JP Morgan shells out for carbon offset biz

As Greenbang’s dear old Gran used to say ‘Where there’s carbon offsets, there’s brass’. Okay, Greenbang’s Gran didn’t exactly spout that aphorism, but it would seem that JPMorgan has taken that piece of financial wisdom to heart. The investment bank has just gone and acquired ClimateCare, a UK carbon offset company, to add to its stable of carbon cutting businesses.

ClimateCare’s acquisition by the moneyed-up City Boys at JP Morgan means that it will be able to roll out even bigger and better initiatives than previously possible, while JP Morgan will get deeper into carbon offsetting and trading.

No word on how much the decade-old company will lighten JP Morgan’s wallet by. As part of the deal, JP will also get its hands on ClimateCare’s project sourcing arm, Pioneer Carbon.

According to analysts Point Carbon, the global carbon market will see 4.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions transacted during 2008, up 56 percent on last year’s figures. At current prices, this values the market at $92 billion. No wonder then that the boys at JP Morgan want to grab themselves a chunky slice of this money pie.