Gazprombank, a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom [RTS: GAZP], has set up a joint venture with Germany's Dresdner Bank to invest in the market for trading greenhouse gas emissions quotas, the Russian bank said Tuesday.
"The JV will channel investment into key projects generating relevant certificates under the Kyoto Protocol, and also 'pack' carbon credits received into securities for resale on the secondary market," the press office said.
The joint venture, Carbon Trade & Finance SICAR S.A. was organized on a parity basis and is registered in Luxembourg. The European Commission approved the JV's establishment on December 19, 2006.
Dresdner Bank will participate in the project through its investment bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, a leading participant in the European market for trade in emission reduction certificates.
The 1998 Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sets greenhouse gas emission targets for the period up to 2012, entered into force two years ago, following ratification by 141 countries, which together account for over 55% of global emissions.
Russia ratified the treaty in November 2004, making it legally binding. But the world's top polluter, the United States, is still reluctant to sign the protocol, for fear the emission commitments will weaken the country's economic growth.
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