Seize the business opportunities in the budding US carbon market

Gary Gero, President, California Climate Action Registry

What do you and your organization do in the Carbon Markets sector?

We operate a voluntary project registry program throughout the U.S., called the Climate Action Reserve, that includes writing standardized, performance-based project protocols, accrediting and overseeing independent third-party verifiers, and serializing and tracking offsets that are created by projects using our protocols.

What do you consider to be the most interesting developments and biggest challenges in the North American carbon market at this time?

The most interesting development is the acceleration in the implementation of state and regional programs to address climate change, particularly market-based programs, and the biggest challenge will be linking these efforts and accommodating them within a future federal program.

If regulated emission reductions become mandatory in the US, who stands to be most affected by this, and what would you recommend to anyone worried about impending legislation?

Those most effected are likely to be major emitters, such as power plants and refineries, who will directly affected, along with those industries that are energy intensive, such as manufacturing (aluminium, cement, etc.) who will face higher energy costs. My recommendation would be for companies to make sure they understand their position in a future carbon market by inventorying and registering their emissions, identifying and implementing cost-effective reduction opportunities, and building an understanding of market based systems by participating in the voluntary carbon market.

How do you see the North American Carbon Market looking in 5 years’ time?

Within 5 years there will be two markets: 1) a nascent but growing international regulatory market for carbon reductions under a post-Kyoto framework that is based on whatever U.S. federal program has been established and 2) a smaller but robust voluntary market for those seeking offsets to support carbon neutral claims that has coalesced around a few credible programs.

What do you see as key to building a truly global carbon market?

A consistent set of rules that are broadly accepted, well understood, and fairly and equitably applied.