14 November 2005, South China Morning Post

Mainland to cash in on carbon credits

James Cameron, Head of Policy, Climate Change Capital and Li Liyan, deputy director of the National Climate Change Co-ordination Committee, comment on the potential size of the Chinese market for emission reduction credits.

Mainland (People's Republic of China)companies and power generators are set to tap into a market worth at least US$400 million a year by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, something the government is already encouraging through preferential policies.

Under the Kyoto protocol, which came into effect at the start of the year, European power producers with an obligation to produce less greenhouse gases can buy "carbon credits" from companies that reduce emissions in other countries or regions.

Beijing has set a goal to capture at least half of that market. "Greenhouse gases don't recognise national borders and once you've reduced emissions to a certain level, it gets increasingly expensive to continue. Under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism, companies can make their money go further by reducing emissions in developing countries," said James Cameron, co-founder of Climate Change Capital, a merchant bank that invests solely in renewable energy production, clean energy technology and emissions trading.

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