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| An Uncertain Course | | Mar 10 2010 | |
Imagine trying to grow a business during a severe global recession with politicians bickering over the rules of the game. That was the dilemma faced by the voluntary carbon market in unsuccessfully trying to sustain its rapid pace of growth last year. It's unclear when those troubles will be over but, with so much untapped potential, voluntary market players are hopeful for a rebound in 2010.
The voluntary market had an up-and-down year in 2009, with activity in the early months subdued due to the reluctance of financial institutions to invest in voluntary projects during the economic downturn. Beginning in August, voluntary activity
increased in the run-up to the international talks on a post-2012 climate agreement in Copenhagen. Pre-compliance buying in the US was also supportive in the second half of 2009, but that activity was somewhat muted by the slow trek of climate legislation through the Senate. Overall, volume in the voluntary market dropped 5% while its value declined43%, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Edward Hanrahan, the London-based global head of environmental markets sales for JP Morgan, named Best Trading Company in the Environmental Financesurvey, said: "2009 was a pretty tricky year for the voluntary carbon markets."
There were fewer newcomers and green programmes encouraging consumers to voluntarily offset their carbon emissions suffered. But one reassuring trend was that most companies that had previously committed to carbon neutrality stood by that commitment despite the challenges.
Read full article by clicking the link below. |
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