Finland invests in NEFCO Carbon Fund to acquire post-Kyoto carbon credits

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Finland’s Environment and Foreign Ministries announced today that the country will invest three million euros into the NEFCO Carbon Fund (NeCF). Finland’s investment will be earmarked for the acquisition of carbon credits that are generated after the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period.

“With this investment, we want to signal our confidence in the continuation of global climate policy and carbon markets also beyond the year 2012. Finland’s investment will also promote emission-free energy production and transfer of environmental technologies in Asia where the NeCF is actively looking for new investment opportunities”, Environment Minister Paula Lehtomäki says.

The Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen notes that participation in the new carbon fund fits well with the objectives of Finland’s development policy programme.

“From the perspective of the sustainable development and use of natural resources, it is important that we build a future based on renewable energy. We can end unsustainable production and consumption patterns only by promoting the transfer to new forms of energy in practice. Finland’s participation in the NeCF sets a good example for all industrialised countries: the reduction of emissions is a global challenge that we all must address together”, Paavo Väyrynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, states.

The NeCF facility buys carbon credits on behalf of its investors. Governments and companies can use these units to help meet their greenhouse gas emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol or the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Finland is already an investor in NEFCO’s Baltic Sea Region Testing Ground Facility (TGF) which was launched in 2003 to acquire carbon credits from Joint Implementation projects in Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic States.

NEFCO’s TGF is capitalised at 35 million euros and the NeCF’s capital amounted to 76.6 million euros before Finland’s investment. The NeCF’s other investors are DONG Energy and the Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) from Denmark, the Danish Energy Agency, the Norwegian government, Finnish energy utility Kymppivoima Oy and NEFCO itself.

“As Copenhagen’s climate conference approaches, it is extremely important that industrialised countries signal their confidence in the continuation of global climate policy. An investment in NeCF gives such a signal since the Fund also invests in projects that generate carbon credits after Kyoto’s first commitment period. The Fund enables the implementation of these projects even if a new global climate deal is not agreed”, NEFCO’s Legal Counsel Lotta Aho points out.

The NeCF buys both Kyoto and post-Kyoto carbon credits worldwide. The Fund has already contracted wind and hydro projects in China and is currently evaluating numerous projects in Africa, Southeast Asia, India and Ukraine.

Further information: Senior Adviser Barbara Appel, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 50 410 1852, Counsellor Kristiina Isokallio, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 50 581 9618, Chief Administrator Karoliina Anttonen, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 400 876 512, Legal Counsel Lotta Aho, NEFCO, tel. +358 50 3111 043, Communications Manager Mikael Sjövall, NEFCO, tel. +358 50 3535 045, www.nefco.org