Carbon Trading

Democrats find 'green' political convention tough to enforce

DENVER--The Democratic Party has boasted that its convention here will be "the most environmentally-sustainable" gathering in the party's history, complete with a director of sustainability, low-power lighting in some areas, and calculations of carbon footprints.

Some of the goals include diverting 85 percent of waste that would normally go to a landfill, finding hundreds of people to sort waste into recycling-compost-landfill containers, and devising what The Wall Street Journal described as "lean 'n' green" catering guidelines that say food described thusly must not be fried and shall contain three of the following colors: red, green, … Read more

Dell claims to be carbon-neutral

Dell has claimed it is now officially a carbon-neutral company--five months ahead of its own projected schedule.

The target was apparently met through improved energy efficiency at Dell's own facilities, combined with "green" electricity purchases and investments in wind power in the U.S., China, and India, totaling 645 million kilowatt-hours and creating savings of 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Dell has invested $3 billion annually in green energy, and its consumption of green energy has increased almost tenfold to 116 million kWh in four years.

Dane Parker, Dell's global environment, health, and safety … Read more

Carbon counter Carbonetworks grabs funds

Software company Carbonetworks on Monday is expected to announce it has secured $5 million in series A financing, led by clean-tech venture firm NGEN Partners.

The company's software could be described as a carbon accounting package. It allows corporations to do an inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions and provides them with an application to manage a program to cut down on those emissions.

A company could, for example, achieve reduction goals by making data centers operations more efficient or purchasing carbon offsets.

There are already regulations in Europe to restrict emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. But … Read more

CarbonFlow nets funding for carbon software

Will money start to flow to carbon software?

CarbonFlow has raised $2.9 million in its first round of venture funding from Clean Pacific Ventures, OVP Venture Partners, and Meridian Energy Limited, a New Zealand renewable energy supplier, which is a strategic partner.

The San Francisco-based company's founders are carbon emissions trading expert Karla Bell and Neal Dikeman, founder of merchant bank Jane Capital Partner and a contributor to CNET's Green Tech blog.

CarbonFlow's software, which is still under development, is being designed for managers of carbon emissions-reduction projects that want to monetize their carbon credits.

For … Read more

What Cleantech sector are the VCs after now?

As always, the venture community is looking for its next big thing. The cleantech world is no exception. Despite the dearth of exits, so much capital has flowed into the cleantech sector that investors need new places to put it. So despite my promise to certain friends not to blog certain funding rumors in each category, the top 4 contenders are:

Green building materials - I'm not sure it would be my thing, but investors across the board seem to think this area is ripe for a hit.

Carbon IT - With some sort of cap and trade a … Read more

U.S. voluntary carbon market does not reward complexity

I had a lively discussion with Susan Wood, CEO of SCC Americas, at the Carbon Finance North America Conference last week. SCC Americas is the U.S. arm of Syndicatum Carbon Capital, one of the largest developers of Kyoto-based CDM carbon credit projects in the world. Susan herself has been doing emissions trading for more than a decade, after starting out as an environmental engineer.

The punchline in our chat was quite fascinating--the U.S. voluntary carbon market does not reward complexity in projects, Susan says. Basically, U.S. carbon credit developers are only doing a few limited types of … Read more

Carbon trading our way out of hunger crisis

CORONADO, Calif.--Reducing greenhouse gases isn't enough for EcoVerdance and Accelegrow Technologies; why not tackle world hunger, too?

This year's Future in Review conference has chosen to spotlight a company called EcoVerdance, which is using a product developed by Accelegrow to promote carbon trading by using the proceeds from selling carbon offsets to purchase a chemical called Accele-Gro-M that dramatically improves the yields of existing farms and makes it possible to grow plants in places previously thought impossible.

I have to admit, the first time Future in Review organizer Mark Anderson described the scheme, two things popped into … Read more

Green energy needs to be more than just clean

CORONADO, Calif.--Looming energy problems present noteworthy challenges for the world, but big thinkers in science, business, and technology know they have to compete with the status quo without a helping hand.

The Future in Review conference has always been about sketching a picture of the technology and business landscape five years into the future. But this year, attendees and presenters are focused on a more pressing issue: the need for alternative energy sources to replace fossil fuels sooner, rather than later.

As such, the early talk at the Hotel Del Coronado is all about alternative energy, whether that's … Read more

EcoSecurities founder says carbon markets work

As arguably the largest single market segment in the clean-tech sector, carbon markets are an area of keen interest for me personally and professionally, so it is always frustrating that the mainstream media largely refuses to learn the details.

In general, layman and media who don't understand the details of the carbon markets attack carbon offsets in two areas: first, questioning whether the credits are for a project that would have occurred anyway (a concept known in carbon as "additionality"); and second, questioning whether there are checks and balances to ensure the environmental standards are adhered to … Read more