Opportunities in the carbon market for transport projects in Mexico

(Caracas, April 14, 2008).- As part of its environmental commitment, the Andean Development Corporation and the Mexican Carbon Fund (Fomecar) have organized the workshop Opportunities in the Carbon Market for Transport Projects in Mexico to be held in the Bancomext International Trade and Business Training Center (Cencaci) next Tuesday April 15.

"The idea - CAF President & CEO Enrique Garcia said - is to familiarize participants with carbon markets and how they can be implemented in transport projects. A successful case is TransMilenio in Bogota, which was developed by CAF through the Latin American Carbon, Clean and Alternative Energy Program (PLAC+e)." TransMilenio has obtained international recognition as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, which generates additional income from the sale of carbon credits and helps mitigate the global warming problem.

The Corporation "is making an important commitment to the environment, as part of its institutional mission to promote sustainable development and regional integration, by generating specific strategies and implementing programs and initiatives through innovative financing schemes which contribute to increasing investment in the environment in the countries of the region," García added.

Luis Alfonso Acosta, executive director of corporate financing of Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior, S.N.C. (BANCOMEXT) with responsibility for FOMECAR, explained that the fund’s mission was to promote development and implementation of greenhouse gas reduction projects, including dissemination of a culture of adoption of clean technologies that permit low carbon or carbon free consumption.

FOMECAR has requested CAF to share its experience on projects in the transport sector. The two organizations have jointly invited the main actors in this activity in Mexico to participate; namely the federal and state authorities responsible for developing mass transport systems, and the transport project management companies, Acosta added.

Opportunity to exchange experiences

The workshop Opportunities in the Carbon Market for Transport Projects in Mexico will guide participants on potential markets for emission reduction in urban mass transport projects; disseminate the TransMilenio experience, the transport methodology approved by the United Nations and its application in the TransMilenio case; create incentives for participants to enter carbon markets; and analyze the potential of urban mass transport projects in Mexico from the perspective of CDM and other carbon markets.

The event agenda includes panels on Opportunities in Carbon Markets, CDM Methodologies and Projects in the Transport Sector, Different Points of View on Sustainable Transport in Mexico, and a round table on Transport Projects in Mexico.

Carbon markets, an alternative in favor of the environment

Carbon markets, such as the Kyoto Protocol’s CDM, offer projects that are able to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions an opportunity to sell carbon credits to countries which have commitments to reduce emissions and to companies with environmental responsibilities

In July 2006 the Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) approved the first methodology for transport projects at world level. This methodology was prepared jointly by CAF and Grütter Consulting, based on the TransMilenio project in Bogota.

Condor 3.0 is a geographical information system product of cooperation between CAF and International Conservation. The two organizations agreed to join efforts in the search for methods and tools for integration of environmental criteria and biodiversity conservation in the appraisal of infrastructure projects in the Andean region.

The "Condor Geographical Information System" reveals the potential incidence of environmental factors in the early stages of project conceptualizationby means of visualization, exploration and analysis of infrastructure projects in South America and is aimed at a range of specialist users in different disciplines. The system is an early evaluation tool focused on identifying the environmental risks and opportunities in projects much earlier than the traditional method based on environmental impact studies which take place after a project has been conceived, designed and, in many cases, approved and financed.