Isramart : Cap-and-trade policy discussed at Carbon Markets conference

Isramart news:
About 150 people met in Coral Gables for a conference about the financial impact of cap-and-trade policy and the Copenhagen climate talks.

Investors, energy company executives and environmental consultants gathered in Coral Gables on Thursday for the third annual Carbon Markets North America conference, focusing on the effects of the proposed federal cap-and-trade policy on the business world.

A U.S. cap-and-trade system, projected to come before Congress in the near future, would cap carbon emissions and create a marketplace between companies for trading emissions credits. The coming legislation is expected to have major financial implications for a wide swath of industries, many of which were represented at the conference.

In addition to cap-and-trade, attendees discussed the implications of last December's climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the United States and several developing nations pledged to fight global warming and reduce carbon emissions.

Speakers included Ken Newcombe, the CEO of carbon finance firm C-Quest Capital; the Lord Mayor of London Alderman Nick Anstee; and executives from MGM International, a Miami firm specializing in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

MGM CEO Margo Monroy gave a presentation on Florida's carbon policy and company CFO John Mackle will speak on the international implications of the anticipated cap-and-trade policy in the United States on Friday.

``The U.S. is going to have a cap-and-trade system hopefully some point in the future,'' Mackle said. ``We're talking about the reasons [the European] system has worked well, and why the U.S. should build its system with an allowance for international offsets.''

Adam Raphaely, an environmental commodities broker for New York-based TFS Energy, said the conference helped him better understand the complex politics involved in climate legislation. ``I think in the political environment that we're in, it's difficult to get a sense of where the markets are going,'' he said. ``But I think people are generally optimistic.''