Carbon Trading Essay Example

to be traded on India’s Multi Commodity Exchange for last 3-4 years. MCX has become first exchange in Asia to trade Carbon Credits. Carbon Trading certify the removal of greenhouse gas from the air or the prevention of greenhouse gas emissions. Each carbon credit is associated with a single tone of carbon dioxide. There are many different kinds of Carbon Trading. How does Carbon Credit save the planet? As nations have progressed we have been emitting carbon, or gases which result in warming of the globe.

Some decades ago a debate started on how to reduce the emission of harmful gases that contributes to the greenhouse effect that causes global warming. So, countries came together and signed an agreement named the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has created a mechanism under which countries that have been emitting more carbon and other gases (greenhouse gases include ozone, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and even water vapor) have voluntarily decided that they will bring down the level of carbon they are emitting to the levels of early 1990s.

Developed countries, mostly European, had said that they will bring down the level in the period from 2008 to 2012. In 2008, these developed countries have decided on different norms to bring down the level of emission fixed for their companies and factories. A company has two ways to reduce emissions. One, it can reduce the GHG (greenhouse gases) by adopting new technology or improving upon the existing technology to attain the new norms for emission of gases. Or it can tie up with developing nations and help them set up new technology that is eco-friendly, thereby

helping developing country or its companies 'earn' credits.

India, China and some other Asian countries have the advantage because they are developing countries. Any company, factories or farm owner in India can get linked to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and know the 'standard' level of carbon emission allowed for its outfit or activity. The extent to which I am emitting less carbon (as per standard fixed by UNFCCC) I get credited in a developing country. This is called carbon credit. These credits are bought over by the companies of developed countries mostly Europeans because the United States has not signed the Kyoto Protocol.

How does it work in real life? Assume that British Petroleum is running a plant in the United Kingdom. Say, that it is emitting more gases than the accepted norms of the UNFCCC. It can tie up with its own subsidiary in, say, India or China under the Clean Development Mechanism. It can buy the 'carbon credit' by making Indian or Chinese plant more eco-savvy with the help of technology transfer. It can tie up with any other company like Indian Oil, or anybody else, in the open market. In December 2008, an audit will be done of their efforts to reduce gases and their actual level of emission.

China and India are ensuring that new technologies for energy savings are adopted so that they become entitled for more Carbon Trading. They are selling their credits to their counterparts in Europe. This is how a market for carbon credit is created. Every year European companies are required to meet certain norms, beginning 2008. By 2012, they

will achieve the required standard of carbon emission. So, in the coming five years there will be a lot of carbon credit deals. Where do Carbon Trading fit in the planet saving action plan? Recognize that everything we do has associated greenhouse gas emissions

Offset with fully certified Carbon Trading today (because the planet can't wait) Certification: the difference between carbon offsets and Carbon Trading There are many retailers offering uncertified carbon offsets. Purchasers should avoid carbon offsets that don't come with a certification as they provide no guarantees that you are getting what you are paying for. All certifications are not equal There are many different kinds of certification available globally. Before you buy, make sure that the certification comes from a trusted third party source.

For larger orders Carbon Planet can source any kind of certified carbon credit you seek. However, we do recommend our standard premium stock of NGACs. Find out more about our procurement policies we enforce when sourcing Carbon Trading for you to buy. Carbon Planet currently offers 2 different kinds of certified Carbon Credit as standard stock: Forestry Sequestration NGACs from Forests NSW 2. Carbon Saving NGACs from Showerhead and Light bulb replacement. Forestry Sequestration NGACs The New South Wales Greenhouse Abatement Certificate (NGAC) certification process is comprehensive.

Thus by purchasing a monthly subscription of NGAC Carbon Trading, you can continuously erase your CO2 footprints. Procedure of trading in carbon: (i) What is Clean Development Mechanism? Under the CDM you can cut the deal for carbon credit. Under the UNFCCC, charter any company from the developed world can tie up with a company in the developing

country that is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol. These companies in developing countries must adopt newer technologies, emitting lesser gases, and save energy.

Only a portion of the total earnings of Carbon Trading of the company can be transferred to the company of the developed countries under CDM. There is a fixed quota on buying of credit by companies in Europe. (ii) How does MCX trade Carbon Credits? This entire process was not understood well by many. Those who knew about the possibility of earning profits, adopted new technologies, saved credits and sold it to improve their bottom line. Many companies did not apply to get credit even though they had new technologies. Some companies used management consultancies to make their plan greener to emit less (Green House Gas) GHG.

These management consultancies then scouted for buyers to sell Carbon Trading. It was a bilateral deal. However, the price to sell Carbon Trading at was not available on a public platform. The price range people were getting used to was about Euro 15 or maybe less per tone of carbon. Today, one tone of carbon credit fetches around Euro 22. It is traded on the European Climate Exchange. Therefore, you emit one tone less and you get Euro 22. “Emit less and increase/add to your profit” MCX is the futures exchange of India. People here are getting price signals for the carbon for the delivery in next five years.

The exchange is only for Indians and Indian companies. Every year, in the month of December, the contract expires and at that time people who have bought or sold carbon get or

take delivery. They can fulfill the deal prior to December too, but most people wait until December because that is the time to meet the norms in Europe. The MCX decides to trade Carbon Credit because they are into futures trading. Let people decide, if they want to hold on to their accumulated Carbon Credit or sell them now. If the buyer thinks that the current price is low for him, he can wait before selling his credits.

The Indian government has not fixed any norms nor has it made it compulsory to reduce carbon emissions to a certain level. So, people who are ready to buy from Indians are actually financial investors. They think that if the Europeans are unable to meet their target of reducing the emission levels by 2009 or 2010 or 2012, then the demand for the carbon will increase and then they can make more money. So the investors are willing to buy now to sell later. There was a huge requirement of Carbon Trading in Europe before 2012. There are parameters set and detailed audit is done before you get the entitlement to sell the credit.

In India, already 300 to 400 companies have Carbon Trading after meeting UNFCCC norms. Only those Indian companies that meet the UNFCCC norms and take up new technologies will be entitled to sell Carbon Trading. Till MCX came along, these companies were not getting best-suited price. Some were getting Euro 15 and some were getting Euro 18 through bilateral agreements. When the contract expires in December, it is expected that prices will be firm up then. On MCX we already have

power, energy and metal companies who are trading. These companies are high-energy consuming companies. They need better technology to emit less carbon.

These Carbon Trading are with the large manufacturing companies who are adopting UNFCCC norms. Retail investors can come in the market and buy the contract if they think the market of carbon is going to firm up. Like any other asset they can buy these too. It is kept in the form of an electronic certificate. The registry and the ownership travel from the original owner to the next buyer. In the short-term, large investors are likely to come and later banks are also expected to get into the market too. This business is a function of money, and someone will have to hold on to these big transactions to sell at the appropriate time.

Price Determination Like in the case of any other asset, its price is determined by a function of demand and supply. Now, norms are known and on that basis European companies will meet the target between December 2008 and 2012. People are wondering how much credit will be available in market at that time. As December gets closer, it is possible that some government might tinker with these norms a little if the targets could not be met. If these norms are changed, prices can go through a correction. But, as of now, there is a very transparent mechanism in which the norms for the next five years have been fixed.

Governments have become signatories to the Kyoto Protocol and they have set the norms to reduce the level of carbon emission. Already companies are

on the way to meet their targets. It is a safe market because it is a matter of having more information on the extent of demand and supply of carbon credit market. Analyzing Indian Scenario India being a developing country has no emission targets to be followed. However, she can enter into CDM projects. As mentioned earlier, industries like cement, steel, power, textile, fertilizer etc. emit green houses gases as an outcome of burning fossil fuels. Companies investing in Windmill,

Bio-gas, Bio-diesel, and Co-generation are the ones that will generate Carbon Credit for selling to developed nations. Polluting industries, which are trying to reduce emissions and in turn earn Carbon Credit and make money include steel, power generation, cement, fertilizers, waste disposal units, plantation companies, sugar companies, chemical plants and municipal corporations. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) A must mention project is The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC): It has become the first rail project in the world to earn Carbon Credit because of using regenerative braking system in its rolling stock.

DMRC has earned the Carbon Credit by using regenerative braking system in its trains that reduces 30% electricity consumption. Whenever a train applies regenerative braking system, the released kinetic energy starts a machine known as converter-inverter that acts as an electricity generator, which supplies electrical energy back to the Over Head Electricity (OHE) lines. This regenerated electrical energy that is supplied back to the OHE that is used by other accelerating trains in the same service line. DMRC can now claim 400,000 CERs for a 10-year crediting period beginning December 2007 when the project was registered by the UNFCCC.