The World Green Exchange has been selected to provide the Auction Implementation Services for RGGI (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative). RGGI chose the World Green Exchange to trade the first phase offset transactions for the ten states who, in lieu of a federal standard, are implementing self-imposed standards to lower carbon emissions. The proven forward and reverse auctions have already yielded results including the first North American online auction for carbon emission compliance.

Central to RGGI’s mission is the implementation of a multi-state cap-and-trade program with a market-based emissions trading system. Through this cap and trade initiative, the states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont, will use the World Green Exchange to offset carbon emissions.

In a statement issued by RGGI, Inc., Pete Grannis, Chair, RGGI, Inc. and Commissioner of the New York Sate Department of Environmental Conservation said, “Absent federal leadership, the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states of RGGI are taking action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce their impact on the environment Our CO2 auction will be the first in the nation and it is one that should be replicated at the federal level.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts on RGGI and its implications on the US carbon market!

World Energy President and Chief Operating Officer Phil Adams is speaking on the keynote panel at today’s Voluntary Carbon Markets conference in New York City, which is the premiere US event focused solely on the market. The panel kicks off the conference’s focus on the past, present and future of the US voluntary market.

The Wall Street Journal discusses how top US investment banks, including Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley are anticipating government caps on greenhouse-gas emissions and are setting environmental standards for companies trying to acquire financing for coal-fired power plants. In a move to reduce debt risk, the banks will require these companies to prove their viability under the possible regulations before receiving financing.

This article from The Times discusses how the European Union might limit the ability to trade Certified Emission Reduction credits after 2012 if a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, which will create a wider market for carbon, is not agreed upon. This could potentially harm a United Nations plan that promotes carbon-reducing power projects in poor countries.

Reuters looks at a new report from a Canadian government-commissioned panel which suggests the Canadian governments should spend C$2 billion to encourage the implementation of technologies to capture and store carbon. The panel estimates that the aid could help get three to five capture and storage projects operational by 2015. There is concern, however, that carbon capture will replace initiatives that reduce greenhouse gases.

Reuters discusses last night’s announcement during the State of the Union on the United States pledging to spend $2 billion over the next three years to fund clean energy tech in order to fight climate change. A large focus of this commitment is on battery power and renewable energies.

Also in Reuters, is an article discussing the Alberta carbon market. Alberta’s premier warned officials that the province cannot reduce GHGs too quickly, or it will have a large impact on the economy. However, environmentalists say that Canada cannot reduce national emissions levels without reductions in Alberta.

The Burlington Free Press talks about how several states, Vermont included, have asked the Federal Trade commission to develop guidelines for business that sell credits. The states are worried about fraud due to the “intangible nature of carbon offsets.” The other states include Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Oklahoma.

Lastly and also from Reuters, the Russian government is accepting applications from companies who want to sell credits, for a profit, to Western countries. Previously, legal doubts had stalled the Russian market.

UK lagging on renewable energy

From Reuters:

Britain says it hasn’t decided yet how much energy it aims to get from renewable sources like the wind and sun by 2020, but industry players fear a lack of ambition.

European Union leaders signed up in March to a mandatory target to get a fifth of all energy from renewable sources by 2020, to help fight climate change, but didn’t decide how the target would be split between the 27 EU member states.

World Bank: More climate-change resources needed

From MarketWatch:

The World Bank will aim to boost access to clean energy sources and take other steps to help the world’s poorest nations deal with the challenges posed by climate change, the institution’s key committee said Sunday. “In essence, our focus on this issue is always to (concentrate) on the needs of developing countries,” said World Bank President Robert Zoellick after a meeting of the joint IMF-World Bank Development Committee. “Developed countries can take care of themselves.”

State to sue U.S. to allow tailpipe rules

From the L.A. Times:

California will sue the Bush administration next week in a bid to force the Environmental Protection Agency to allow the state to issue greenhouse gas regulations for automobiles. The lawsuit, which would make goon on a threat made six months ago by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, will demand that federal regulators give California a waiver under the U.S. Clean Air Act, as they’ve done dozens of times for similar air pollution controls.