Link: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22119778-643,00.html?from=public_rss
The Australian - July 23, 2007
THE nation's first greenhouse gas market opened today, five years head of
the federal government's plan for a market-based system.
The Australian Climate
Exchange (ACX), a joint venture with niche emerging companies
trader Australia Pacific Exchange, says it sets a market-based price for
greenhouse pollution for the first time.
The price of
carbon opened at $8.50 per metric tonne. After a
day's trading, 1600 tonnes of Australian Greenhouse
Office-accredited “voluntary emission reductions” (VERS) had changed hands at a
final price of $8.60 a tonne.
The exchange comes well ahead of the federal government's plan to establish a
`cap and trade' system by 2012.
Prime Minister John Howard has also said that emission reduction targets and a
carbon price would not be decided until next year.
The ACX has also outpaced rivals NSX Ltd, which operates the
ACX managing director Tim Hanlin said ACX was
answering demand from business for a carbon price through a “transparent,
credible and auditable” system.
“There is no tax, no penalty, no target that backs up the trading of this
emissions commodity,” Mr Hanlin
said today.
“What does back it up is the desire by companies to actually respond
.. to their customers' needs and desires to
reduce their emissions footprint.”
Under the ACX system, buyers and sellers trade the VERS in minimum lots of 100 tonnes.
Each offset unit is certified by the government greenhouse watchdog and must be
lodged with the ACX registry first before it can be traded.
The registry tracks the traded offsets until they are extinguished - that is
when an owner acquits the offset against emissions.
Mr Hanlin, who earlier
worked for Woodside Petroleum Ltd, scouting greenhouse offset opportunities,
said he expected the exchange would facilitate `spot' and `forward' selling of
the abatement units in primary and secondary markets.
“It encourages that primary trade because it's providing a price signal from
the secondary market,” Mr Hanlin.
“As this market gets deeper and we have more liquidity you will see price
trends.
“You will see the ability to form forward price curves and all those things
should actually help the government ... to design a scheme and set targets
rather than set prices.”
The NSX, which recently bought a water trading exchange used by farmers, has
said it wanted to launch a carbon emissions trading platform next month.
The ASX has said it would proceed with its scheme after the federal
government's pricing details were known.
Several Australian companies, including electricity giant AGL
Energy, are already trading carbon but on an exchange in
Communication services provider M2 Telecommunications Group was the first buyer
into the new Australian exchange, filling its order for 600 units at $8.50.
“We can now buy at a market price without sourcing different offset sellers,”
M2 Telecommunications managing director Vaughan Bowen said.
“We don't need to negotiate individual prices or deal with cumbersome
over-the-counter contracts.
“This is
AAP