An index that tracks the performance of carbon credits was launched on December 6 by Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank. The Barclays Capital Carbon Index will track credits associated with the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emissions trading schemes and is available to private banks, asset managers as well as institutional investors who are seeking a benchmark for the carbon emissions markets. The Barclays Capital Environmental Markets Index Committee, a new independent body made up of representatives from the institutional investment community and the carbon industry, will govern the index. Contact Barclays Capital www.barcap.com
The Climate Registry
Fifty-four corporations, states and local government authorities have become the first organisations to sign up to The Climate Registry – a US-based non-profit organisation established to measure and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions in an accurate and transparent way across industries and national or state borders. The announcement was made on January 15 and the member organisations, known as Founding Reporters, have agreed to measure, independently verify and publicly report their GHG emissions annually using The Climate Registry’s General Reporting Protocol. The protocol is based on standards developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The founding organisations include Alcoa, National Grid and Duke Energy Corporation.
Contact The Climate Registry 001 213 891 6922 www.theclimateregistry.org
UN Climate Change Conference 2007
An international roadmap for tackling climate change was adopted by participating nations at the UN Climate Change Conference, which took place in Bali in December. The roadmap outlines the course towards the adoption of a post-2012/post-Kyoto agreement on climate change. The negotiating process is set to be concluded in 2009 and a binding agreement will be finalised that year in Denmark. The roadmap includes decisions on the transfer of technology as well as reducing emissions and sets out a timeline for the next two years. The Adaptation Fund was also launched at the conference. It has been established to finance adaptation programmes in developing countries that are party to the Kyoto Protocol to help these countries reach their expected greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Contact UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 0049 228 815 1000 http://unfccc.int
BA goes green
British Airways has pledged to make new efforts in limiting aviation’s impact on climate change by launching a new carbon offset scheme that uses UN certified emissions reductions to finance a new wind farm in China as well as run-of-the-river hydro electric plants in China and Brazil. The announcement was made on January 15 and the company is further investing in a variety of projects to protect the Brazilian rainforest, but it will also fund research by Cambridge University aimed at furthering the understanding of the non-CO2 effects of aviation. Contact British Airways 0870 850 9850 www.britishairways.com
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