The Environmental Finance magazine organised a two day conference
on Carbon Finance in the New York City during May 16 - May 17, 2000. As the climate change issue rises higher up the political agenda and the industry in Annex–I countries comes under increasing pressure to reduce its emissions, an exciting new Carbon market is emerging. As a result, many companies face new, complex risk management issues, while others see profitable opportunities. This market is in its very early stages but, as per certain estimates, it could be worth US$ 35 billion per year by the year 2008. What exact form this market may take will be influenced by what happens at The Hague meeting of the UNFCCC in November 2000.
 
Though the protocol has yet to be ratified and come into force, the private sector in the developed countries is poised to evolve a market for carbon, the financial institutions are trying to develop a carbon fund and the brokers are trying to formulate an internal trading system of carbon credits. The conference was aimed at discussing the following issues :

- How to manage and trade carbon emission risks
- How to convert climate change risks into business opportunities
- How to maximise profits and investment possibilities within the Kyoto 
  Protocol

There were about 70 delegates representing different sections of the society i.e. the industry, government representatives, consultancy companies and non-government organisations. The specialists came from organisations like Shell International, BP Amoco, PowerGen, BG Group, Deloitte and Touche, Enron Corp, Ontario Power Generation, DuPont, Environmental Defense, Cantor Fitzgerald, FondElec, Suncor Energy, Baker and Mackenzie, Centre for Sustainable Development, Centre for Clean Air Policy, Environmental Financial Products, Aon Carbon, CH2M Hill, UBS, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.

Various sessions in the conference covered topics such as opportunities in the carbon market; identifying emission risks facing companies and their stakeholders; learning from the experience of internal trading schemes,;understanding the US’s emission trading plans; managing carbon risks in project finance; regulating an international carbon trading market; trading emissions across the border; and investing in carbon funds.
 
Many companies in the developed countries have already had the experience of internal trade in carbon, they shared their experiences with the participants. These experiences may be helpful in shaping the CDM or carbon credits. Different models of carbon trading were presented. Some of the companies were quite apprehensive of getting substantial benefits from the CDM while others were very much hopeful that CDM will bring a lot of good to them.
 
The conference provided an opportunity to get a glimpse of various issues involved in carbon trading and climate change mitigation. This also helped in understanding the pros and cons of various mechanisms in practice or proposed to mitigate the climate change and their relevance to India, if any.