Eco (atlantic) Regulatory News (ECO)

1 Dec 2008 17:53



EcoSecurities: Statement re DNV temporary suspension 

Dublin, 1 December 2008: EcoSecurities, a leading organisation in the business of sourcing, developing and trading carbon credits from greenhouse gas emissions projects, has noted the surprise temporary suspension by the Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board ("CDM EB") at EB 44 on 28 November 2008 of Det Norske Veritas's ("DNV") accreditation for validations and verification of CDM projects.  DNV are one of the Designated Operational Entities ("DOE") used by EcoSecurities to validate and verify registrations and issuances from its portfolio of CDM projects.  

DNV have subsequently stated that they presume that it will take 1 to 2 months to regain their accreditation. As a result of this, the issuance of some CERs from EcoSecurities projects may now be delayed.

EcoSecurities has appointed DNV as DOE in respect of:

At 30 November 2008, EcoSecurities had an excess of issued CER inventory on hand and volume guaranteed purchases for December 2008 over remaining delivery obligations for December 2008 of 1.43 million CERs. This balance takes account of certain deliveries in 2008 that had been originally scheduled for 2009. In addition, EcoSecurities has contracted purchases of 0.63 million CERs for delivery prior to 31 March 2009, none of which are subject to potential delay as a result of the suspension of the accreditation of DNV. The current delivery obligations for 2009 amount to 5.24 million CERs of which 2.60 million are scheduled for delivery prior to 31 March 2009. 

At 31 October 2008, EcoSecurities cash balance comprised €55.7m, including €3.4m of restricted cash.

Bruce Usher, CEO, EcoSecurities stated "This situation is unfortunate for the CDM industry. EcoSecurities is working to minimise any delays that this may cause to our CDM projects and I am confident in our ability to manage the impact of DNV's temporary suspension."

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Editor's Notes:

Details of DNV suspension

The decision taken by the CDM EB to suspend DNV with immediate effect also made a provision to allow DNV to continue to process existing activities in relation to requests for registration and issuance which have been submitted to the EB prior to the decision taking place. DNV can therefore:

DNV will also be able to undertake activities relating to validation and verification, however, until the suspension is terminated, they will not be allowed to do any of the following activities:

About EcoSecurities:

EcoSecurities is one of the world's leading companies in the business of originating, developing and trading carbon credits. EcoSecurities structures and guides greenhouse gas emission reduction projects through the Kyoto Protocol, working with both project developers and buyers of carbon credits.

EcoSecurities works with companies in developing and industrialising countries to create carbon credits from projects that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. EcoSecurities has experience with projects in the areas of renewable energy, agriculture and urban waste management, industrial efficiency, and forestry. With a network of offices and representatives in 36 countries on five continents, EcoSecurities has amassed one of the industry's largest and most diversified portfolios of carbon projects.

EcoSecurities also works with companies in the developed world to assist them in meeting their greenhouse gas emission compliance targets. Utilising its highly diversified carbon credit portfolio, EcoSecurities is able to structure carbon credit transactions to fit compliance buyers' needs, and has executed transactions with both private and public sector buyers in Europe, North America and Japan.

Working at the forefront of carbon market development, EcoSecurities has been involved in the development of many of the global carbon market's most important milestones, including developing the world's first CDM project to be registered under the Kyoto Protocol. EcoSecurities' consultancy division has been at the forefront of significant policy and scientific developments in this field. EcoSecurities has been recognised as the world's leading greenhouse gas advisory firm over the last five years by reader surveys conducted by Environmental Finance Magazine.

EcoSecurities Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM (ticker ECO). Additional information is available at www.EcoSecurities.com.