First Carbon Delivery Guarantee Pact Signed In India

India - “The International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed its first carbon delivery guarantee agreement in India to boost returns for carbon credits in the country. The new carbon finance product is expected to give companies selling carbon credits the chance to access a wider range of potential buyers by mitigating country and project risk, thereby help boost the carbon market in these regions, IFC said in there news release.

IFC signed a deal for 850,000 carbon credits from Rain CII Carbon (India) Limited… the largest merchant of calcined coke in the world, with production in India and the US. …

IFC's agreement covers up to 900,000 carbon credits from Omnia in South Africa. … ‘IFC is in a unique position to help clients maximize the benefits of the carbon credit market, given our experience in the carbon market and our financial strength,’ said IFC Executive Vice President, Lars Thunell.” [The Press Trust of India Limited and Asia Pulse (Australia)/Factiva]

Reuters added that the new carbon credit trading guarantee “…allow private-sector firms in developing countries to tap the growing $63.11 billion global carbon market, a senior official said. …

Under the guarantee, IFC will help facilitate the delivery of carbon credits from companies in developing countries to buyers in developed markets, such as Europe and Japan, said Lance Crist, head of IFC's oil, gas and chemicals division. He said other companies in China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt and Tanzania had expressed interest in the product. …

Crist said the guarantee gives companies in the developing world an incentive to participate in the growing global credit market and improve their profitability. … [He added that] once countries in the developing world join Kyoto, the global carbon market could become a trillion-dollar market. …” [Reuters/Factiva]