THEME - SUSTAINABLE MARKETS A banking issue Emission trading Kyoto compliance What is Rabobank doing to promote sustainability? often involved in discussions from start to finish, with sponsors inviting us to negotiate the EPC itself, not simply finance it. This integrated approach means that we actively work with sponsors to niake a project a bankable pro- posal.' While the move to set up the Sustainability and Social Innovation team in India was prompted by demand from the cliënt side, the team owes a great deal to the ex pertise available from the Sustainability and Social Innovation Directorate in Utrecht from which it is migrating best prac- tices in many areas. Daan Dijk, Manager Sustainable Energy and Environmental Markets, believes passionately that environmental markets are a commercial proposition. 'Why? Because real problems need real solutions and these require real money and new financial products and services. We are seeing an increasing monetarization of the environment, with environmental management becoming a political issue. If we look at emis- sion reduction regulation, the plant-based "polluter pays" system failed to produce the required results. Continuing climate ehange brings rising costs to society and a need for a more global, market-based approach. The emergence of emission trading is a response to this and a major opportu- nitv for KI.' Under the Kyoto Protocol, governments are subject to binding limits 011 greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions. The aim is to reduce overall emissions of six GHGs by 5.2% below their I 990 levels between 2008 and 2012. One mechanism that has been eagerly taken up is emissions trading. The costs of compliance with the Kyoto Protocol have been estimated at around 2% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The use of emission trading mechanisms can reduce these com pliance costs to 1 of GDP. The future importance of emis sions trading is best illustrated by the US. Despite the Bush Administration's failure to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, lors of US companies are already trading emissions. Concludes Dijk: 'Both business and government in the US know that this is the most efficiënt way to achieve environmental change rather than the plant-based approach. The Rabobank Group is negotiating an emission reductions procurement contract with the Dutch government, whose aim is to buy 50% of its total emissions reductions abroad. Signatory to Carbon Disclosnre Project with otber financial institutions including Allianz, Merrill Lynch and Swiss Re Participant in Prototype Carbon Fund (World Bank project) Finances Clean Development Mechanisms and joint imple- mentation projects in developing countries and countries in Central and Eastern Europe, in line with Kyoto Protocol Procurement of project-based emission reductions - with Dutch government bodies Structured finance and risk management (Rabobank Environ mental Financial Products/ RI-Global Financial Management) activities Weatber derivatives and structured reinsurance R EFP/Interpolis) Sustainable asset managementprivate banking (Robeco, Schretlen) NOx trading platform for Dutch industry - with ING Bank Green certificate trading platform - with Dutch national grid, TenneT Climate neutral payment systems - with Shell and World Wildlife Federation (WWF) Climate Change Centre - with the Red Cross Promotion and extension of market leadership in national and international 'green finance' system The Word I 9

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blad 'RI The Word / The Word' (EN) | 2003 | | pagina 9