New Energy Company enters carbon credit business with Australian expertise
New Energy General Manager Ziad Ayoub (right) and Carbon Planet’s Haris Chaudhry sign the agreement on Monday in the presence of Australian Ambassador to Jordan Glenn White (Photo courtesy of Australian embassy)
By Omar Obeidat
AMMAN –– Jordan’s New Energy Company (NEC) on Monday signed an agreement with Australian Carbon Planet to identify, develop and commercialise public and private sector projects in Jordan and the region which generate large quantities of carbon credits.
Under the agreement, signed at the Australian embassy in Amman, Carbon Planet will act as advisers, marketers and facilitators for the Jordanian company.
According to NEC General Manager Ziad Ayoub, the company’s services will include consulting, planning, implantation, registration and carbon trading to help asset owners in the region benefit from carbon emission reduction schemes.
Under the UN Kyoto Protocol, a trading mechanism is provided for countries around the globe to participate in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Ayoub said, adding that Jordan is the first Arab country to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
He told The Jordan Times that Jordan and the region’s countries can benefit by developing carbon origination projects under “Clean Development Mechanism”, and benefit financially by selling the resultant carbon emission reduction units as carbon credits in the international market.
“NEC will provide studies and other services to projects and asset owners on how to reduce their carbon emissions through using renewable energy and environment friendly power resources,” Ayoub indicated, noting that NEC is the first firm to provide such services in the region which will generate extra revenues.
Haris Chaudhry, the director of the carbon commerce division at the Australian company for Asia and Africa, said Jordanian businesses have untapped carbon inventory that promises to deliver an opportunity for early movers, allowing them to consolidate their position during the growth phase.
Carbon Planet provides carbon commerce through scientific analysis and consultancy to facilitate the creation and brokerage of carbon credits from valid projects, aiding business to maximise commercial opportunities, he added.
The Australian company trades in carbon credit on the international market and is considered one of the biggest carbon credit banks in the world, Ayoub said, indicating that carbon credit commercialising will maximise the revenues of the government and private organisation in Jordan.
Australian Ambassador to Jordan Glenn White commended the new Jordanian – Australian partnership and urged more efforts for the protection of the environment in particular issues of global warming.
According to the World Bank Report on Carbon Finance, carbon commerce is the fastest growing industry globally with $84 billion of carbon trading conducted in 2007, reaching to $116 billion in 2008 and is expected to reach over $200 billion by 2012.
MCL Price at posting:
0.4¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held