Canada could ease Kyoto targets

The federal cabinet is considering a proposal that would dramatically ease requirements for large industrial polluters to cut greenhouse gas emissions under Canada's climate change plan...

EU sues Italy for failing to respect environment laws

The European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the European Union (EU), decided here Tuesday to take legal action against Italy for breaching EU environmental legislation...

EBRD-backed Dutch Fund Buys Bulgarian CO2 Credits

An EBRD-managed Dutch fund said on Monday it would buy greenhouse gas credits generated by a 5.0 million euro ($6.5 million) Bulgarian project just weeks before global trade in emissions begins on February 16...

Canada Considers Copying California's Greenhouse Gas Law

Canadian officials, who are considering regulations to reduce carbon dioxide exhaust from cars and trucks, are spending a few days this week getting a firsthand look at their primary inspiration: California.

World Bank Bio-carbon fund considering credits from Nicaraguan teak plantations

World Bank expresses interest to purchase Carbon Sequestration from Precious Woods project in Nicaragua.

Kyoto: From Birth to Mid-life Crisis in one Meeting

By Mark Nicholls

With little to decide at its tenth Conference of the Parties (COP 10), much attention - and anxiety - at the UN climate change meeting in Buenos Aires was focused on what happens when the first Kyoto Protocol 'commitment period' comes to an end in 2012. Issues of credit trading and the Clean Development Mechanism also came up. The Ecosystem Marketplace takes a closer look.

Guest Feature: Banking on Endangered Species

By Robert Bonnie, Environmental Defense

As the needs of developers and landowners come into conflict with the needs of endangered species, the US has begun experimenting with a process known as conservation banking. In a guest feature, The Ecosystem Marketplace asked Robert Bonnie, of the Environmental Defense Center for Conservation Incentives, to look at the process and describe one case study involving gopher tortoises in Alabama.

California Leading: New Thinking on Carbon Accounting

By Ricardo Bayon

For four years California has been quietly developing a set of greenhouse gas emission accounting standards and a climate registry. Now it has come up with ideas on how to measure and account for the climate impact of forests. This work could one day have repercussions on carbon trading across the US and the world. The Ecosystem Marketplace takes a closer look.

The Name of the Game is Bonds, Conservation Bonds

By Ricardo Bayon

In late 2002 and mid 2003 The Nature Conservancy issued a series of bonds on the financial markets worth US$ 325 million. They were the first of their kind and could herald a new era in the use of innovative finance by conservation organizations. The Ecosystem Marketplace looks at these unique deals.

Marta Echavarria, Innovating Water in Latin America

From the Rivers of Colombia to the Highlands of Ecuador, Marta Echavarria is becoming a leading player in the creation of systems that pay for watershed conservation services in Latin America.

Guest Editorial: Will Pension Funds Help Save the World?

by David Brand
With their coffers growing and time running out, will global pension funds get involved in the growing markets for ecosystem services and help save the world? David Brand argues that this will happen only if we make such involvement profitable and only if we work on the legal, institutional and commercial underpinnings of these markets.

 

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