Oxford Sunergy comments on the new UN report about carbon reduction project

July 20, 2012 - PRLog -- The latest figures from the UN's carbon offset programme, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) have shown an influx of more than 40 applications to their interest free loan scheme across 23 of the world's poorest countries.

According to the UN, 22 applications for programmes of activities (PoA) have been received, along with applications from 11 large-scale projects across a wide range of technology sectors, including transport, methane avoidance and renewable electricity.

"Most loan applications were received from least developed countries (LDCs)," said John Christensen, head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Risoe Centre, which runs the scheme with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Africa had the bulk of applications, with 29 projects put forward across the continent.

The UN said applications are currently being accepted for the second round of the CDM Loan Scheme, which closes on 30 September 2012.

A spokesperson for Oxford Sunergy said this was a sign that "The market has evolved. There is a tangible value for post-2012 credits."
In September, carbon investor Oxford Sunergy set up a subsidiary to manage 60 million euros of investment in carbon assets, including post-2012 credits.
"Demand been up for a quite a while. People are making sure they are positioned properly for 2012," said Simon Gloate, partner at Oxford Sunergy.
Over the past few months, there has also been more clarity about what will and will not be eligible for use in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) from 2013, investors said.

The CDM's Executive Board is probing projects to destroy the greenhouse gas hydrofluorocarbon-23 after environmental group CDM Watch accused them of gaming the system. The group has also called for credits from projects which destroy the pollutant nitrous oxide to be banned from the EU ETS.
Potentially, the impact of banning the two project types could be huge, as they make up nearly three quarters of all CERs issued so far. But many companies have welcomed more clarity, particularly those who do not invest in such project types.
"Not all CERs will be eligible to 2020. This is old news. But now we are approaching 2012, companies are starting to look at their strategy beyond 2012," said Sascha Bloomfeld, executive board member at carbon asset manager Oxford Sunergy.

Oxford Sunergy is a firm offering socially responsible green investments such as forestry, farmland, renewable energy and carbon credits.

For more information or to contact Oxford Sunergy, visit http://www.oxford-sunergy.com