BGC Environmental Brokerage Services

CantorCO2e Adds Voluntary Carbon Markets to EmissionsTrading.com

San Francisco, CA, October 3, 2007 – CantorCO2e has today announced the launch of a web-based marketplace that provides its clients with information about multiple domestic and international projects, creating real carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂eq) offsets.  Prices, quantities, and brief descriptions of the projects are now available online for registered users at www.emissionstrading.com.  Clients can also respond on-line to bids and offers. 

"Participants in today's voluntary greenhouse gas markets have a challenging task," said CantorCO2e's co-CEO Josh Margolis. "Companies seeking to build a green brand must have access to real reductions that are derived from defined projects.  Of most interest are emission reductions from distinct projects that have a pedigree, a history, a story, and which meet rigorous standards.”

 “Our buyers want to support carbon reduction projects that have both a story and a particular character.  They simply cannot afford to transact offsets that are neither distinct nor real.  For some buyers, the quality of tons is a secondary goal to mitigating their carbon footprint.  For others, the quality of the carbon reductions is paramount.  Our voluntary markets are for those who need to know the who, what and why of the tons before they buy.”

The importance of voluntary carbon markets is growing with each year. 

According to a recent report on the voluntary carbon markets, more than 20 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent were traded voluntarily in the first six months of 2007. Mr. Margolis noted, “This is up from about 24 million tons in all of 2006 and only 8 million tons in 2005. The pace of growth in the market continues to be substantial, and we may see hundreds of millions of tons trade voluntarily by 2010.” 

Carbon dioxide equivalent tons offered through CantorCO2e’s marketplace include those derived from the United States and internationally. Project types include:

• Methane capture and avoidance
• Biomass power generation
• Wind farms
• Hydroelectric power
• Energy efficiency
• Forestry
• Carbon capture and storage
• Fuel switches
• Industrial gas switches
• Transportation efficiency improvements 

Many of the emission reductions available through CantorCO2e are derived from pre-registered Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and are verified, or are verifiable, to the Voluntary Carbon Standard, as well as other international and US standards. These tons are being used by corporations seeking to lighten their carbon footprint.  Some are looking to build a carbon portfolio in anticipation of the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) or California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), authored by Fran Pavley and signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.   Others are seeking to avoid projects being slowed by California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) interventions.  Consumer product corporations are also seeking to build a green brand by inviting their customers to offset the carbon associated with units produced.  More detailed information about CantorCO2e’s voluntary carbon markets can be found here.

About AB 32 (The Global Warming Solutions Act)

AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, is the nation's first economy-wide cap on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Signed into law in 2006, AB 32 represents the first enforceable state-wide program to cap greenhouse gas emissions from major industries, with penalties for non-compliance. The new state law caps California's greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2020. Unlike the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in the Northeast, which is aimed at purely Electric Generating Units (EGUs), the California law will target all major emitters, and include all six gases associated with global warming, not just CO2. For more information on the GHG law, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) website is www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cc.htm.

About CantorCO2e 

CantorCO2e is a leading global provider of financial services to the world's environmental and energy markets, offering finance, consultancy, advice, technology, and transaction services to clients engaged in using energy and managing emissions across the world. 

CantorCO2e helps people and corporations across the world to manage the financial aspects of their energy and environmental choices. In North America and Europe, this means providing brokerage services to the energy and environmental commodity markets. Elsewhere, this means bringing expertise, finance and technology to projects that reduce emissions. 

CantorCO2e serves all of the world's principal emissions markets, including the Kyoto markets (CDM, JI and the European Trading Scheme), the US compliance markets, and the voluntary carbon market. We help entities transact via electronic trading screens, recorded telephone lines, auctions and negotiated contracts. As well as emissions, we broker 'new' energy, such as renewable energy, ethanol and Biodiesel. We advise equity investment funds on carbon finance, introduce investors to projects, and structure forward sales to enable project developers to fund their investments. We help 'clean-tech' technology developers to manage their intellectual property, to develop their licensing strategies, and to roll out their technologies through our global network. 

CantorCO2e is headquartered in London and San Francisco and has fourteen offices across five continents. This global yet local presence across the world, together with the unique experience of our staff, enables us to provide a level of service that few can match. For more information please visit www.cantorco2e.com.

About Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.

Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. is a leading global financial services firm. The Cantor Fitzgerald franchise includes institutional equity and fixed income sales and trading, investment banking, private equity, and asset management and other businesses and ventures. For nearly 60 years, Cantor Fitzgerald, a proven and resilient leader, has been committed to delivering a unique brand of unparalleled product expertise, innovative technology and customer service to its clients around the world. For more information, please visit www.cantor.com.

Contact:

Melanie Gordon-Felsman
Cantor Fitzgerald
(212) 610 2314
mgordon@cantor.com