Carbon Market Asia

CARBON FORUM ASIA 2010 Presents Asia’s Views on Emissions Trading Post-2012
October 30, 2010 by Editor
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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.
The Future of the Asian Carbon Market
The pioneering move to consult the expertise of an advisory panel has paid off for CARBON FORUM ASIA 2010. Attendees to the CARBON FORUM ASIA Conference were able to gain insights from a wide range of viewpoints on the future international climate change framework, while keeping up-to-date on the latest developments within the regional and global carbon trading markets.
“Asia has been the dominant source of supply so far for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). However, the world’s urgent need for emissions reduction projects is not yet matched by expansion of the CDM or development of alternative systems. The debates at CARBON FORUM ASIA showed Asian suppliers are ready to adjust to the uncertainty to encourage new investors, and to deal with a fragmented market of multiple national regimes, if necessary,” said Henry Derwent, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Emissions Trading Association (IETA).
Among the sessions that tabled the future of global climate change abatement were “What will the market look like in 2012?” moderated by Henry Derwent, as well as “The new investors: Post-2012 climate and carbon funds”, moderated by Stuart Cerne, Managing Director, Enecore Carbon.
“Whilst policy uncertainty is slowing the activity of traditional carbon funds, innovative finance solutions that provide carbon pricing certainty with project development support are emerging. The panelists at the session agree that this is an exciting development and anticipate huge growth in the market,˝said Stuart, who moderated the session.
CARBON FORUM ASIA also tackled the emerging carbon forest trading sector. The session on “Growing Money on Trees: The Forest Carbon Market” generated a lively discussion among the many interested parties made up of financiers, traditional carbon market players, and the growing number of REDD organizations. While there were differences of opinion as to how the REDD market should be managed and measured, there was general agreement that there is potential in forest carbon offsets. Given that many more developed countries have exhausted their natural forest assets, the focus is on Asia and the growing number of REDD projects in countries such as Canada, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Another well-attended session was the “Roadmap to a low-carbon power sector by 2050”, which discussed the energy sectors’ investments in emissions reduction. Subhash Chandra Mathur, Managing Director, Samarpit International Group said, “Global warming is a real issue which calls for action from both the developed and the developing world to promote free flow of technology, manpower, skill sets and investment funds . CARBON FORUM ASIA, with its participants ranging from policy makers, project implementers, international experts and thought leaders, has provided the perfect platform to share and promote such thinking that will go a long way in developing globally cohesive solutions.˝
Asia up in arms to combat climate change
With climate change efforts gaining much prominence and traction in the region, the Conference sessions at CARBON FORUM ASIA 2010 focused on climate change abatement efforts in key markets across the region. Among the topics discussed were “China’s drive to create a new market” and “Japan and South Korea: New and existing forms of offset demand”.
“The carbon market is currently in a transition period. There has been growing interest in the topics of climate finance and the key question moving forward is how to bridge to the future of the Carbon Market. The coming year wil be an important one for the market as the world anticipates new developments in the fight against climate change. Japan is ready for the future emissions abatement landscape but we are also highly anticipating a new international framework,“ said Takashi Hongo, Special Advisor and Head, Environment Finance Engineering Department for the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
Developing nations still dominate the CDM landscape
The Sellers’ Pavilion, sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), drew attention to up-and-coming sustainable development projects from 16 developing nations, spanning biomass, coal gasification, CO2 capture, hydro, wind, rural development and transportation sectors. With project developers making up 40 percent of the exhibiting companies, CARBON FORUM ASIA saw many carbon credit buyers and sellers forging connections to explore opportunities for future cooperation.
Among the projects showcased was the Lanzhou Sustainable Urban Transport project which includes activities, such as road reconstruction and an intelligence system. The project seeks to reduce emissions from conventional small buses, taxis, motorcycles for motorized vehicles by introducing the Bus Rapid Transport infrastructure.
First-time participant Vietnam showcased a total of five project entities. Vietnam Electricity showcased the Song Bung 4 Hydroelectric Project, estimated to result in 235, 028 tonnes CO2 reductions per annum as well as a reduction of other pollutants associated with fossil fuels-based power generation. Nepal, also making its debut at CARBON FORUM ASIA, showcased several projects including a hydro-powered mini-grid project under its Alternative Energy Promotion Centre. Seen as a pre-grid electrification for rural areas, the project is expected to develop between 600 to 700 micro-hydropower systems, generating a total of 40,000 CERs annually.
“There are so many moving parts in the Carbon Market that it is critical for us to be able to come together to work on key issues. CARBON FORUM ASIA is a valuable platform for me to speak directly with many different people over two days in one centralized location and an important region like Asia,˝ said Robert Hansor, Head of Climate Change and CSR – Asia, Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance.
SHAPING ASIA’S VIEW
As one of the last gatherings of climate change opinion leaders prior to the 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) meeting in Cancun, Mexico in December, CARBON FORUM ASIA has certainly aired Asia’s ardent concerns and hopes for the future climate change framework.
“CARBON FORUM ASIA 2010 attracted a notable number of CDM projects, exhibitors and event participants. We continue to see increased participation from fund owners and managers in carbon finance, mirroring the significant growth and opportunities in Asia’s carbon trading market. Experts agree that Asia will play a central role in the future climate change framework. Having established itself as an important meeting of minds for the industry in this part of the world, we eagerly anticipate the growth of CARBON FORUM ASIA in years to come,” said Michael Dreyer, Vice President, Asia-Pacific, Koelnmesse.
CARBON FORUM ASIA 2011 will be back in Singapore and held within the Singapore International Energy Week.
This is a press release from CARBON FORUM ASIA.