forum Asia 2010 Opens in Singapore Amid Challenges in the Carbon Market

Carbon Forum Asia 2010 opens in Singapore today as part of the Singapore International Energy Week. Carbon Forum Asia has been the leading event in Asia for industry players in the carbon market to share and discuss trends and issues on carbon trading and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The conference and trade fair this year will see about 1,200 participants from 50 countries.

To date, there are 2,414 CDM registered projects with 78% of the projects in Asia, representing more than 360 million carbon emissions reduction (CER) units. As Asia continues to be an influential force in the CDM market, Carbon Forum Asia updates participants on the latest developments in the region and offers opportunities for CDM projects. Read more

CARBON FORUM ASIA 2010: At the heart of the world’s most exciting new market

As of July 2010, the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) has registered over 2,300 CDM projects globally, an increase of more than 35 percent over a year ago. More than three-quarters of these projects are registered in Asia and the Pacific, spelling once again the abundant opportunities in the region’s carbon trading markets.

With the Kyoto protocol nearing its expiration date in 2012, climate change negotiators are focusing their attention on reaching a definitive agreement for a global fight against climate change. These, and other exciting developments in the emissions trading and global carbon markets will be the centerpiece of the discussions at the fifth edition of CARBON FORUM ASIA, from 27 – 28 October 2010 in Singapore. Read more

Methodological Approaches for Cost-Effective Carbon Trading

Venue: MEWR Theatrette, #4-00, Environment Building, 40 Scotts Road, Singapore 228231

Speaker: Sébastien Raoux, Ph.D., J.D., Esq., President & CEO, Transcarbon International Corporation

In this presentation, Dr. Raoux will review the essential elements of carbon trading methodologies and cover topics such as additionality, anti-gaming and capping procedures, the calculation of baseline and project emissions, and monitoring methodologies. He will pay particular attention to the issue of accuracy and uncertainty in the determination of emissions reduction, and examine the tradeoffs and procedures to optimize the cost effectiveness of carbon trading projects. He will illustrate the presentation with examples taken from existing CDM methodologies (Clean Development Mechanism), in particular related to the electronics and the high-tech industry, as well as energy and waste management.

For details and registration, visit the SEI website.