World Energy Solutions will be participating in the upcoming Carbon Expo Conference hosted by the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA). Taking place May 7-9, 2008 in Cologne, Germany, leaders in today’s global CO² market will gather to discuss the latest innovations in carbon emissions mitigation and climate development.

To schedule a meeting with World Energy at Carbon Expo, Booth F-26 in Hall 11.1, please contact:

Ken Bertino
Senior Vice President, Environmental Markets
World Energy
kbertino@worldenergy.com
+1.215.221.4684

World Energy’s president and COO Phil Adams was featured on the Business News Network’s “Power Breakfast” discussing the World Energy Exchange, World Green Exchange and the changing state of the energy market. Phil looks at how World Energy’s unique forward and reverse auction process has successfully complemented the increasing deregulation in the energy market as well as the rapidly growing market for green energy.

Phil also talks about last week’s announcement that RGGI selected the World Green Exchange to provide the auction platform for the compliance based auction initiative.

What are your thoughts on the state of these markets and the value World Energy brings?

Today’s Point Carbon North America Newsletter features commentary from World Energy’s Ken Ivanic on the advantages of an utilizing an online auction system in today’s markets, especially the uncertain green energy market.

In particular, Ken discusses the benefits for regulatory compliance and price discovery:

“Having a visible price discovery mechanism is of particular importance in today’s ‘green markets’ due to the uncertainty of future legislation and the lack of fungible commodities. This is especially true in voluntary carbon markets where the value is placed not only on the carbon offset, but also the protocols and standards used.”

Would you agree with such online auction benefits?

With post-Kyoto discussions taking place in Bali, here are just a few thoughts on what they mean and what they don’t:

Bali is really several steps ahead of the meetings that we should pay close attention to, as Bali will lead to another meeting, which leads to another, and so on before we arrive at a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. However, with the US Presidential election heating up and Congressional action on greenhouse gas emissions drawing near, we will see increased political posturing surrounding the Bali meetings.

Here’s what Bali will do – these meetings will provide the first official venue for examining the likelihood of a post-Kyoto framework that involves the world’s largest emitters. As such, there are three basic achievements that would make this initial meeting relatively successful:

1) some sort of long-term commitment by Kyoto’s signatories to address the post-2012 vacuum, probably using atmospheric concentration levels, temperature goals, or emissions reductions as an organizing framework,

2) further commitments to binding targets by the industrialized world (EU, Japan, now Australia) with the notable exception of the U.S., and

3) some sort of movement toward a commitment from the developing world, although this will probably be modest in nature.

After the meetings, it will be interesting to see if movement on the US front aligns with discussions in Bali. Although it is certainly early in the process, over the coming months it will be important to watch and see if legislation introduced, such as the Lieberman/Warner (just out of Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee) or the Bingaman/Specter bills, will match with what the future treaty will require. The risk, of course, is that any legislative action taken in the U.S. could conflict with Kyoto’s eventual successor.

-Rick

Things change quickly in our industry.

While it is great to see the U.S. Congress leading by example on climate change mitigation strategies, this transaction should be seen as one small sign in a broader sea change in U.S. politics surrounding climate change.

The two leading climate bills in the Senate are bipartisan, have largely been well-received, and are designed to accommodate a post-Kyoto international emissions regime. The Lieberman/Warner bill, currently in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, would cap emissions to 70% below 2005 levels by 2050. The Bingaman/Specter bill, currently in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, calls for a reduction of emissions to 2006 levels by 2020 and to 1990 levels by 2030.

On the campaign trail, nearly all the leading Presidential candidates have

Stated the need for the U.S. to move forward with an emission reductions program

Agreed that domestic efforts should dovetail with a post-Kyoto framework

And internationally it is interesting to see that the U.S.’ partner in rejecting the Kyoto Protocol, Australia, appears to be on track for embracing Kyoto. Over the weekend, the newly-elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised to “quickly ratify” the Kyoto protocol, which should further spur the development of carbon trading in Australia, the world’s largest per capita emitter.

How do you think all of these changes will effect the policies and rhetoric? As we’re heading towards the end of 2007 I’d love to her your 2008 predictions.

-Rick