National Post - Canada

September 24, 2002

Climate exchange pilot project gets boost

by Paul Haavardsrud    

CALGARY - The Chicago Climate Exchange, a group attempting to  establish a pilot program to trade greenhouse gas emissions in the   North America, moved closer to its goal yesterday announcing the   National Association of Securities Dealers will provide regulatory   services for the proposed exchange.   The CCX plans to launch the trading platform, the first of its kind   in North America, by early 2003.   Once running, the exchange could help Canadian companies better   understand the potential economic affects of ratifying the Kyoto   Accord, said Richard Sandor, a professor at Northwestern University   in Chicago and the project leader for the CCX.   "The purpose of this project is to provide price discovery, which   would we think clarify the debate [about the costs of emissions   reduction]," Mr. Sandor said. "A pilot program where you learn the   real economics of reduction is the way to inform the debate, and we   think that if you do it with transparency ... you will learn more   about climate change and the costs of mitigating it than all the   studies in the world."   The costs of implementing the Kyoto Protocol, a global agreement on   emissions reduction, has been a pressing concern for Canadian   industry since Jean Chretien said Parliament would look at ratifying   the agreement by the end of the year.   More than 40 companies, including Canadian firms Suncor Energy Inc.   and Ontario Power Generation, participated in the exchange's design   phase.