In the bad old days, Vancouver was home to the infamous Vancouver Stock Exchange, legendary for its smoke and mirro…
In the bad old days, Vancouver was home to the infamous Vancouver Stock Exchange, legendary for its smoke and mirrors stock dealings. The VSX is long gone. However, Vancouver might soon again be a stock trading centre, only this time it truly will deal in smoke, literally.
John Weibe, president of the Vancouver-based Globe Foundation, told The Vancouver Sun newspaper that he plans to create a carbon trading registry in Vancouver and will attempt to capture at least 20 percent of the multi-billion dollar carbon-trading business. The World Bank estimates that, in 2006, the global carbon industry tripled in size to US$30 billion in one year alone.
Earlier this year, Quebec premier Jean Charest announced that Montreal will be the centre of Canadas carbon trading. However, Weibe does have knowledge and infrastructure behind him; Globe Foundation is one of the worlds biggest organizer of conferences and trade shows for sustainable business.
When (and if) the Globe Voluntary Carbon Registry (GVCR) does catch fire (figuratively), Weibe says those listing on the one-stop shop carbon exchange would pay between five to seven cents to register each carbon-credit tonne for sale, or about $50,000 to $70,000 per million tons. Unlike other regional carbon registries now in existence, the GVCR will be universal; anyone can register.
According to The Vancouver Sun, there are about 15- to 25-million tonnes of unregistered voluntary carbon credit now floating about, with more to come as the carbon rush builds. Meanwhile, the BC government pushes ahead with its own proposed carbon-tax legislation; Victoria has initially calculated the value of a single carbon credit at $25 per tonne. The government has also stated that it plans to cut the provinces carbon footprint by 40 million tonnes by 2020, At $25 per tonne, the potential home-grown market in BC alone would be worth about $1 billion.
When asked about the economic potential of the GVCR, Wiebe was succinct: His one-word reply: Infinite.
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