From China’s The Standard via Eco-Portal, news that an Asian carbon exchange mechanism
will be established in Singapore this year, giving the region’s fast-growing economies a forum for funding green technology.
CO2 credit derivatives are already trading on exchanges in Europe and in the United States, but the Singapore bourse – to be called ACX-Change – will offer the lure of access to emerging economies eager to finance infrastructure investment.
“Asia has huge potential as a sellers’ market to meet increasing demand from [Western] buyers,” said Kesava Shotam, chief executive of Asia Carbon International BV, Friday.
“Right now there are a lot of buyers and not enough sellers.”
As always, this should appeal to the “free-market” crowd, and I’ve yet to see serious reservations about carbon trading as a viable means of meeting Kyoto Protocal goals. I’m interested in the long-term potential for carbon trading, though — is this just a way to get started reducing CO2 emissions? Is it primarily a way to prime the innovation pump to get us beyond fossil fuels?