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Editor's Letter September 2007 |
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First published in Cleantech magazine, Issue 3, September 2007. © Cleantech Investor Ltd. Dear Reader,
As we go to print, officials from more than 150 countries are heading to New York for a UN summit convened by Ban Ki-Moon to plan the next stage of climate change negotiations. Meanwhile, former US President Clinton is set to speak at the Carbon Disclosure Project.
Carbon is high on the agenda and we pay particular attention to the subject in this issue of Cleantech magazine. Our lead feature highlights a methodology hyped as a potential ‘silver bullet’ in the context of global warming: Carbon Capture and Storage. In a supplement, ‘Infocus: UK Quoted Carbon’, we comment on the carbon companies listed on UK stock markets. An important driver behind the emergence of this sub sector has been the growth in carbon trading under the auspices of the Kyoto Protocol – regulated trading platforms such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EUETS) and carbon offsetting schemes such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Some of these companies are also increasingly becoming active in the voluntary carbon market.
Voluntary carbon offsetting has mushroomed in the UK over recent years, both at the corporate level and amongst individual consumers. Sitting outside the framework of Kyoto, the voluntary market has grown up unfettered by the UNFCCC rules. There have been positive aspects to this. For example, voluntary markets have been able to focus on micro level projects – and of course their remit is not restricted to the countries which qualify for CDM or JI (Joint
Initiative) status, meaning that offsets can be generated through projects closer to home, which appeals to some buyers. However, this lack of regulation can cause problems – specifically the difficulty in defining ‘additionality’, a concept which is fundamental to Kyoto. We have addressed the question of regulation of the voluntary carbon markets in a special feature.
Elsewhere in this issue we interview ‘Green Dragon’ Doug Richard from Library House and we review a new book, the clean tech revolution, by Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder of west coast US based Clean Edge. The clean tech revolution is an excellent read, both for investors and for start up companies in the sector.
Anne McIvor, September 2007 |
