Carbon emissions trading becomes hot：碳排放交易成为热点.doc

Carbon emissions trading becomes hot Market could grow to $1 trillion in U.S. by 2020, report says By?Deborah Nason March 31, 2008 The fight against global warming is making carbon emissions the hot new commodity. According to a February report from New Carbon Finance, a research provider for global carbon markets based in London, the United States could have a $1 trillion domestic carbon emissions market by 2020 if it develops a comprehensive cap and trade program. Cap and trade is a trading scheme whereby emitters are given quotas in the form of tradable emissions permits. Emitters that exceed their quotas can then buy extra permits from those emitting below their quotas. In some countries, such carbon markets are government-mandated, while in the United States and others, the market is voluntary. For the past few years, the Chicago Climate Exchange has been alone in handling trades for the U.S. carbon market, but it is getting company. On March 17, The Green Exchange — a New York-based joint venture of the New York Mercantile Exchange and Evolution Markets, an environmental brokerage based in White Plains, N.Y. — began trading emissions futures and options. Another player may be on the horizon, as Bluenext, a Paris-based joint venture that was launched in December by NYSE Euronext and French bank Caisse des Depots, is planning to expand to North America. The emerging carbon markets are catching the attention of the socially conscious investment community. The concept of emissions trading was a featured topic at the popular SRI in the Rockies conference last November. Another market mechanism also of interest to socially conscious investors is carbon offsetting, which involves paying for pollution reduction elsewhere, often involving projects in developing countries, to offset ones own pollution. Before retail investors can participate in the carbon market, there are serious hurdles to overcome, said Shane Johnston, an adviser with San Diego-based Blue S