wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
  Today Online 13 Jul 06
S'pore firms can now trade carbon emission credits
Valerie Law valerie@newstoday.com.sg

WITH the global environmental pact restricting greenhouse gas emissions having come into force in Singapore on Tuesday, local firms are now able to enter the fast-growing carbon emissions trading market, said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, yesterday.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, each country is permitted to emit a certain number of tonnes annually of carbon dioxide or its equivalent. Governments then issue emission reduction credits to polluters within their borders, and these credits can be bought or sold by companies worldwide under various systems, including one known as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

"With the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol for Singapore … Singapore companies can now participate in CDM projects," said Dr Yaacob at the launch of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) yesterday.

The global carbon market saw overall transactions worth US$7.5 billion ($11.9 billion) in the first quarter, he said. Firms here can also invest in emission-reduction projects to attain the carbon emission credits, qualified for trading on various international exchanges, such as the Asia Carbon Exchange based in Singapore.

"We want to have good projects which give you good returns and at the same time, have carbon credits which can be traded. So at the end of the day, you really need the business environment, and this is where I think the private sector associations such as SEAS can play a role," said Dr Yaacob.

SEAS can act as a platform for companies involved in CDM projects to come together, he added.

SEAS chairman Edwin Khew told Today that his priority was to get companies involved in, or those supporting sustainable energy development, to join the association.

"The association would allow members to get involved in new areas of businesses that have growth potential regionally, especially in the area of renewable energy," Mr Khew said.

An example would be to use waste or bio-fuels for power generation.

According to data from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Asia is expected to generate 40 to 43 per cent, or 13.5 billion to 37.1 billion tonnes, of total worldwide emissions by 2050. The Kyoto Protocol is a 1997 global accord under which signatories agreed to limit greenhouse gases emissions, including carbon dioxide, by an average of 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. Singapore acceded to the accord in April this year.
links
Related articles on Global warming
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com