Carbon finance

So much is being written about climate change. The heat is on, so to speak, to find new solutions to increasingly dire predictions from ever more detailed data and refined models. Many conservationists are setting great store by the promise afforded by RED (Reducing Emissions through Deforestation) and REDD (add Degradation). It is only a few more months before we learn whether the leaders of the world reach agreement of whether to move forward and unlock the money which could – forest governance permitting – cause a major boost to the funding and rationale for forest conservation.

Meanwhile, a new World Bank report has revealed that conservationists have actually been doing climate change projects all along; they just hadn’t realized it. New technological fixes aren’t essential to taking positive action.

Together with hundreds of Carbon Expo-nents a couple of weeks ago, I was drawn to the panel discussion on the US House Waxman-Markey cap and trade bill. This was my first trip to Barcelona, and not all the carbon sessions could compete with the sunshine, attractions and food. But this one held my interest. As an American who has lived in Indonesia for 13 years, I was happy to get this insider view from an impressive panel of industry, NGO, and executive and legislative branch representatives. The bill, in short, offers incentives to key industries, gradually lowers the loose early cap to a credible goal by 2050, and creates a huge new offset market – a billion tons a year. If the bill became law, the existing Certified Emissions Reduction (CER) market would have trouble meeting this level of demand.

To leave Barcelona right when the first kick of the European championship soccer final starts is dumb. Even dumber is to land in Lisbon when Barcelona wins and celebration throughout the city starts. But that's what I did last week and I will not complain… Lisbon is a beautiful town. It is warm but pleasant, Portuguese is soft and musical, and the food is delicious.

Last Thursday, I attended a two-day conference called "Local Climate Change Roadmap" – organized by the city of Almada (10 minutes from Lisbon by river ferry or one and a half hours by car… but that’s only traffic!) and ICLEI, with several local supporters. I gave a talk about climate change at an urban level and in particular about the Primer on Climate Resilient Cities. I also had the chance to listen to all my colleagues and speakers coming from every part of Europe. It was a truly international conference.

Pongtip Puvacharoen works at the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific stand on the first day of Carbon Expo in Barcelona.

As promised, here's my first update from Barcelona and the CarbonExpo. Today is the first official day of the Expo, and my colleague from Bangkok, Pongtip Puvacharoen, and I basically just finished helping the World Bank's East Asian clients – China, Indonesia, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Thailand – set up the East Asia and Pacific Pavilion.

This year's CarbonExpo focuses on the efforts of cities to increase their sustainability by introducing clean transport, improve air quality, increase the production of renewable energy, and improve energy efficiency. I do love living in cities, in particular "megacities" of over 8 million inhabitants. But I am also a big fan of trees, green spots in between the concrete, and a fresh breeze – some things I sometimes miss in the U.S. and in East Asian metropolises.

This is why I really thought it important that Jakarta (Indonesia), Tianjin (China), and Bangkok (Thailand), participated in the Symposium on Cities, Climate Change, and Finance, co-organized by the World Bank, the Spanish government, and the City of Barcelona. After all cleaner, greener, and more livable cities are good for all of a city's inhabitants, rich and poor, and help improve living standards and the health of its people.