CARBON MARKETS

The global climate is changing due to the result of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most significant and prevalent greenhouse gas released by human activities and is emitted mostly from the burning of fossil fuels like coal. Immediate action is needed to limit the greenhouse gas effect so as to help avoid the impacts of climate change. Carbon Offsets are created by finding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The trading of these resulting carbon credits helps to support the limiting of CO2 into the atmosphere. It is an opportunity to use a market mechanism that engages investors and businesses to do their part to help bring about solutions to climate change. Carbon Offsets are quantified and sold in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Buying one ton of carbon offsets means there will be one less ton of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there would otherwise have been.

There are two carbon markets. The Compliance market - whereby governments and companies are subject to carbon constraints under the Kyoto Protocol. For this market, certified emission reductions (CERs) have been created and are being traded. The Voluntary carbon market – includes Carbon Offset transactions outside of government regulated regulatory schemes. This is often the market in which companies will purchase offsets for their emissions for sustainability reasons and to meet stakeholder pressure to mitigate climate change. For this market, voluntary emission reductions (VERs) have been created and are also being traded. There are many factors that will determine which market an industry is eligible for to create credits. It depends on project type, geographic location and if a methodology exists for the project type.

Fortunately, technological solutions exist for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and EAWC is providing them. Using our Energy Module technologies, including steam heat-to-energy or waste heat-to-energy, renewable energy is used rather than fossil fuels. This not only saves on energy costs, but allows creation of carbon credits for reducing CO2 in the atmosphere. Selling of carbon credits is an additional means in which to tackle climate change.

Current Carbon Market Facts

  • Corporate social responsibility still remains strong in terms of reasons for Offset purchases.
  • Consumer awareness of climate change increased demand for voluntary Offset purchases. Voluntary Offsetting grew 4% in 2012 to a market size of $523 Million spent on voluntary credits.
  • Buyers of voluntary credits include: the European private sector, including regulated energy utilities, and US large corporations– seeing demand grow 34% to 43.4 million tons of Offsets.
  • There was a surge of spending last year toward Gold Standard projects that created offsets from water filtration devices.
  • Compliance buyers often buy both compliance credits and voluntary credits.

    • How our technologies can help

    There is global demand for carbon credits. Most EAWC Technologies will lend themselves to creation of carbon credits, including waste heat recovery, landfill methane, water purification device distribution and renewable energy that replaces fossil fuels.

    We can help create a project that will result in carbon credits that can then be sold in the Worldwide carbon markets. This creates an additional revenue stream that would help to support any clean energy or renewable energy project. The process of getting credits issued varies depending on the credit type (eg. CERs vs VERs). The criteria that is taken into consideration by EAWC Technologies to successfully create carbon credits also include permanence and a stringent verification process. A trend seen in the market this past year was that buyers are more willing to sign forward contracts for emission reductions that have not yet occurred. We can provide advice on this type of structure, whereby pre-payment toward future delivery of the offsets is arranged.

    Our technologies help promote the carbon market which in turn is another avenue to solving climate change. And we help our clients create this additional revenue stream when they deploy our technologies.


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    CO2 Balance