Aussie carbon trading spawns new ventures

Better late than never eh? After previous Aussie PM John Howard was somewhat standoffish on the environment, new head of state Kevin Rudd has ratified Kyoto and is set to bring in a carbon trading scheme no later than 2010, with the details of how this will all work scheduled for the end of this year.

But why wait for December when you can get your joint venture up and running? That’s exactly what Pacific Hydro and the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation have done, creating a carbon services joint venture called Perenia.

Now Kyoto’s been ratified, the joint venture will help Aussie firms buy carbon credits from emission reduction projects in developing countries – now eligible for use for the first time Down Under thanks to the ratification – in order to meet obligations coming up as a result of the trading scheme.

Perenia will look to “aggressively pursue” development opportunities in India and Brazil, with other South East Asian countries targeted later on.