Noble Carbon Credits, a member of global supply chain manager Noble, and Gujarat Fluorochemicals of India (GFL) announce the completion of a series of long-term Certified Emission Reduction (CER) purchase and sales contracts.

 
The transaction represents a highly innovative deal structure, involving a mix of guaranteed delivery and offtake commitments with fixed as well as flexible pricing, and advance and balance payments against delivery, with strong security measures built in.

 
GFL operates the largest refrigerant manufacturing plant in India. Its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project involves incineration of HFC23, a waste-gas generated at this manufacturing plant in Gujarat, India.

 
The project, successfully commissioned in February 2006, received its first Certified Emission Reduction certification from the United Nations in early April. Noble Carbon Credits, as GFL’s by far largest customer, will purchase the major portion of GFL’s anticipated CER production beginning 2006 through to 2012.

 
The Kyoto Protocol has set emission caps for developed countries for the period 2008-12, but allows them to offset their actual emissions by participating in Clean Development Mechanism projects in developing countries.

 
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has to register these projects and will issue the CERs after a complex validation and verification process.

 
After issuance, the CERs will be transferred to the registries of the developed countries. In addition to Japan and Canada, the European Union is a potential offtake of CERs. The EU Emission Trading Scheme started in 2005 now allows large carbon dioxide emitters to use CERs to comply with EU environmental regulations.

 
Noble Carbon Credits as one of the leading players in the global CER market, intends to use the GFL CERs to serve its numerous international customers, primarily those based in the power utility, industrial and financial sectors.

 
“We are delighted to enter into this important contract with a strong and committed partner like GFL,” says Thorsten Ansorg, managing director of Noble Carbon Credits. “With its CDM project already through the demanding UNFCCC qualification process, and a production and issuing of CERÃ’s already running up to schedule, we are very pleased about our partnership with one of the largest CER producers worldwide. This arrangement with GFL will enable us to supply our large customer base with the quantities of emissions rights they need and makes GFL an important component of the overall Noble Carbon Credit CER and emission rights portfolio.”

 
Deepak Asher, head of finance for GFL, states, “We are pleased to find in Noble Carbon Credits a strong counterparty with a solid financial base and an experienced team able to move quickly and in a practical manner to bring these significant transactions to a timely close.”