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Fund to help combat gas emissions
By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-05-24 10:18
The Chinese and Italian governments stepped closer to a reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions at the weekend with the creation of the Italian Carbon
Fund, which will help develop environmentally friendly projects in China and
combat climate change.
A presentation was held in Beijing for its launch. China's private and public
sectors can apply for financial support from the fund, which will mainly focus
on energy services and technologies.
Last autumn, the World Bank entered into an agreement with the Ministry for
the Environment and Territory of Italy to create a fund to purchase greenhouse
gas emission reductions for projects in developing countries and countries with
economies that are in transition, which is recognized under such mechanisms as
the Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism (CDM).
The fund has an initial endowment from Italy of US$15 million.
Corrado Clini, a senior official with the Italian ministry, said Sino-Italian
links in developing CDM projects are beneficial to both sides.
Clini said China is a country with big potential in greenhouse gas emission
reduction, and Italy has participated in several international carbon funds in
the past. It is now seeking project partners.
But CDM projects have not been launched in China on a large scale so far,
because Chinese enterprises do not have a full understanding about carbon funds
and how they operate.
CDM, an important policy, is designed to help generate both cost-effective
greenhouse gas controls and sustainable development benefits for developing and
developed countries.
It was established in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997, where more than 150
nations signed the Kyoto Protocol.
The Italian Carbon Fund, now under the name of the World Bank, is helping to
change the emission reduction market by bringing carbon finance to China -
linking buyers of carbon credits with climate-friendly projects that are in bad
need of capital.
"The bank is actively engaged in expanding these opportunities in discussions
with other potential carbon buyers, both public and private," said World Bank
official Andrea Pinna.
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