Carbon Expo Launch for SpectrumCredit and Carbon Market Institute

Climate Friendly announced at the Carbon Expo that it has established SpectrumCredit, which  makes it easy to support multiple offset projects overseas, including a biomass project in Thailand, a fuel-switching project in Brazil, an energy efficiency initiative in Cambodia, landfill gas recovery in China and renewable energy in India. Meanwhile, the Victorian Government is supporting the establishment of the new Carbon Market Institute in Melbourne.

Reports from Carbon Expo, Melbourne (13 October 2010):

VICTORIA TO HOST CARBON MARKET INSTITUTE

Victoria will become home to the national Carbon Market Institute thanks to a $3.5 million contribution from the Brumby Labor Government.

Financial Services Minister John Lenders said the new initiative would give Melbourne the advantage to become a major centre for carbon market business in the Asia-Pacific region.

Speaking at Carbon Expo Australasia 2010 today, Mr Lenders said the funding would be used to establish a national Carbon Market Institute to help Australian businesses with the implementation of climate-related markets.

“The Brumby Labor Government is leading Australia in tackling climate change and helping businesses prepare for a carbon constrained future,” Mr Lenders said.

“The new institute will help businesses develop and implement new ways to cut their carbon emissions effectively.

“By taking action now we are positioning Victorian industry to capitalise on the sustainable opportunities being created as the world prepares for the realities of climate change. While we support an emissions trading scheme we recognise that it is just one of a number of mechanisms that Australia may eventually adopt to facilitate carbon reduction.

“Accordingly the Institute will stand ready to help industry capture the opportunities and manage the liabilities, whatever climate change policies are eventually passed by the Commonwealth Parliament.”

The Institute will be an independent, not for profit organisation established in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Emissions Trading Forum. It will be located in VECCI’s East Melbourne headquarters.

It will provide Australian industry with business networking, research and market analysis, education and training, professional standards and accreditation and international engagement. It will also boost local jobs.

“We are home to the majority of Australian companies that will need to comply with a price on carbon and we are also home of the Australian Energy Market Operator and a centre for Australian energy markets,” Mr Lenders said.

Mr Lenders said the new Institute would build further on Victoria’s leadership in climate change action.

“The Victorian Climate Change White Paper launched earlier this year puts us at the forefront of Australian action to combat global warming and sets a new target to cut greenhouse emissions by at least 20 per cent by 2020,” he said.

The new Institute is expected to be operational by January 2011, but is already taking expressions of interest in memberships through the Asia-Pacific Emissions Trading Forum.

Source: www.aetf.net.au

Climate Friendly Release (14 October 2010):

Climate change: Australians aren’t waiting for government action

As our government flounders and the carbon scheme debate goes round in circles, more and more companies and individuals in Australia are taking voluntary action to combat climate change.

From 2003 to 2009 the global voluntary market grew at 58% compound annually – making it one of the fastest growing industries in the world.

“The point is people want to get started, and they are. Our government is stagnating on plans for a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and cannot agree on a carbon price, meanwhile climate change is happening today.” says Freddy Sharpe, CEO of Climate Friendly^TM.

The truth is that the market is right out in front of government. Whilst some people are still debating whether human created climate change is real, a rapidly growing number of businesses and individuals have already worked out their carbon footprint, started making reductions and offset the rest.

For these people, the conversation is no longer about whether it’s real, or if carbon offsetting is a means to achieving a genuine emissions reduction, the question has become: ‘Which offsetting project should I choose?’

There is a growing demand for choice of carbon offset projects. Businesses want to connect with the projects and to be able to tell their customers and staff the story of how they are helping. It’s equally meaningful to individuals.

SpectrumCredit, launched at Carbon Expo Australasia yesterday, is a world first offering that meets this demand. SpectrumCredit was developed by Sydney based company Climate Friendly^TM and allows anyone to offset their carbon footprint with a combination of clean energy technologies from five best-practice projects sourced from five countries, with purchases as small as a single tonne of C02 equivalent.

“Our clients want to support a range of technologies that collectively have the potential to address global warming,” says Sharpe. “No one technology or country can address global warming single-handedly. It’s going to take a combination of technologies in place around the world.”

SpectrumCredit makes it easy to support a biomass project in Thailand, a fuel-switching project in Brazil, an energy efficiency initiative in Cambodia, landfill gas recovery in China and renewable energy in India – all at the same time.

Source: www.climatefriendly.com